Regional Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) Lead, PIVP at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB / 21 / 067
Locations: Abuja - Nigeria, Abidjan - Cote d'Ivoire, Nairobi - Kenya, Tunis - Tunisia, Pretoria - South Africa and Yaounde - Cameroon
Grade: PL2
Position N°: 50102203; 50102204; 50102199; 50102205; 50102198; 50083341

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization (VP, PIVP) is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the overall private sector across all sectors, deepening the financial sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization. The main functions of the Complex are to:
  • Strengthen the enabling environment for private sector development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development,
  • Deepen financial markets,
  • Support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including urban development, and;
  • Place renewed emphasis on industrial and trade performance in support of structural transformation across Africa, which also includes the 4IR and ICT. The Complex leverages knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments on delivering the Bank’s development agenda.

The Complex is also responsible for:

• Leading ‘Industrialize Africa’ strategy and co-leading the Integrate Africa one;
• Managing the full project cycle in its sectors of responsibilities, from project preparation to completion, for private sector as well as public sector projects, in close partnership with the Regions
• Provide thought leadership in the areas under its remit and related partnerships and initiatives; and
• Acting as the Bank’s spokesperson in these areas.

The Position

• The AfDB is looking to recruit a Regional Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) Lead for each of the five regions - Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western regional offices, and for the Nigeria Country Office. NSO refers to a combination of private sector and state-owned enterprise (SOE) financing, where the latter is without a government guarantee. 
• The Regional NSO Lead (RNL) is responsible for business development, operationalizing, supporting and coordinating the implementation of the Bank’s NSO and private sector development strategy in the region. 
• The Bank’s NSO activities have been on a strong upwards trend in recent years. Recent independent evaluations have stressed the strengths of the Bank’s approach and highlighted areas where improvements are needed.
• The Bank’s new Private Sector Development Strategy 2020-2025 (the PSD Strategy) is intended to underpin its engagement with governments and private sector operators and to drive the Bank’s Private Sector Development agenda. This position will be critical in implementing this strategy, working within the framework of the Bank’s OneBank approach, and closely with both public and private actors.
• The Regional NSO Lead will play a critical role in cascading down the Bank’s PSD Strategy at regional and country level.
• He/she will work in close collaboration with the Director General, Country Managers, NSO Sector Directors and Managers, and Governance Director and Country Economists, to ensure consistency and coherence in the Bank’s PSD Strategy implementation in the regions and in the countries.
• He/she will work with public sector and private sector teams to develop synergy in the Bank’s work. This is important to ensure that Private Sector issues are considered during upstream Sovereign Operations (SO) policy, regulatory and business environment activities to make the markets more attractive to private sector investors.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the VP PIVP, the Regional NSO Lead will perform the following, but not limited to:

