Research Assistant - (Short Term Staff) at African Development Bank - AfDB

THE POSITION:

• The Research Assistant (Short Term Staff) will support and assist the ECMR across a range of activities linked with producing a number of knowledge products, including flagship reports, documents, research papers, economic briefs and presentations.
• However, the job holder will focus more on the African Development Review, a professional journal devoted to the study and analysis of development policy in Africa. Published four times a year, the Review emphasizes policy relevance of research findings, rather than purely theoretical and quantitative issues.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the Supervision of the Director of the Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research Department, the STS Research Assistant will perform the following:

• Manage and monitor the online submission platform (ScholarOne Manuscript Central) for the African Development Review
• Check and ensure “complete checklist” for all submitted manuscripts: check-in submitted manuscripts and to monitor the full review process
• Create Reviewers’ Accounts
• Maintain reviewers’ database
• Assign or pass on submitted manuscripts with “complete checklist” to the Editor
• Select and invite reviewers at all stages of the review process.
• Manage all files associated with a manuscript including timely response to authors’ questions/requests or as may be directed by management.
• Generate and create reports on manuscript and user activity
• Generate data bases from internal and external sources as may be required
• Formatting documents related to the African Development Review and communicating with the Publishers as may be directed by management.
• Provide analytical support to the Research Department through critical literature search and review, data preparation, cleaning and analysis
• Reviewing, revising, formatting and finalizing the publication of Bank’s Working Papers and other major Bank’s knowledge products
• Reviewing, revising, formatting and finalizing the publication of Africa Economic Briefs and How They Did It
• Ensuring the working paper and briefs are in line with the Working paper guidelines and the Bank’s corporate identity
• Liaise with PCER for posting the brief online
• Any other task that may be assigned by the Task manager / Manager /Director. 

COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge):

• Hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Economics or a related field; 
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in a similar multilateral institution or any other institution engaged in research activities;
• Good written and oral skills in English or French with a good working knowledge of the other language
• Competences in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access). Knowledge of SAP is an added advantage
• Competences in the use of standard econometric / statistical software used in the Bank (Eviews, SPSS, Stata)
• Acquaintance with major databases (Word Bank, OECD, IMF, SSRN, AfDB) Highly desirable
• Familiarity and competence in the use and management of an online manuscript submission system.