Director, Regional Integration, RDRI at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/21/001
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Grade: EL5
Position N°: 50092552

The Complex

• Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Directorates, one in each region of Africa: North, South, East, West, and Central. The Complex also includes a dedicated directorate for Nigeria, a department for Transition States, and a department for Regional Integration.
• The regional development and regional integration department (RDRI) is the custodian of the Bank’s regional integration agenda as defined in the Integrate Africa High5 and the Regional Integration Strategic Framework (RISF). Integrate Africa and the RISF are ambitious initiatives aimed at accelerating the free flow of goods, services, people and capital in Africa.
• The strategies are underpinned by investments in regional infrastructure especially energy, transport, water and information and communications technology (ICT).

The Hiring Department:

• The Regional Development and Integration Department (RDRI) provides strategic direction for the Integrate Africa and RISF work streams. The department leads the design of regional integration (RI) related strategic instruments, supports regional programming through the design of Regional Integration Strategy Papers and drives RI mainstreaming in Bank strategies and operations.
• RDRI also manages the Regional Operations Envelope; a dedicated set-aside of the African Development Fund (ADF) for regional operations in low-income countries. The department monitors the performance of the Bank’s multinational operations portfolio in order to generate lessons learned that influence the design of future regional operations.
• RDRI also pioneers the design, publication and maintenance of flagship analytical products and advocacy tools such as the Africa Visa Openness Index(link is external) and the Regional Integration Index(link is external) and leads the dialogue with the African Union Commission, the Regional Economic Communities and development partners operating in the regional integration space.

The Position

• The position of Director RDRI reports to the VP RDVP. The position is key to the attainment of the Bank’s Integrate Africa agenda.
• The Director is responsible for all aspects of planning and execution of the activities of the department. The incumbent is accountable for performing the responsibilities, modelling the behaviors and maintaining the technical and managerial competencies (listed below) in his or her capacity as Director in the RDVP Complex. Accountability means being responsible for managing quality, risks, results, institutional initiatives and compliance with Bank policies and procedures, and keeping the Department at the forefront through needed upgrades and innovation.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the general guidance and supervision of the Vice President, Regional Development, Integration, & Business Delivery, the Director, Regional Development and Integration Department will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Business Responsibility:

• Supervises the design and Bank-wide monitoring of RI-related strategic instruments such as the Regional Integration Strategic Framework (RISF);
• Designs systems and approaches to mainstream regional integration in Bank operations as well as programming instruments such as the regional integration strategy papers and the country strategy papers;
• Ensures efficient administration and scaling of the ADF regional operations (RO) envelope as well as regular reporting of the impacts of the envelope during ADF mid-term reviews and ADF replenishments;
• Establishes reporting mechanisms, frameworks and executive-level dashboards to provide actionable insights to Senior Management on the performance of the Bank’s regional integration project portfolio;
• Supervises the design, implementation and maintenance of flagship knowledge and analytical products that are operationally relevant, help drive policy reforms at regional and continental levels and cement the Bank’s position as a knowledge-broker on regional integration;
• Initiates, builds, nurtures and strengthens existing partnerships and coalitions within and outside the Bank, including with the private sector, the African Union Commission, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Economic Commission for Africa, and other development partners operating in the RI space.
• Performs high-level engagement and dialogue with Diplomatic personnel and Senior Government Officials to further the interest and mandate of the ADB.

Resource Responsibility:

• Leads the effective implementation of the Department’s workstreams. Manages the Department’s personnel with appropriate delegation of authority in order to ensure that the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set for the department and the Bank are met;
• Leads the strategic planning for the human capital requirements of the Department, including performance appraisal of work undertaken, appraisal of staff potential, and determination of training and development needs;
• Supervises the effective delivery of the Department’s budget and ensures timely submission of periodic reports in accordance with the Bank’s budget management regulations;
• Initiates necessary corrective actions to address all audit findings successfully, and to prevent any repeat thereof.

Selection Criteria

• A minimum of a Master's degree or its equivalent in Economics, International Relations / Trade, Law, Social or any other related international development fields.
• A Masters’ Degree plus Completed Course in Leadership and or Project Management Certification is desirable;
• A minimum of 10 years of extensive and in-depth experience in hard and soft regional integration issues with at least five (5) years’ experience at managerial level or in a leadership role;
• Experienced obtained from a similar international development institution is desirable;

Behavioural Competencies:

• First-rate interpersonal skills; demonstrated ability to present and win support for ideas; a good listener; cultural sensitivity; commitment to diversity; capacity to initiate and manage innovations and change;
• Ability to build partnership with a broad range of clients and deliver results that meet the needs and long-term interests of clients within and outside the institution;
• Strong capacity to analyse actions from the perspectives of stakeholders, and to translate strategic thinking into compelling action plans;
• Demonstrated ability to take prudent business risks and make effective, timely and well-determined decisions.

Managerial / Leadership Competencies:

• Provides thought leadership to encourage innovation, and raises awareness of the Department as a centre of excellence in regional integration;
• Exhibits ability to build and lead motivated and committed multidisciplinary teams of experts across functional boundaries, and to effectively and productively utilize talent and expertise of team members;
• Demonstrates ability to present and win support for ideas;
• Leads and motivates teams with a focus on client orientation, results, strong cross-unit coordination and problem solving;
• Develops strong managerial and technical talent and actively engages in strategic staff planning and succession planning with appropriate delegation;
• Models integrity and inclusion, and offers mentoring and career development opportunities for staff;
• Sets direction and requirements for, and participates actively in the recruitment, on-boarding and training of staff.

Skills:

• Good knowledge of and experience in project management, development and regional integration issues;
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software applications (SAP, Microsoft Office, Collaboration Suites);
• People Management: engage staff regularly, and manage direct reports to obtain maximum output;
• Operational Effectiveness: commitment to ensure that full use is made of the systems, procedures and culture of the organization to deliver required results;
• Innovation and Creativity: commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients;
• Problem Solving: applies business knowledge to the resolution of problems, and identifies solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization;
• Professional Expertise: continuously expands understanding of relevant business products, practices and systems / technology, and actively shares knowledge and expertise with others;
• Client Orientation: ensures that clients (internal or external) are prioritized; strives to understand, and when appropriate, anticipate client needs; ensures the client receives the best possible service from the Bank;
• Persuasion Skills: the ability to “sell” an idea to solicit support for co-financing into a project or to generate new business for the Bank.