Principal Cooperation Officer at African Development Bank - AfDB

The Complex

• The Vice-Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; and the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department / Division

• As part of the Finance Complex, the Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department has fiduciary responsibility for strategic concessionary finance resource mobilization, as well as donor relationship management and reporting, with the aim to compliment and leverage the financial resources and instruments of the African Development Bank Group.
• The department is comprised of two divisions whose primary, joint role is to increase the pool and types of funding available to the Bank Group’s Regional Member Countries, particularly for transformative projects in line with the Bank’s Ten-year strategy and High Five priorities.

Division 2 of the Resource Mobilization & Partnerships Department is responsible for the following corporate objectives:

• Leads the institution’s partnership with emerging shareholder countries (e.g. China, Korea, India,  Brazil) and their bilateral aid agencies; and multilateral bodies including the European Union, the United Nations and African Union;
• Leads the strategic negotiations for the setting up financial vehicles and institutional frameworks necessary for the institution to accept external resources, including all co-financing facilities and trust funds financed by external partners;
• Oversees fiduciary management of the institution’s bilateral and thematic trust funds; that is, mobilize, allocate and monitor non-statutory capital ensuring compliance with the African Development Bank Group’s rules and the commitments taken upon the replenishment negotiations, as applicable;
• Monitors and manages relationships with existing and new partners, including non-sovereign partnerships such as with corporates and philanthropic foundations (e.g. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation); serving as the secretariat for the review committee for new partnerships (i.e. Standing Committee on Partnerships);
• Identifies innovative ways to partner with non-traditional donors and leverage new resource mobilization tools and approaches  to evaluate their potential applicability and viability for the institution;  
• Assists other organizational units of the Bank Group to identify resources for their initiatives (i.e. Jobs for Youth Program);
• Houses innovative financial products and risk mitigation instruments which catalyze private capital to finance development in Africa (e.g. Private Sector Credit Enhancement Facility) under a blended finance approach;
• Reports globally on the use of resources placed in trust at the African Development Bank Group to management and to outside parties, as required;
• Develops and disseminates to internal and external audiences communication materials, seminars and trainings, capacity building, guidance papers and policy documents on resource mobilization at the African Development Bank (e.g. Business Opportunity Seminars).

The Position

• The Principal Cooperation Officer (PL-4) plays a central role in the department and division.
• The successful candidate would be directly implicated in cooperating with the Bank Group’s partners, by contributing to the planning, conceptualization, elaboration and operationalization of key Bank Group key partnerships directives, processes, programs and projects.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, the Principal Cooperation Officer will:

• Help coordinate resource mobilization through co-financing, trust funds, special initiatives and any other innovative partnership mechanisms; while also promoting the utilization of mobilized resources by user Departments, monitoring their disbursement, and preparing progress reports/financial reports to the respective Donors and to senior management;
• Manage relationships with existing donors effectively and with a measure of proactivity, and convey a global view of the Bank’s operations and key priorities for funding;
• Propose new strategic partnerships with a variety of donors in light of the TYS and operational priorities of the Bank;
• Organize business development and strategic initiatives consultations and meetings with key sovereign partners; and effectively monitor the implementation progress of any existing or new partnership agreements formalized with those partners;  
• Organize high-level partnerships events and forums, including Business Opportunity Seminars for traditional and emerging partners globally;
• Provide internal stakeholders with strategic advice on development partner funding priorities to strengthen target fundraising and facilitate the coordination and collaboration between Bank Group business units;
• Help organize and lead key Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) meetings and working groups of important donors and international meetings, as required; and
• Contribute to the effective collaboration with other departments and complexes

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in Finance, Economics, International Affairs and/or other relevant fields;
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience including in project development and implementation preferably across public, private and/or non-profit sectors along with established operational track record in achieving results; (fundraising with international, public and private sector a major plus);
• Proven ability to take initiative, innovate, adapt and make smart decisions; to create, apply, and share knowledge; to share expertise and learning; to develop self and others; to expand networks; to collaborate within teams and across boundaries; to be inclusive and exhibit good corporate citizenship;
• Superior written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French (with a working-knowledge of the other language) including the ability to think strategically and synthesize complex issues into effective written and oral briefs;
• Ability to apply a practical approach to problem solving, produce high quality work outputs, effectively prioritize, and adapt skills at times to competing and unexpected demands;
• Strong interpersonal, relationship building and diplomatic skills as well as a high degree of discretion and tact necessary to effectively maintain good relationships with partner countries, non-sovereign partners and the Bank shareholders;
• Competence in the use of standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software a plus.