Somalia Infrastructure Fund Officer, RDGE at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/20/161
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50078930

The Complex

• The Vice President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery (RDVP), is responsible for the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Bank Group's operational programmes and activities.
• The RDVP Vice-President ensures that the Bank carries out its activities effectively in all its RMCs and supervises the full implementation of all aspects of the Bank's regional management. Five Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Hubs have been created, each run by a Director General: Southern Africa, North Africa, West Africa; East Africa, and Central Africa.

The Hiring Department / Country Office:

• Each of the RDVP Hubs is staffed with the relevant sectoral functions and administrative capabilities for rapid delivery of services to client countries. The Regional Directorates provide overall strategic direction to country offices within the regions and are responsible for the Bank’s operations, business development, project management and overall effective delivery of the Bank’s High 5s.
• The position is under the Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, East Africa (RDGE) and located in the East Africa regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. The position is supervised by the Deputy Director General for East Africa (RDCE) who is also the Country Manager for Somalia.

The Position
The position of the Somalia Infrastructure Fund and Country Program Officer, has the following work objectives:

• Ensure the efficient operation of the Somalia Infrastructure Fund to enhance delivery of the Fund’s objectives;
• Contribute to developing and managing high level partner relations with Somalia Infrastructure Fund contributors, government partners and aid coordination;
• Support the mobilization of resources for the Somalia Infrastructure Fund.
• Coordinate investment operations financed from funds mobilized through the Somalia Infrastructure Fund.
• Coordinate country program activities for Somalia

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director General (RDCE), the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

Resource Mobilization. Partnership Development and Donor Coordination:

• Participate in resource mobilization efforts, including but not limited to fundraising events, development of proposals for internal and external consideration, and following up with potential donors.
• Support the DDG in building and management of relationships with various stakeholders including the Government of Somalia, development partners and implementing agencies.
• Serve as the focal point for Somalia Infrastructure Fund activities, responding to ad hoc queries.
• Participate as part of the Bank’s delegation in donor meetings including the Somalia Partnership Forum, Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) Steering Committee, Working Groups, SDRF Trust Fund Administrators meetings etc.
• Organise Somalia Infrastructure Fund donor briefings.
• Collaborate with the legal department in preparation and finalization of Somalia Infrastructure Fund Donor Contribution Arrangements.
• Advise the Bank on SDRF guidelines and approval processes for Somalia Infrastructure Fund. operations.

Program Management:

• Support the design and appraisal of projects;
• Participate in identification, appraisal, launching and supervision missions, as necessary;
• Ensure that projects conform with the country’s policies, priorities and development plans as well as with Bank Group policies and priorities;
• Support the preparation of analytical and knowledge products;
• Track the progress in implementation and overall performance of projects and their contribution towards the country’s priorities;
• Follow up and ensure country portfolio performance is in line with the bank’s policies and key performance indicators
• Ensure inclusion of proposed studies and projects in the pipeline of projects;
• Contribute to reviewing activity progress reports, project completion reports, and other evaluation outputs to assess corrective actions, if required.

Policy and Strategy:

• Support policy dialogue with the government on key issues including infrastructure development, public financial management, financial and economic governance, arrears clearance and resilience;
• Support the preparation of the Country Strategy Paper, Country Policy and Institutional Assessments and Fiduciary Risk Assessments.
• Propose any changes that may be necessary in the Somalia Infrastructure Fund operations and procedures manual.

Risk Management:

• Monitor and identify potential risks and mitigation measures for Somalia Infrastructure Fund operations.
• Participate in the risk management group meetings and work programs, to conduct analysis and propose recommendations for managing risks faced by SDRF funding windows.

Communication and Public Relations:

• Preparation of the Somalia Infrastructure Fund bi-annual progress reports and briefs with contributions from implementing partners, Somalia Country Team, project task managers and other Bank departments including disbursement and financial control;
• Liaise with the Bank’s task managers and implementing agencies to gather visibility material including photos, videos and success stories for projects implemented in Somalia;
• Disseminate Somalia Infrastructure Fund and other project progress reports to donors and other stakeholders;
• Manage and prepare input for the Somalia Infrastructure Fund webpage;
• Prepare press releases on key events such as signatory and knowledge-sharing events;
• Ensure the highest level of visibility for partners;
• Engage with beneficiaries.

Team Management:

• Participate in the recruitment of Consultants and Team Assistants, as necessary, and assist them to on-board;

Selection Criteria

• Hold at least a minimum of a Master's degree in a relevant development discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional working experience is required
• Professional experience in-country programming in an international development institution is added advantage;
• Experience in handling development operations a fragile state;
• Experience in managing and preparing reports for trust or special fund is an added advantage;
• Innovation and creativity - Initiates and implements creative performance improvements, and sustains forward momentum;
• Communication - Communicates with clarity and persuasively to get things done; keeps colleagues regularly informed about relevant topics and updates;
• Problem-solving - Applies knowledge of past situations/trends as appropriate; generates and tests multiple hypotheses or explanations for a given situation;
• Client orientation - Identifies client needs and business trends and proactively consults with them to deliver integrated, customized solutions;
• Team working and relationships - Collaborates with colleagues to drive goal achievement; and uses a network across functions to deliver results;
• Operational effectiveness - Takes initiative to improve practices and products to maximize efficiency and effectiveness; Delivers quality initiatives in order to enhance team's performance. Produces high-quality work and manages multiple tasks under tight deadlines.
• Good knowledge of Fund management best practices
• Ability to effectively interact with national authorities and technical and financial partners on policy and aid coordination issues
• Ability to address issues of portfolio management across sectors ® Experience in working in a transition state
• Proven ability to monitor programs and to ensure quality of portfolio/program performance
• Experience in risk management, economic and political analysis
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), knowledge of SAP will be an advantage.