Jobs at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

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:
  • Research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods;
  • Country diagnostics and future perspectives
  • Policy dialogue and advisory services;
  • Economic, sector, and thematic knowledge work;
  • Improving national and sub-regional statistical systems;
  • Preparation, design and support to implementation of public financial management and Governance operations;
  • Capacity development for policy formulation and implementation;
  • Technical assistance and advice related to RMCs’ management of natural resources; and
  • Knowledge dissemination and development of national, regional, and inter-regional knowledge networks.

The Position

• The Country Economist will focus on macroeconomic work to deepen country knowledge and policy dialogue, preparation of Economic Sector Works and lead/participate in the preparation of Country Strategy Papers and related products.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Director, Country Economics Department, the Country Economist will:

• Analyse the economic and financial situations of assigned Regional Member Countries, using internal and external information sources, and determine the implications for the programming and updating of Bank Group operations such as defined in the Country Strategy Paper.
• Examine the impact of Bank Group operations, in the countries concerned, of regional economic integration programmes and make recommendations on the role of the Bank Group in assisting regional integration initiatives.
• Participate in the policy dialogue with Government authorities and development partners.
• Prepare economic and Sector Work and papers on relevant economic and financial issues in the development process and other country economic tasks such as the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) and the CRFA exercises.
• Contribute to the identification, preparation, evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of macroeconomic programmes.
• Prepare Country Diagnostic Notes and Regional Diagnostic Notes to inform the preparation of Country Strategy Papers and Regional Integration strategy Papers.
• Maintain effective communication with the sector departments and other relevant units in the Bank to ensure a coordinated approach in the preparation of knowledge products in the assigned countries.
• Participate in Country Portfolio Reviews.
• Participate in the preparation and monitor implementation of measures under budget support operations.
• Participate in aid coordination activities with bilateral and multilateral donors, with emphasis on promoting the co-financing of projects and programmes.
• Participate in the preparation of the department’s budget and in the recruitment of consultants; prepare annual and triennial lending programmes and briefs on economic reform and institutional support programmes.
• Provide background research papers on a variety of economic topics for management discussions, decision meetings, corporate reporting, flagship publications, and client-facing interactions.
• Participate in the preparation of the pipeline and lending programs
• Develop and build client relations at levels and plays a promotional role in generating new business for the Bank.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master's Degree in Economics or other relevant fields or related disciplines;
• Have a minimum of four (4) years of relevant experience in an International Organization, working on African Development Issues and country strategy papers preparation;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Good grasp of the developing countries issues, and solid experience in macroeconomic management issues and the economics of development - understands policymaking processes and able to synthetize operationally relevant recommendations/lessons.
• Solid technical and quantitative skills as an applied development macroeconomist and a proven record in delivering high quality and technically sophisticated analytical work.
• Very good knowledge of portfolio management and demonstrated knowledge of economics and analytical skills
• Proven sense of initiative, results orientation, as well as effective teamwork skills, strong integrative skills and ability to work effectively across sectors.
• Strong experience in policy dialogue, as well as fragility assessment knowledge and skills.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills and ability to deliver results on time.
• Problem solving capabilities coupled to innovation skills and change management.
• Drive for results – able to take personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results.
• Participate in the preparation of the pipeline and lending programs.
• 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.

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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:
  • Research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods;
  • Country diagnostics and future perspectives;
  • Policy dialogue and advisory services;
  • conomic, sector, and thematic knowledge work;
  • Improving national and sub-regional statistical systems;
  • Preparation, design and support to implementation of public financial management and Governance operations;
  • Capacity development for policy formulation and implementation;
  • Technical assistance and advice related to RMCs’ management of natural resources; and
  • Knowledge dissemination and development of national, regional, and inter-regional knowledge networks.