• Focal point for Director Generals (DGs), NSO Sector Directors (NSDs), Country Managers (CMs) and NSO Sector Managers (NSMs) for all Private Sector (PS) and Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) in the region;
• In consultation with the DG and Country Managers, while conferring with the NSDs and NSMs, ensure PS and NSO dimensions are adequately captured in the Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) as well as the Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) for the respective countries and region, as well as lead in the development and design of the Country Private Sector Profiles (CPSPs);
• Collaborate with the AIF team and in coordination with DGs and CMs in identifying a pipeline of projects to be presented at the African Investment Forum. In relevant countries, the RNL will also advise on the implementation of the Lusophone compact and on the identification of its pipeline;
• Lead, after consultation with the DGs and NSDs (as well as others as appropriate such as CMs and as appropriate NSMs and Country Coordinators), in finalizing the NSO IOP (Indicative Operations Plans for each year) for the Region;
• Focal point in the OneBank matrix structure to: (i) consolidate and inform DGs on all PS and NSO activities in the Region; (ii) serve as the focal supporting senior resource to all Sector Complexes regarding PS and NSO in the regions;
• Advise DGs and CMs on the management of headroom for NSOs in each region and country, and devise approaches for risk transfer and mitigation working with the appropriate departments such as FIST;
• In close collaboration with DGs, CMs and NSDs, and working with the Governance Department of ECVP (our Economics & Governance Complex) and the Country Economist, actively support policy dialogue at country and regional level with respect to PS and NSO;
• Advise DGs and CMs on policy dialogue with the authorities and with RECs on policy issues affecting private sector development and investment climate;
• Develop and design country and region-specific PS and NSO information notes and briefs to inform plans for integrated investment and TA operations, including sector priorities and business targets;
• Support the implementation of the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS), Financial Sector Development Strategy (FSDS), as well as PS aspect of the Strategy for Economic Governance in Africa (SEGA) in the region and the countries;
• Support PS upstream work as well as TA activities at country and regional level;
• Lead PS and NSO business development activities at country and regional level for single-country or domestic clients (and African regional clients based in their regions of coverage), and strategically support NSO portfolio management;
• Work closely with NSMs by supporting origination activities on the ground, especially with respect to identifying clients and business opportunities, validation, integrity due diligence of clients, local pipeline development, and support for proactive portfolio management through client relationship management in line with the Bank’s institutional priorities;
• Develop and manage relationships with stakeholders, including key clients (governments and private companies) at the highest level of seniority and position the Bank as the partner of choice to support high development impact projects at country and regional level, including transformative integrated industrialization projects;
• Build up relationships with key stakeholders (including relevant regulators, businesses, NGOs, PE Funds, and investors);
• Identify areas where the Bank can catalyze market development through innovation based on a thorough understanding of local markets and best practice from the Bank’s regional experience, as well as the potential of harnessing synergies between the Bank’s SO and NSO;
• Lead/coordinate the development of client engagement strategies for select existing and new strategic clients;
• For all investments and TA programs in the region, review and validate Bank’s added-value, development impact and fit with Bank’s strategic focus and CSP/RISP;
• Build and develop the Bank’s Private Sector franchise in the country and region, and the overall communications strategy; engaging with local media but coordinating with PCER (Communications Department);
• Represent and provide visibility for the Bank’s Private Sector activities at country and regional level including through organizing/participating in high profile events (Senior level visits, interviews, seminars, PPP roundtables, sector working groups, and conferences);
• Develop market knowledge and intelligence in order to ensure that the Bank is engaging with the right clients. Take accountability for client selection, ensure the integrity of potential clients and develop and maintain relationships with these companies to identify business opportunities considering the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy, High 5s, PSDS, FSDS, SEGA, and financial instruments;
• Share accountability (with NSMs and Portfolio Managers) for the quality and performance of the Country PS/NSO Portfolio in their region; and
• Provide administrative oversight for all IOs in the region. In addition, lead, develop and mentor an integrated and diverse team consisting of NSO IOs and POs (Portfolio Officers), ensuring that the team is high performing, well-motivated, has clear deliverables and is committed to the success of the Bank’s NSO activities in the region.

Selection Criteria

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, International Development, or any other discipline relevant to the position;
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience in strategy, advisory, finance, investment banking, project and corporate finance, private equity and management consulting;
• Familiarity with strategies, policies, procedures and practices of multilateral development institutions;
• Strong client relationship management skills, with an existing network of relevant top-level contacts in the region’s private and public sector and/or demonstrated ability to build such high-level client network;
• Outstanding and proven track record of performance in investment and Technical Assistance activities;
• Significant experience with proven success in developing and managing key client relationships;
• Work experience in the Africa region and a strong interest in developing a thorough understanding of the cluster countries;
• Ability to represent the Bank externally with government, media, clients, donors, and other stakeholders;
• Ability to build successful relationships across the OneBank matrix;
• Ability to develop innovative solutions and challenge the status quo to develop the Bank’s private sector image and business in the region and its markets;
• Highly developed strategic thinking skills allied to an ability to translate strategic concepts and direction into the implementation of workable and sustainable projects and programs while consulting relevant stakeholders;
• Ability to pull together all aspects of project origination and drive the process to deliver the lending program;
• Excellent spoken and written English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications; Knowledge of SAP is advantageous.