Research Economist at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50093576
Position Grade: PL6

The Complex

• The core mandate of the Vice Presidency (ECVP) is to lead the Bank Group on prioritizing the generation, analysis, dissemination, brokering and implementation of relevant knowledge solutions in all High-5 operational priorities and the cross-cutting themes of its Ten-Year Strategy. Such solutions must be a clear response to priority development challenges facing regional member countries (RMCs), individually or collectively and need to involve RMCs in both the planning and implementation of the solutions. 
• The solutions include: (i) research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods; (ii) country diagnostics and future perspectives; (iii) policy dialogue and advisory services; (iv) economic, sector, and thematic knowledge work; (v) improving national and sub-regional statistical systems; (vi) preparation, design and support to
  implementation of public financial management and Governance operations; (vii) capacity development for policy formulation and implementation; (viii) technical assistance and advice related to RMCs’ management of natural resources; and (vii) knowledge dissemination and development of national, regional, and inter regional knowledge networks.

The Hiring Department

• The Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research Department (ECMR) is dedicated to research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods. 
• It provides economic research intelligence to support the Bank’s operational effectiveness in the regional member countries through rigorous micro-and macro-economic policy analyses, policy dialogue and technical assistance implemented in collaboration with other Departments in the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Vice Presidency (ECVP) Complex, and other Sector Complexes of the Bank Group to enhance the operational effectiveness of the Bank in achieving the High 5s. 
• The activities of the Department are structured around the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting on one side, and the Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact, on the other.
• The Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact Division (ECMR.2) focuses on microeconomic research designed to improve the effectiveness of the Bank’s Operations. The Division leads the Bank’s assessments of development additionalities of projects and provision of knowledge solutions to improve the development effectiveness of infrastructure development, private sector development, industrial organizations, governance, competitiveness & investment climate, agriculture, institutions, and regional integration to across all the Bank’s High 5s priorities. ECMR.2 is the institutional anchor for the ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcomes Assessment (ADOA) and Impact Evaluation (IE) of the Bank’s operations. 
• Thus, it is a key element of the Bank Results Framework and the primary tool for mainstreaming Development Outcomes in the Bank’s operations. The Division works in close collaboration with the Sector Complexes of the Bank Group including Agriculture and Human Development (AHVP); Power, Energy, Climate Change, and Green Growth (PEVP); Industrialization and Private Sector Development (PIVP); Regional Integration and Trade (RDVP) and the Natural Resources and Investment Centre (ECNR), among others.

The Position

• The Research Economist will be part of the ECMR.2 team and expected to perform both ADOA assessments of the Bank’s lending operations as well as research activities related to the Bank’s High5 agenda. 
• The position will also support the front office of the Director of ECMR in coordinating inputs on the department’s key performance indicators and conducting quality assurance of economic intelligence briefs, technical and strategy documents and undertaking relevant research while also serving as a liaison between ECMR and the broader ECVP complex and other departments of the Bank.

Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Manager for the Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact Division, the Research Economist will:
Participate in Ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment of Bank’s lending operations:

• Provide inputs and assist the team in the delivery of ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment of the African Development Bank lending to Non-sovereign and Regional Operations and any other type of operation as required by the management.
• Contribute to any revisions to the Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment framework on the basis of implementation experience and lessons from other Development Finance institutions.

Participate in and undertake research activities in the areas supporting the Bank’s High 5s:

• (High   priority areas: Light Up and Power Africa (Energy), Feed Africa (Agriculture and Nutrition), Industrialize Africa (Industrialization), Integrate Africa (Regional Integration) and Improve quality of live for Africans (Sustainable socio-economic development)). 
• This also includes strengthening knowledge generation in the area of inclusive and green growth. 
• The findings of such research should be published in the Bank’s Working Paper Series or as a peer reviewed article in the African Development Review and/or other internationally reputable publication outlets.

Provide inputs into the production of the Bank’s flagship publications:

• Contribute to the preparation of flagship reports or assigned chapters, write assigned sections and follow it (peer reviews) until publication.
• Assist and lead on the dissemination of the findings of reports.

Provide technical and analytical inputs into the work of Operations Complexes:

• Provide input into Country Strategy Papers.
• 4Lead or participate in sectoral and other knowledge work socio-economic issues.
• Participate in the peer review process of projects, programs, policy reports, including documents submitted to the Operations Committee.
• Provide inputs in collaborative research and knowledge management activities carried out jointly with regional and international organizations, research and capacity building institutions in Africa, development research centers and universities.
• Review operation documents and participate in review meetings.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisor or Management.

Competencies (skills, experience and knowledge)

• Have at least a Master’s degree in Economics, Finance, or relevant discipline. A PhD is highly preferred.
• Have a minimum of four (4) years of professional experience combining research and operational involvement in the design and evaluation of operations relevant to the High 5s priority areas including the following: infrastructure,  energy, agriculture, private sector development, industrial organizations and social sectors, project analysis and/or monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong publication record in international peer reviewed journals, working papers, book chapters, reports, etc.
• Good knowledge and background in the use of statistical and econometric methods and packages applied in project evaluation, finance and development economics research.
• Proven ability in development policy research and analysis of economic conditions that are of relevance for the High 5s priority areas.
• Ability to design and conduct research projects/programs.
• Ability to understand and identify development outcomes expected from real sector projects.
• Proven skills in drafting and preparation of economic intelligence briefs, policy memoranda, speeches and notes for use in decision making processes.
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of leading econometrics software packages (R, Stata, Python) and in Microsoft Suites (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access).
• Have good communication skills and a proven ability to work in teams and on multiple projects in parallel.