The Hiring Department / Division:

• The Statistics Department is responsible for the Bank’s statistical activities that focus on two main components:
  • Providing support for effective development of statistical capacity and systems in African countries for the provision of timely and reliable data to support development results measurement for the High 5s and Sustainable Development Goals agenda across Africa,
  • Mainstreaming results measurement in Bank operations to ensure their operational effectiveness as well as to support the Bank’s research, policy and financial services.
• As part of the Statistics Directorate, the Economics and Social Statistics Division ensures that Regional Member Countries provide the Bank with timely, reliable, consistent and regionally comparable data on economic and social activities (trade, industry, agriculture, finance, infrastructure, population, demography, poverty, education, health, SDGs monitoring etc.).
• Its principal activities are: to develop and manage statistical systems needed to support the operational work of the Bank Group and its development research activities; and to prepare the Bank Group’s official statistical publications and provide statistics and statistical analysis for the Bank Group’s Annual Report, the African Development Report and other important Bank’s publications.

The Position
The Statistician  will be responsible for contributing to the reliability of the bank's statistical data through the following main activities:

• Update country and sector information on Social statistics, National accounts, Prices, Government Finance, Balance of Payments, Money and Banking, Financial Flows, Trade Statistics, infrastructure statistics and Bank Group Operations statistics,
• Update country and sector reports for African countries and support, statistical capacity building
• Contribute to the preparation of Bank statistical Publications and briefs
• Provide statistical support for regional integration: develop and maintain a system to monitor regional integration.

Key Functions
Under the supervision of the Division Manager Economic & Social Statistics and Chief Statistician, the Statistician will:

• Provide and maintain statistical database on Regional Member Countries to support the Bank's analytical work, in the specialized fields of Economic statistics (National accounts, Prices, Government Finance, Balance of Payments, Money and Banking, Financial Flows, Trade Statistics) and Bank Group Operations statistics.
• Provide support to estimate and analyse macroeconomic aggregate on Regional Member Countries and at the regional and sub-regional levels, identify indicators, develop models, and apply statistical methods such as trend analysis, forecasting methods to estimate aggregates.
• Contribute to the production of African Economic Outlook by (i) collecting data from countries; (ii) generating country economic forecasts; (iii) producing the charts and statistical annex tables.
• Generate of economic/social/financial aggregates figures (Africa, Regions Economic Groupings,) for several indicators.
• Promote the use of the Bank Data Portal, including the use of the Highway Information System within the Bank, in Regional Member Countries and among development partners.
• Undertake activities in the Africa Information Highway Initiative (SDGs, EGDDS, High 5s).
• Assist countries in the implementation of the AIH through trainings at country and regional levels on the Open Data Portal.
• Support the Africa Infrastructure Knowledge Program team in the collection and generation of statistics and indicators on infrastructure services (Electricity, Water, Sanitation, ICT and Transport)
• Assist in developing and maintaining a framework for monitoring and evaluating development indicators to support the Results Measurement Framework for the Bank.
• Provide the statistical input for the Bank Group’s Annual Report, the African Development Report, the African Economic Outlook, the African Statistical Yearbook and other important Bank publications.
• provide statistical and analytical support to meet the operational and research needs of organizational units throughout the Bank by providing advice and assistance on use of appropriate statistical methods and techniques, on data sources, its availability and quality, and by participating in missions where statistical issues are of particular importance.
• Assist in the printing process and the dissemination of the publications within the Bank and to officials and institutions in member countries.
• Undertake field mission or other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisor or the manager.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master's Degree in Statistics, Economics or a related domain.
• Specific Degree or certificate relevant to database management systems, database software/web applications will be a plus.
• Have a minimum of four (4) years of relevant experience in the field of official statistics. Working experience should include statistical information system.
• Capability of developing and managing statistical information system.
• Strong background in quantitative methods and knowledge of data collection Methods and analysis.
• Ability to identify analysis biases (false data, data in deviation ...) and purify the database collected.
• Ability to synthesize the data collected and choose the most relevant modes of representation.
• Effective advisory skills with analytical and problem-solving capabilities
• Excellent teamwork skills and ability to interact effectively with staff members at all level
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Advanced knowledge of Excel and competence in the use of other Bank standard software applications (Word, Access and PowerPoint).