Senior Governance and Economic Management Officer at African Development Bank - AfDB

Position Number: 50063724
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Position Grade: LP5

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 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; systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.

The Hiring Department

• The Directorate General Hub for West Africa (RDGW) is responsible, answerable and accountable for among others, sourcing and origination of bankable projects in collaboration with stakeholders and the private sector, in support of impactful developmental objectives in the Regional Member Countries to achieve Bank Group’s Business development objective.
• The Governance and Public Financial Management Coordination Office (ECGF) supports the DG-Hub and provides technical expertise in the area of governance and public sector management, towards ensuring that the Bank effectively supports Regional Member Countries in their efforts to promote good governance, transparency and accountability, effective economic management and the improvement of the business environment.

The Position

• The Senior Governance and Economic Management Officer, who will be based in the Bank's Country Office in Senegal, will contribute towards the implementation of the Bank’s Strategy for Economic Governance and the delivery of the Bank’s High Five Agenda for Africa. He/she will provide specific support to the Bank Group's operational activities in Senegal, in the area of governance and public sector management. As a member of ECGF- RDGW, he/she will also be responsible for initiating dialogue with the public authorities of the regional member countries, specifically with those of Senegal, particularly with regard to the policies and activities of the African Development Bank to support national and sector policies and reforms that promote effective and accountable governance and public financial management.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Director, Governance and Public Financial Management Coordination Office; and liaising with the Country Manager for Senegal, the Senior Governance and Economic Management officer will perform the following functions:

Project Management:

• Support operational activities, including the development and implementation of governance operations, including budget support operations, institutional support projects and technical assistance at the country and regional level.
• Identify opportunities for strategic collaboration with multilateral and bilateral donors in the governance sector.
• Contribute towards the review of country eligibility for various financing instruments of the Bank, in particular budget support operations
• Support the timely implementation of the portfolio of governance operations according to agreed objectives.
• Facilitate and support an active policy dialogue with the relevant stakeholders around the implementation of governance reforms supported by budget support operations. This includes coordinating inputs from Bank experts or supporting the recruitment of consultants as relevant.
• Provide expert advice and guidance to country officials and implementing agencies on sector issues and priorities, technical and operational aspects of projects, and Bank rules and procedures, including those for procurement of works, goods and services, financial management and disbursement activities.
• Provide active support to governments in facilitating loans/grants effectiveness.
• Ascertain good performance of operations through regular supervision of portfolio operations, technical guidance and training of borrowers on compliance with the Bank’s rules and procedures.
• Participate in Bank portfolio reviews in the country and provide all relevant information for assigned projects.
• Prepare Project Implementation and Completion Reports (IPRs and PCRs) in accordance with the Bank's Operations Manual.

Strategy and Planning:

• Contribute towards the development of country and sector level policy and strategies for economic governance issues in Regional Member Countries in consultation with relevant government agencies and country offices.
• Participate in the preparation of policy statements, papers, briefs and various reports on economic governance issues.
• Provide technical inputs to the preparation of Regional Integration Strategy Papers, Country Strategy Papers, Country Policy and Institutional Assessments and Fragility Assessments towards ensuring Governance and economic management issues are incorporated and adequately addressed.
• Represent the Bank in its relationship with development partners on the macroeconomic framework for the country.
• Undertake various policy dialogue and representation tasks assigned by the Country Manager or ECGF Director.

Sector Economic Work and Knowledge Sharing:

• Undertake reviews, analysis and reporting of governance and economic management initiatives of Governments, ensuring that these are considered in the design and implementation of programs.
• Contribute to the search for funding and partnerships, to ensure the development of knowledge and the initiation of thematic studies on governance themes.
• Represent the Bank in technical meetings, conferences or other events on issues relating to governance, such as public financial management, business enabling environment and combatting corruption and illicit financial flows.
• Contribute to the preparation of public expenditure and financial accountability assessments and other upstream analytical and diagnostic work of governance and public financial management systems prepared in partnership with others.
• Coordinate with other donors working in this field, and act as focal person for country level engagements in these areas.
• Contribute to activities of advocacy, dissemination and knowledge building around governance sector issues, public financial management, tax policy, public expenditures.
• Engage in networks relevant to governance and economic management issues.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master's Degree in Economics, Public administration, Governance / Political Science, Law or related fields.
• Have a minimum of five (5) years relevant professional experience in governance, economic management, policy formulation, revenue management, public expenditure or any discipline that is relevant for the position.
• Proven experience in project management, including the design and execution of governance operations such as budget support operations, institutional support projects and technical assistance
• Proven ability to interact competently with Government and donor agencies on issues relating to aid coordination;
• Possess an in-depth understanding of governance, macroeconomics, fiscal policy and public budgeting issues in developing countries, especially in West Africa and Senegal
• Proven ability in data analysis and/or research in areas of governance.
• Familiarity with the operational policies, procedures and programming practices of bilateral or multilateral organisations.
• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation, teamwork and leadership qualities.
• Ability to apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and demanding institutional environment.
• Possess the ability to anticipate needs and requests, and to conduct political discussions with government officials, and support strategic thinking on governance and economic management.
• Possess the ability to work harmoniously in a multicultural environment and to collaborate within teams and with other services.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications.