Job Vacancies at African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

Reference: ADB/20/177
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50000942

The Complex

• Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Directorates, one in each region of Africa: North, South, East, West, and Central. Each Regional Directorate is headed by a Director General (DG) and 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 agenda.

The Hiring Department

• The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) oversees the implementation of the Bank’s Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). It also coordinates lending and non-lending activities of fragility and resilience experts stationed in the Bank’s Regional Directorates and Country Offices as well as external partners such as the Regional Economic Communities (RECs); the African Union Commission (AUC); Specialized Regional Bodies such as Basin Commissions, Sahel Alliance and others; the United Nations System (UNS); Development Partners; Foundations; Civil Society Organizations; and other Partners.
• Over the past decade, Africa has seen enormous growth and transformation that has expanded opportunities and improved living conditions for millions of people. More than two-thirds of African countries have strengthened their quality of governance, improved basic services, and expanded economic opportunities. Yet, there are significant risks that this momentum could be undermined by important pressures—continuing patterns of exclusion and poverty, unemployment, high migration, rapid urbanization, climate change and poor management of natural resources—that threaten to overwhelm existing institutional capacities for managing political, economic, social and environmental challenges. These pressures are making every single African country more vulnerable.
• The mandate of RDTS is to place the Bank at the center of Africa’s efforts to address fragility and pave the way for a more resilient and inclusive development trajectory. A major part of RDTS’ activities involves the identification of the main drivers of fragility, including economic, social, political and environmental dimensions. RDTS also plays a crucial role in mainstreaming fragility considerations in the Bank’s strategies and programs, both at country and regional level, towards sustainable and inclusive development. Central to RDTS engagement is the systematic application of a fragility lens in Bank Group programming.

The Position

• Under the supervision of the RDTS Director, the main responsibility of the Principal Fragility and Resilience Officer entails the design of fragility interventions into Bank Group operations at the regional and national level as well as the programme and project level to ensure that the Bank’s agenda for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa is mainstreamed into Bank operations.
• Her / his responsibilities also include preparation of analytical papers, fragility lens application, fragility assessments, building partnerships, resource mobilization and policy advocacy.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Principal Fragility and Resilience Officer will work closely with other RDTS team members on the operationalization of the Bank’s Fragility Agenda. Her/his duties are:

• Under the operationalization of the Bank’s strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience, prepare and undertake Fragility Assessments (FA) based on the Country Resilience Fragility Assessment (CRFA) Tool with a view to mainstreaming the Bank’s operational approach for tackling fragility, its fragility analytical tools, its financing instruments, as well as the fragility lens application.
• In coordination with appropriate Bank authorities, develop a clear and practical roadmaps to foster dialogue with RMCs on drivers of fragility which will have arisen from the assessments with a view to  identifying targeted entry points for building institutional capacities and resilience through design and implementation of mitigation measures. This includes strengthening RMCs capacities, especially those that are in conflict-affected and fragile situations, to apply the fragility lens towards the preparation of fragility-sensitive national programmes, frameworks, sectorial strategies, and development plans.
• Work with Regional Economic Communities (REC) and international development partners, as well as peace-building and humanitarian actors for the development of joint collaboration platforms for exchange of experiences and information-sharing on issues, dynamics and best practices around the African fragility agenda.
• Contribute to the preparation and the peer-reviewing of RDTS analytical products, including regional and national Full-Fledged Fragility Assessments (3FFAs), the annual Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA) Report, Economic and Sector Work (ESW) studies, as well as briefing notes as relevant to facilitating informed interventions in addressing fragility.
• Contribute to RDTS team’s efforts for institutionalizing and applying the fragility lens through an appropriate mainstreaming of fragility considerations in the Bank’s strategies and operations. In close collaboration with key Bank Sectoral and Operational Departments / Units, including Regional Delivery Hubs and Country Offices, participate in the preparation, peer-review, and readiness reviews processes of the Country Diagnostic Notes (CDNs), Regional Diagnostic Notes (RDNs) Country Strategy Papers (CSPs), Regional Integration Strategy Papers (RISPs), Project Concept Notes (PCNs), and Project Appraisal Reports (PARs) to ensure fragility is mainstreamed into Bank operations.
• Develop approaches for integrating fragility assessments more effectively in the Bank’s lending and non-lending activities. Among others, these include the integration of fragility, in PCNs and PARs, fragility-sensitive components in investment projects promoting policy dialogue and sectorial policy reforms.
• Provide technical inputs to improve portfolio management in order to enhance project performance (cancellation of older projects, improvement of portfolio management in consultation with implementing project agencies, maintaining a continuous dialogue with governments and other development partners, training of project units, improved projects reporting system and promoting good governance, etc.)
• Support the institutionalization of the fragility lens application through the development of internal sensitization for the benefit of Bank operational, sectorial, and corporate  staff. This includes the development of training series and training accreditation modules on the CRFA, FAs and Fragility Lens in coordination with appropriate units in the Bank.
• Participate in the Bank's departmental and inter-departmental working groups and provide technical inputs that help the understanding and mainstreaming of fragility issues and approaches in the design, validation and implementation of Bank interventions in countries facing fragile situations.
• Devise innovative and sustainable national and regional inclusive approaches to dealing with fragility to guide the Bank’s Fragility Agenda and development interventions in transition States.
• Contribute to preparing key documents for resource mobilization, especially for the Transition Support Facility (TSF) during the replenishment and mid-term review discussions of the African Development Fund (ADF) in close coordination with relevant Bank units.
• Undertake any other assignments and tasks as may be assigned by the Director (RDTS) and / or the Vice-President (RDVP). Such assignments may involve working with Bank teams and / or staff within or outside RDTS.

Selection Criteria
The successful candidate is expected to have the following qualifications and competencies:

• Hold at least a Master's or equivalent degree in Economics, Political Science, Social Sciences, International Relations, Human Resources Management, Organizational Development, Business Administration or related discipline;
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience in economic research, peace and state building, social cohesion, public-private dialogue, management consulting and strong experience in developing and delivering programs in fragility including assessments, modelling, sensitivity analysis and applications;
• Experience in assessing, designing, developing, delivering and evaluating programmes, projects and interventions to address drivers of fragility in RMCs, RECs, Basin Organizations and other Specialized Agencies dealing with fragility;
• Solid understanding of fragility issues, dynamics and complexities and experience in designing and delivering mitigation measures including problem solving;
• Creativity and innovation in dealing with the rapidly changing landscape of fragility across the world and across Africa (such as COVID-19) and ability to adapt to and operate in a rapidly changing environment;
• Good planning, organization and inter-personal skills;
• Strong familiarity with the Bank’s operations, procedures and policies, and deep knowledge of macroeconomic, economic policy and development issues in RMCs;
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and manage their time effectively to deal with multiple demands and deadlines among competing needs and priorities;
• Ability to drive training programs, mobilize resource persons, apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work across institutional boundaries within multi-sectoral teams in a productive way;
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language;
• Competence in the use of Microsoft Office software and familiarity with SAP.

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Reference: ADB / 20 / 176
Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Grade: PL2
Position N°: 50093679

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-President is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve it strategic objective, and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results
• The Senior Vice-President will provide effective leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions
• The Senior Vice-President will lead senior management discussions, decisions-making process and the implementation of key board and management decisions.

The Hiring Department / Division
The Senior Vice-President supervises the Fiduciary Services and Inspection  Department, which acts as the custodian of the procurement (including procurement for private and public partnership) and financial management profession, and has the following responsibilities for its functions:

• Developing and interpreting fiduciary policy, strategy and related implementing documents (Manuals and Tools), including serving as the secretariat of the Procurement Review Committee (PRC);
• Providing fiduciary support to operations complexes (Sector Departments, Directorate General) during the whole project cycle, including country strategy papers, to ensure that fiduciary arrangements comply with Bank Fiduciary (Procurement and FM) policies and procedures;
• Developing and implementing fiduciary capacity building strategy for Bank  Staff and Regional Member Countries (RMCs);
• Inspecting and reporting on the performance of fiduciary activities undertaken by sector departments and the regions, including preparing annual post review reports on these activities for Board presentation that will contribute to building credibility and trust of the Bank in the countries and with other stakeholders; and
• Dialoguing with external and global partners with a view to building partnerships and fostering harmonization.

The Position
Under the general supervision of the Director, Fiduciary Services and Inspection,  the incumbent will play a leading role in:

• The design of a comprehensive and structured body of financial management policies and procedures applicable to Bank’s financed projects and programs, including revising the current framework or conceiving additional policies, strategies or guidelines on financial management and coordination of the quality assurance of FM work;
• The implementation of aid effectiveness agenda through harmonization of donors practices and encouraging the use of country public financial management systems on one hand and supporting the capacity building strategy of oversight institutions at the continental level on the other hand;
• The conception of specific financial management policies and procedures destined to support the High 5s and the Ten Years Strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Play a leading role in developing, reviewing, updating and implementing changes in the Bank’s financial management (FM) policies, procedures and guidelines regarding the fiduciary safeguards.
• Influence the design and execution of major policy initiatives in the region and across the Bank
• Conceive, develop and promote innovations in Bank policies on financial management to improve its involvement and borrower’s accountability on FM issues.
• Oversee the development of policy and strategies for financial management thematic areas in Regional Member Countries in consultation with relevant government agencies.
• Provide leadership in conducting dialogue with government officials in Regional Member Countries on policy and reforms with respect to the areas of financial management.
• Lead and/or participates in ground-breaking or precedent setting missions and plays a key role in developing innovative practical approaches to difficult policy and operational issues at the Regional, Country and/or Sectoral levels.
• Develop strategies for harmonizing financial management approaches with other donors, playing a leading role in departmental or institutional task forces on developing and implementing policies and practices, FM safeguards and the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes.
• Represent, at the request of the Director, the function in global Financial Management Harmonization working groups
• Act as resource person on financial management issues, providing interpretation of related Bank guidelines, resolution of complex financial management issues.
• Define the Bank strategy on supporting the accountability institutions as Professional Accountancy Organizations, Supreme Audit Institutions, Parliaments and Civil Society Organisations in close consultation with the International Federation of Accountants, the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions and other development partners;
• Serve as the focal point or spokesperson on financial management policy issues with clients and borrowers, other external constituencies and expert groups from the other Multilateral Development Banks.
• Develop training plans and materials for Bank staff on financial management policy and procedures issues;
• Represent, at the request of the Director, the Fiduciary Services and Inspection Department in thematic working groups with respect to financial management or in policy peer-review from other departments;
• Prepare documents for consideration by the Board on financial management documents on policy and strategy;
• Contribute to preparing the Annual Report of the Bank and the various other bank reports; including contribution to report on implementation of the financial management related Policy approved by the Board of Executive Directors;
• Supervise, mentor, and coach policy FM staff under his/her responsibility.

Selection Criteria

• A minimum of a Master's Degree or its equivalent in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Economics or a related discipline and a minimum of a professional accounting certification (CPA, CA, ACCA, Expert Comptable Diplomé);
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience, with particular expertise in designing, supporting and implementing financial management operations of which at least three (3) in international financial Institutions.
• Sound knowledge of the African Development Bank’s Operational and Financial Management Policies and Procedures or other similar development institution.
• Experience in supporting private sector operations (banking, auditing, finance, microfinance institutions, agriculture, electricity, water) would be an added advantage;
• Proven ability to implement country or sector level financial management analytical and capacity building initiatives;
• An understanding of cross-cutting issues beyond financial management (e.g. procurement, governance, donors’ practices) at sector/country/regional level;
• Advanced and broad knowledge of all aspects of financial management: among others:
  • Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, International Public Sector Accounting Standards, International Standards on Auditing, International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions;
  • Extensive experience with internal control systems and procedures; and
  • Extensive experience in auditing including assessing auditors competence.
• Good knowledge of key aid effectiveness issues especially harmonization of donors’ practices and alignment to borrowers’ systems;
• Flexible approach with the ability to use own initiative and respond to stakeholders needs;
• Demonstrable ability to quickly pick new tasks and communicate complex and technical concepts effectively;
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications.