Principal Enterprise Development 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. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 - 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5s), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Enterprise Development Officer

Reference: ADB/17/392
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50093725

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 strengthen the enabling environment for private sector [and financial sector] development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development, support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including cities and urban development, and 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

• In line with the Bank Ten-Year Strategy, and consistent with the Bank’s Industrialization Strategy for Africa, the Division drives the Bank’s interventions in Africa through the implementation of priority programs to scale-up and accelerate industrial transformation in Africa.
• Through strategic partnerships with other co-financiers, the Private Sector, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Division actively seeks to support governments in adjusting their national industrial policies, identifying potential sectors for industrial development and investment, and providing support for value chain development, advisory and technical assistance as well as operational support through sectoral expertise to operational teams in Regional Hubs.
• This will cover non-sovereign operations, advisory and technical assistance pertaining to the industry clusters, investments in Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and linkage projects, establishment of a facility to increase liquidity in African capital markets, technical assistance for capital markets and Public-Private Partnership-targeted projects and special initiatives and activities dedicated to promoting strategic partnerships.
• In addition, the Division strives to facilitate government and private sector dialogue to foster coordination between all the industrialization stakeholders.

The Position

• The job of Principal Enterprise Development Officer which reports to the Manager Industrial Development is key to the Bank’s contribution to developing an effective support structure for enterprise entry and expansion, with particular focus on Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs).
• The key objective of the job is to increase lines of credits to SMEs, provide technical assistance to SME-focused entities, and facilitate and implement linkage projects in the Bank’s relevant private sector investments, to connect SMEs to larger and more established businesses.
• The Principal Enterprise Development Officer is responsible for the implementation of flagship # 4 of the Bank’s Industrialization Strategy aimed at promoting and driving enterprise development, especially SMEs.
• This would include scaling-up investment and financing to lend to SMEs, Technical Assistance support to strengthen SME-focused entities, and linkage projects between SMEs and large projects or established companies.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the general guidance and supervision of the Manager, Industrial Development, the Principal Enterprise Development Officer will perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Scale-up investments and financing to lend to SMEs by:
  • Increasing portion of Lines of Credit (LoCs) that benefit to SMEs in early stage - “Starting and Growing a Business” (SGB) phase;
  •  Scaling-up the size of the existing SME program through increased LoCs to local financial institutions to reach USD 40 million (vs. 10 million in 2015);
  • Investigating the feasibility of deploying Venture Capital equity investment benefiting SMEs;
  • Streamlining the approval process to take ~6 months; and
  • Reviewing and setting-up KPIs aligned with objectives (e.g. SMEs beneficiaries in SGB phase).
• Provide technical assistance support to strengthen SME-focused entities by pooling together existing resources (SME program, Fund for African Private Sector Assistance, Africa Fast Track Initiative), and scaling-up technical assistance to SME-focused entities, including financial institutions and incubators.
• Link SMEs to large projects and established companies by:
  • Developing an attractive operating framework to efficiently partner up with large enterprises;
  • Scaling-up linkage projects and introducing them in relevant Private Sector operations;
  • Strengthening the existing bid-platform to connect SMEs to major enterprises, across Africa.
• Develop and roll out a streamlined approval process for SME support projects.
• Develop an operating framework to partner with large enterprises to execute linkage projects.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Economics, Finance, Business Administration and/or related fields.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant work experience working in the field of SME-development.
• Experience in the field of SME finance and related issues with demonstrated ability to engage on a range of issues in developing countries including advice on both SME development and funding.
• Track record of achievements ideally in collaboration with Regional Member Countries (RMCs), Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and other development partners in the field of SMEs development.
• Exposure to, or knowledge of, Bank’s existing SME Program, Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), Africa Fast Track Initiative (AFTI) is desirable.
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Client focus and commitment to results.
• Team player with good problem solving and analytical skills, with an ability to execute the tasks timely and effectively.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills with an ability to interact with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
• Work independently under general direction of the Division Manager and guide operational staff in the regional hubs.
• Deep technical knowledge in SME development as demonstrated by successful work experience.
• Sound analytical, organizational, project management and negotiation skills and the ability to conduct training and workshops/seminars.
• Strong SME finance experience in the industrial and services sectors.
• Recognized by peers for providing high quality, pragmatic advice to internal and external clients on SMEs development.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint). Knowledge of SAP is desirable.

Application Closing Date
28th September, 2017.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online