Deputy Chief Economist at African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Reference Number: LEEBLR56
Location: Cairo, Egypt

Responsibilities

• The role of the position holder will be to participate in the Bank's research and economic analysis activities especially in trade development and financial economics. The role will also include conducting sector and country studies as well as preparing Bank's various reports for Senior Management, the Board, and shareholders.  
• The position holder is also expected to support ongoing efforts to develop and maintain, for knowledge management purposes, good working relationships with other UN, multilateral, and bilateral organizations – including specialized agencies, the UN’s Economic Commissions, the African Union and its Commissions, International Financial Institutions – and engage with academia and relevant bodies/think tanks in member states to further enhance the Bank’s leadership as a centre of excellence for trade related research and information generation.  
• Strategic policy advice: Working with the CE to oversee and supervise the enhancement of research methodology in the preparation of required studies in the areas of world trade, trade finance and economic issues important to Africa as well as their policy and business implications;
• Intellectual leadership in applied research and policy development: Managing the monitoring and collation of key economic data covering the globe, major trading regions and Africa into suitably organized information to inform and guide the Bank’s policies and operations;
• Cutting-Edge Research: Supporting the conduct of cutting-edge research in economics, ranging from theoretical methodological issues to applied economics touching on trade development and financial issues covering sectors such as commodities, agriculture, manufacturing, and services as well as payments. Also, developing and managing an Exchange rate Mechanism to support the implementation of the pan African Payments and Settlement System;
• Internal Research Reports: Supporting the CE in the production of regular reports which monitor developments in global trade and trade finance as well as the Bank’s key markets and products, risk-based sector and country reports and providing timely analyses on their likely impact on the African economy and the Bank’s operations;
• Internal Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinating engagement and collaboration between the Research Department and other Departments, including Origination Departments in their efforts to enhance the Bank’s strategic and business activities to ensure the achievement of its mandate;
• Collaborating with key external partners: Helping the CE in the management of the relationship with relevant UN system organizations, International Financial Institutions, and other multilateral and bilateral organizations, academia, and the private sector to advance the trade development agenda;
• Shaping African trade development policy: strengthening the capacity of the network of economists, bankers and other trade experts from various African multilaterals, banks, trade agencies, academia, and other stakeholders, through organizing strategic conferences, symposia, and workshops to draw on external expertise, advocate on key trade development issues, and contribute to African and global trade policy debates;
• Research Publications: Managing the publication and dissemination of the Bank’s trade-related publications, research papers, and journals (including the Journal of African Trade, CIAT and Working Paper Series), and monitoring their development impact; 
• Support to Risk Management Modelling: Providing support to the overall operational efficiency and risk management framework of the Bank, including putting in place and managing a framework for estimating overall expected credit losses on an ongoing basis
• Database Management: Ensure that the overall framework for database management is in place and is well managed and monitored
• Key Initiatives: Work with relevant departments to support key enterprise initiatives e.g. research sabbatical programme, the Centre for AfCFTA Studies etc.
• Any other duties as may be assigned by Senior Management.    

Requirements
Qualifications and Skills:

• PhD or equivalent in Economics or other related field from a recognized University; 
• Sound experience of at least 12 years as a Research, Economist, Trade Economist or similar role, preferably in the financial services industry, with experience in trade and development economics. Evidence of publications in scholarly journals will be required; 
• Demonstrated experience in preparing and presenting research papers for use by the financial services industry and an expert understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods, especially econometrics and operations research;
• Demonstrated experience in development impact analysis and a demonstrated interest and understanding of the political economy of trade, development, money/payment systems and international finance;
• Ability to communicate and function in a culturally diverse and change oriented setting with good knowledge of research practices in Africa; 
• Ability to interact with senior officials of international agencies, multilaterals, banks, corporates, and governments and to present well researched information trade related issues to the Bank's Senior Management and the Board of Directors and deep knowledge and experience of geoeconomics and geostrategy;  
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of French will be a distinct advantage and the Bank's other working languages (Arabic and Portuguese) a plus;
• Keen knowledge of African interests and history and Intellectual strength to enhance ability to shape global debate and African development narrative;
• Demonstrated diplomatic skills to globally advance the African development agenda while helping the Bank to maintain its reputation as a pan African force for the advancement of African citizens;
• Knowledge of broad analytical techniques, such as statistics, econometrics, as well as mathematical and operations research tools. In particular, the ability to analyse and draw reasonable inferences from the analyses of financial and economic data;
• Knowledge of computer software necessary for analysing large volumes of statistical data (e.g., EViews, SAS, SPSS, STATA, MICROFIT, PcGive etc.); and
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including ability to organize and manage human resources to attain goals.

Contractual Information:

• Willing and able to relocate to Cairo
• Suitably qualified candidates from all African nationalities are encouraged to apply