Senior Capacity Development Officer, ECAD1 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/21/055
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50093673

The Complex

• The Chief Economist / Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the VP for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex’.
• The Complex is responsible for (i) providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical works to inform operational policy; (ii) systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.

The Hiring Department Division

• The African Development Institute (ECAD) coordinates and executes Capacity Development (CD) programs in the regional member countries (RMCs) by (i) providing advisory services on capacity building; (ii) identifying and designing tailored capacity development programmes and implementing the programmes; and (iii) leveraging partnerships and coordinating knowledge dissemination and outreach,  with a view to improving policy-making, economic governance and sustainable development in the Regional Member Countries.
• The Institute has two divisions, namely Program Development (ECAD.1) and Policy Management (ECAD.2). The strategic objective of the Program Development Division (ECAD.1) is to enhance the knowledge base and programs of African countries in promoting development. Hence the Division undertakes design and implementation of programs and activities to improve general knowledge and build institutional capacity to diversify economies, boost growth and create decent employment. These also include programs to support the Bank’s lending operations, improve the quality of the Bank’s portfolio and ensure that the development impact of Bank-funded projects and programs are realized.

The Position

• The Senior Capacity Development (CD) Officer, ECAD1, will play an active role in the day-to-day delivery of the Department’s mandate, ensure that high quality standards are observed, and collaborate with the staff of the Bank’s other departments and outside partners to promote capacity development in Africa.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, Program Development (ECAD1), the Senior Capacity Development officer will:

• Develop programs, strategies, and concept notes for capacity development for Regional Member countries.
• Undertake research on capacity development needs of the public, private and non-governmental institutions in Africa on any topic relevant for achieving the Bank’s High 5s.
• Design innovative programs to improve the quality of capacity development in Africa.
• Manage the delivery of capacity development activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences, and roundtable meetings at the Bank’s headquarters and in the Bank’s Regional Member Countries.  
• Actively engage in resource mobilization for capacity development activities.
• Prepare briefs, information notes, and news articles on the activities of the Division.
• Undertake evaluation of the effectiveness of capacity development and other development activities of the Division.
• Perform administrative duties as assigned by the Supervisor.

Selection Criteria

• Hold a PhD or at least a Master’s degree in Economics, Finance, or a related field.
• Extensive experience in teaching, research or in operations with proven competence and ability to develop concept notes, design training programs and deliver lectures in one of the following fields: (i) Macroeconomics / Economic Management; (ii) Financial Sector Development; (iii) Fiscal Affairs (including revenue generation and debt management); and (iv) Fiduciary Affairs of a Project Implementation Unit (Procurement, Disbursement or Financial Management).
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant and progressive work experience (inclusive of years spent on PhD programs for candidates with PhD). Experience in writing notes, reports and briefs and ability to handle knowledge dissemination.
• Strong quantitative analytical skills with a passion for figures and a mastery of the use of relevant software to prepare pictorials, charts and graphs.
• Sound knowledge and good understanding of capacity development needs in Africa at national levels and also at the level of project implementation units.
• Proficiency in writing proposals for resource mobilization.
• Capacity to conceptualize new approaches and innovation in capacity development and to develop user friendly training materials.
• Ability to interpret policies, guidelines and procedures and draw personal judgment.
• Ability to think strategically and link the goals of the Division and Department to the Bank’s core strategic goals, and set priorities accordingly.
• A demonstrated team player with strong communication, problem solving, self-organization and time management skills.
• A client and results-oriented individual with a proactive attitude.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (attach a sample of own writings) in English or French with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications.