Chief Strategy and Policy Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) - Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Chief Strategy and Policy Officer

Reference: ADB/17/095
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL3
Position N°: 50093718

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the private sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization.
• The complex main functions are to (i) strengthen the enabling environment for private sector [and financial sector] development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development, (ii) support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including cities and urban development, and (iii) place renewed emphasis on industrial and trade performance in support of structural transformation across Africa.
• The Complex leverages knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments on delivering the Bank’s development agenda.

The Hiring Department

• The primary role of the Financial Sector Development Department is to help the Regional Member Countries increase the reach, depth, and breadth of their financial systems, while safeguarding financial stability. The Department has four long-term objectives: (i) development of a vibrant private sector through an inclusive access by households and enterprises to financial services; (ii) strengthening markets participants; (iii) developing efficient capital markets, and (iv) deepening regional financial integration.
• Paired with other Industrialization, infrastructure and Private Sector complex departments, the Financial Sector Development Department is responsible for implementing the Bank Group’s Financial Sector Development Policy and Strategy 2014-2019 towards vibrant, innovative, robust and competitive financial systems, both national and regional, and in both the public and private sector levels of RMCs.
• Financial Sector Development Department  plays a transversal role across the Bank’s five strategic priorities, applying its financial deepening and access tool kit to the High 5s agenda. Fundamentally, the scalability and policy momentum inherent in the H5 agenda create an important opportunity for expanded relevance of the Financial Sector Development Department core skill-set: flexible financing instruments and delivery frameworks for financial inclusion, smart resource mobilization and capital markets development. Financial Sector Development Department leverages partnerships to bring about greater developmental impact in financial sector development.

The Position
Under the supervision of the Financial Sector Director, the Strategy and policy expert will contribute to the work unit by completing a variety of tasks assigned, covering all or a combination of the following functions: the incumbent will provide critical research support in relation to the African Development Bank’s strategic framework and related work programs by:

• Analyzing data on specific country and sector programs involving non-sovereign financing and instruments;
• Analyzing different approaches to achieving strategic objectives in relations to business operations and strategic planning and frameworks;
• Analyzing economic data and statistical reports relating to financial sector development;
• Preparing analyses of various aspects of Policy documents, private sector operations, and overall performance in member countries;
• Providing support to the development of Country/ Sector and regional strategies.
• Provide inputs into internal review process, Operations committee, Credit risk committee, Standard committee for partnership, etc.
• Supporting strategic communications on or related to Bank policy and strategy;
• Supporting analytical reviews and Economic and Sector Works undertaken by the department as well as operational and non-operational complexes, where required, for purposes of providing strategy/policy-based upstream support;
• Supporting Bank’s participation in key international fora and events, through the production of briefing notes, speaking points on the financial sector;
• Coordinating with counterparts in other Departments.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Director, the Chief Strategy Policy Officer will perform the following duties:

Operational Policy Review and Dissemination:

• Provide technical support for formulating, reviewing, and evaluating the African Development Bank’s operational policies and procedures by:
  • Monitoring their application and identifying areas for improvement and/or modification;
  • Conducting supporting research; and
  • Preparing drafts of revised sections in the Operations Manual, Guidelines on Operational Procedures, and Staff Instructions.

Operations Support to Management and Coordination:

• Conduct research and prepare draft papers for management on strategic themes relating to Non-Sovereign Operations and Sovereign operations;
• Draft briefing papers and reports on the African Development Bank’s initiatives, policies and programs of member countries and other development partners, in each case, relating to Non-Sovereign Operations and Sovereign operations;
• Draft briefing papers for management on a variety of topics, when requested.

Coordination and Engagement:

• Coordinate and engage with clients, other Multilateral Development Banks, International Finance Institutions and private sector operators to establish and maintain collaboration and free flow of information.
• Coordinate and engage with staff from other Departments, including Private Sector Department, Office of the General Counsel, Office of Risk Management, the Department of Independent Development Evaluation, to ensure comprehensive and consistent response to issues raised and to be addressed.

Technical Assistance Processing and Administration:

• Provide guidance in the processing and administration of technical assistance projects for which Financial Sector Development is responsible.

Others:

• Assist in preparing presentations and speaking notes as required;
• Perform other duties that may be assigned as reflected in the incumbent’s work plan.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or equivalent in Economics, Management, Public Administration, or related fields;  
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant post graduate professional experience in public policy or Development Finance Institutions;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage;
• Working knowledge of African Development Bank procedures and policies in a wide range of areas including project processing, project administration, and general administration;
• Specific knowledge on Non-Sovereign Operations is required;
• Ability to research, analyze, and check data from external and internal sources, reconcile or explain inconsistencies and perform statistical calculations;
• Proficiency in database management methods;
• Ability to conduct analyses of operational and procedural issues and make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the department's operational work;
• Strong analytical thinking with ability to analyze relationships among several parts of a problem or situation; break down a complex task into manageable parts in a systematic way; recognize several likely causes of events or several consequences of actions; and anticipate obstacles and think ahead about next steps;
• Strong planning and organizing skills to handle many tasks with deadlines;
• Financial economic policy: demonstrates broad knowledge of economic policy development; demonstrates strong analytical skills and writing ability to help identify and assess policy issues in support of policy dialogue;
• Regional integration: demonstrated capacity in dealing with regional integration institutions and products especially. Have a track record in regional policy dialogue to push different countries and their institutions on financial sector integration agenda;
• Innovation and creativity: the commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities in order to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients;
• Communication: provides clear and concise oral and written communication; presents oral information with clarity and appropriate style and adapts language and style to suit the requirements of a particular audience;
• Problem solving: applies business knowledge to the resolution of problems and identifies solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization;
• Team working and relations: works with others to maximize the effectiveness of the team as a whole, sharing the knowledge and workload. Develops strong working relationships with colleagues and contributes to creation of a positive team environment Ability to work and cooperate with others from diverse backgrounds;
• Sector representation: demonstrates ability to coordinate, participate in, and act as a catalyst for, strategic cross-sector dialogues within the networks, across countries, among Bank colleagues and other development institutions, governments and other organizations;
• Financial Analysis: demonstrates broad knowledge of sound financial analysis work, including knowledge on economic policy development; demonstrates strong analytical skills and writing ability to help identify and assess financial sector product requirements and support;
• Regional integration: demonstrated capacity in dealing with regional integrated institutions and products especially. Have a track record in regional policy dialogue to push different countries and their institutions on financial sector integration agenda;
• Knowledge and experience in development: translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients and policy level;
• Capacity to conduct independent research and analyses, identify problems, propose solutions, and make recommendations to Management;
• Mentor and develop junior staff;
• Lead key tasks within the team and ensure timely execution;
• Anticipate potential obstacles to achieving team goals and provide insight and guidance to team members to effectively address those obstacles;
• 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 MS office applications (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint).

Application Closing Date
7th July, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online