Unit Head - Non-Sovereign Credit Risk 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: Unit Head - Non-Sovereign Credit Risk - PGRF1

Reference: ADB/18/179
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Position N°: 50092840
Grade: PL2

The Complex
The President, plans, supervises and manages the business of the Bank Group. Under the direction of the Boards of Directors, the President conducts the business of the Bank and the African Development Fund and manages operations and activities in accordance with the Agreements establishing the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund. The President supervises several Departments and Units including Office of the President; Independent Development Evaluation Department; Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department; Compliance Review and Mediation Unit; Secretariat to the Sanctions Appeals Board; Administrative Tribunal ; Office of the Auditor General; Group Risk Management Directorate;General Counsel and Legal Services Department; Communication and External Relations Department ; Staff Integrity and Ethics Officeand Office of the Secretary General & General Secretariat.

The Hiring Department

• The Risk Management Directorate (PGRF) develops policies and guidelines, methodologies and systems relating to credit risk assessment, market Risk and Operational Risk and as well as ensures internal consistency of all of the Bank’s risk management policies and guidelines, including those initiated and developed by other departments.
• The Directorate’s main mandate is to safeguard the Bank’s financial integrity and consolidate all core risk management activities of the Bank in order to exercise comprehensive oversight over the Bank’s risk exposure. In delivering its mission, PGRF focuses largely on promoting the Bank Group’s strategic goals within a defined risk tolerance framework.

The Position

• The Unit Head - Non-Sovereign Credit Risk has the roader mandate of Risk Management Function include:
• Ensure adequate assessment of credit risk of new non-sovereign operations as well as regular review of the Bank’s non-sovereign credit portfolio;
• Develop policies and guidelines, methodologies and systems relating to non-sovereign credit risk assessment and management for the Bank;
• Ensure internal consistency of all Bank’s non-sovereign credit risk policies and guidelines including those initiated and developed by other Departments;
• Monitor and report on compliance with policies and guidelines; and
• Contribute to the development of strategic risk metrics and a risk culture within the organization through the following: (i) Better manage the risk profile of the Bank’s non-sovereign portfolio to protect the Bank’s AAA credit rating and reputation; and (ii) Strengthen the Bank’s internal risk framework by improving credit processes.

Duties and responsibilities
Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Director PGRF, the Unit Head performs the following:

Manages and supervises the staff of the Unit by:

• Planning, organizing and coordinating the activities of the Unit;
• Setting the overall objectives and leading the development of the work program;
• Overseeing the execution of the work program and ensuring that deadlines are met;
• Reviewing and recommending changes to the work program;
• Reviewing and monitoring the timely completion of tasks assigned to staff;
• Determining training needs and leading the development of credit risk capacity building programs;
• Providing coaching, mentoring and conflict resolution;
• Evaluating staff performance and ensuring the achievement of departmental objectives; and
• Ensuring the technical competency, professionalism and high ethical standards for all staff members.

Leads the organization of the Credit Risk Committee by:

• Supervising the CRC secretariat
• Ensuring smooth processing of the CRC’s activities
• Overseeing the preparation of the CRC’s annual report
• Overseeing the updating of the CRC’s terms of reference and working procedures
• Providing analytical support to the CRC and OpsCom as well as the technical working groups;

Leads the development of the non-sovereign credit risk management policies and strategies by:

• Proposing goals and strategies to ensure sound banking management of credit risk in AfDB’s non-sovereign operations and compliance with AfDB’s group strategy;
• Proposing credit risk assessment and monitoring processes and methodologies;
• Developing and promulgating portfolio review methodologies, policies and guidelines for the Bank's private sector loan, guarantee and equity investment operations with a particular focus on credit risk portfolio review, credit standards, exposure limits, risk based pricing; and
• Proposing credit risk models and systems including inputs to the Bank’s capital adequacy policy.

Leads credit risk management for new non-sovereign operations by:

• Proposing a risk rating to all proposed Bank non-sovereign lending operations, guarantees, and equity investments;
• Providing advice and recommendations to operations in structuring each proposal, and providing appropriate risk mitigants for new proposed loan transactions, guarantee and equity investment operations;
• Advising on the appropriate pricing in the light of the risk, structure and market conditions and advise on fair entry price equity valuations;
• Ensuring that the approval of each new transaction complies with the credit process;
• Monitoring compliance of loan amounts for non-sovereign operations with prescribed exposure limits;
• Guiding and assisting with the integrity and anti-money laundering approach; formulating and promulgating sector and product credit management policies and guidelines; and monitoring and reporting on compliance thereof;
• Leads credit risk management for the Bank’s existing non-sovereign portfolio by:
• Reviewing the credit risks of all existing Bank lending, guarantee, and equity investment operations and regularly updating their credit ratings;
• Monitoring of the performance of the Bank’s equity portfolio, overseeing the periodic equity valuation exercise and ensuring valuation methodology compliance with internal policies and best industry practice;
• Alerting the Chief Risk Officer, Country and Sector Directors and SOU Head when there is a serious credit deterioration in an operation and when there are imminent defaults of borrowers in the Bank’s portfolio;
• Providing independent strategic advice to operations and risk teams concerning assets whose quality is deteriorating, especially if the asset quality becomes such that rehabilitation is required (projects classified as “rehabilitation”);
• Evaluating the adequacy of provisions for non-sovereign projects and recommending their adjustment as necessary;
• Liaise with functional counterparts at other institutions, including multilateral organizations, commercial banks, the Bretton Woods Institutions and fund management companies:
• Exchanging ideas on credit risk management policies, guidelines, processes and methodologies;
• Organizing forums, seminars and other initiatives to keep up-to-date on best industry practice;
• Sharing views on credit risk assessment policies and guidelines; and
• Sharing views on credit issues related to new projects or co-financed transactions;

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master’s degree or equivalent in Risk Management, International Finance or Economics
• Have a minimum of 8 years work experience of which 3 years have been spent in private sector banking or multilateral development banking
• Good knowledge of credit risk management, analysis, deal structuring and negotiation
• Hands-on experience of credit risk assessment, deal negotiation and structuring in emerging and underdeveloped markets
• High degree of personal commitment, interpersonal skills with clear strategic vision and proven communication, leadership, management and supervisory skill
• 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
• 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.
• Operational effectiveness: The Commitment to ensure that full use is made of the systems, procedures and culture within the organization in order to deliver the required results
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to analyse complex information to identify the key issue/action and drive resolution
• Considerable knowledge and experience of best practice risk management
• 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 Suite applications (Word, Excel, Access and Power Point); knowledge of SAP (or other integrated document management system or quantitative and qualitative data analysis packages is an added advantage

Application Closing Date
16th October, 2018.

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

Note: This position is classified International status and attracts international terms and conditions of employment.