Senior Agricultural Economist, AHAI6 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: Senior Agricultural Economist, AHAI6

Position Number: 50060404
Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Position Grade: PL5

The Complex

• The Agriculture, Human and Social Development (AHVP) Complex supports in implementing two of the five goals, namely “Feed Africa” and “Improve the Quality of Life for Africans”.
• The complex comprises four departments: (i) Agriculture and Agro-Industry Development (AHAI); (ii) Agriculture Finance and Rural Development (AHFR); (iii) Gender, Women and Civil Society (AHGC); and (iv) Water, Human and Social Development (AHWS).

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department provides support for the delivery of Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa, 2016-2025.
• The strategy aims to end hunger and rural poverty in the next decade through self-sufficiency in 18 priority commodity value chains specific to the continent’s agro-ecological zones.
• Realizing the objectives set forth in the strategy requires increased productivity; value addition/processing; investment in infrastructure; an enabling agribusiness environment; capital flows; and inclusivity, sustainability and effective nutrition.
• The Department Supports the effort to transform African agricultural systems for greater competitiveness, inclusivity and sustainability, and for enhanced job creation and poverty reduction.

The Position

• The Senior Agricultural Economist will contribute to the development and implementation of the Bank's strategies and projects/programs, under the “FEED AFRICA" agricultural transformation agenda, in the regional member countries. He/she will be responsible for establishing dialogue with the public authorities of regional member countries, in particular with regard to, the activities of the African Development Bank in Lusophone Countries, to support national and sectoral policies and reforms in the areas of agriculture, agro-industry, rural development, natural resource management and climate change.
• He/she will work across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries to support the delivery of development solutions for a diverse set of clients in the rural (and urban) space and in the public and private sectors in line with the Agricultural development, Agribusiness and Agro-Industry agenda of the AfDB Group.
• Using a value-chain approach, the incumbent supports the implementation of this agenda in Regional Member Countries (RMCs), with specific focus on leading design and implementation of projects which (i) promote climate smart agriculture, value chain development, value addition, primary and secondary processing of crops, fisheries and livestock; (ii) catalyze private sector entry and growth in African agribusiness; (iii) promotes agri-SME growth and the commercialization of agriculture, particularly addressing access to finance needs (iv) creates farm to fork market linkages; (v) supports the development of an agribusiness enabling environment, and; (vi) invests in hard infrastructure (including roads, markets and irrigation), soft infrastructure (human capital, i.e., trained potential employees, ICT, etc.), and enabling policies and reforms, for transformation of African agriculture into viable, profitable businesses.
• The Senior agricultural economist coordinates the delivery of client solutions and all project management aspects of the deployment of such solutions.

Key Functions
Under the direct supervision of the Regional Sector Manager, Agriculture and Agro-Industry Division (AHAI.6) of the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department, the Senior Agricultural Economist’s roles include but is not limited to:

• Develop coherent programmatic approaches in line with the Bank’s agenda, based on identified needs, priorities and requests of Regional Member Countries
• Undertake personally and leading, as required, field missions to identify, prepare, appraise and/or supervise project implementation and follow-up on Bank-financed sector studies, monitor projects’ procurement and disbursement and reporting systems to ensure that these are consistent with Bank’s rules of procedures.
• Mobilize internally and external resource for financing Feed Africa projects.
• Participate in strategy and sector policy development
• Participate in, and lead, as required, agriculture sector reviews and dialogue missions, agriculture and rural development projects formulation, preparation, mid-term reviews and project completion missions and processing.
• Contribute technical inputs in the preparation of country strategy papers and portfolio reviews, with particular reference to the agriculture and rural development sector.
• Perform the regular tasks of a “task manager” of the projects under his/her supervision,  (i) review procurement documents from regional member countries in line with the Bank’s Group’s procurement procedures and make proposals for action by the Bank and executing agencies; (ii) review project feasibility studies and progress reports and make proposals for action by the Bank and executing agencies; (iii) provide technical advice to the Bank’s Disbursement Division on the eligibility of project expenses; (iv) prepare terms of reference and select consultants for missions and supervise technical aspects of their work.
• Design technical pathways, estimate funding requirements and propose governance models that will strengthen the performance of agricultural value chains from input supply, agricultural production, harvesting, transportation, storage, marketing and distribution (including export) for greater value addition, improved quality, reduced postharvest losses and reliability of product supply to consumers.
• Carry out costs and economic analysis of Feed Africa projects proposed for the strengthening and expansion of agricultural value chains.
• Participate in initiatives and programmes to increase women and youth employment and climate smart agriculture technologies adoption by farmers in the continent.
•  Provide technical expertise in agriculture and agro-industrial development programs in the area of vocational/agricultural training and farmer extension activities, including institutional capacity building for farmer organizations such as cooperatives (with Rural Development program).
• Represent the Bank in coordination meetings with other institutions.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Division Manager or by Senior Management

Competence (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• A minimum of a Master's Degree in Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics, Agribusiness/Agriculture, Agronomy, Agriculture Sciences, or related field.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant and broad professional experience in agricultural development, project formulation, preparation, appraisal and management, with broad interest in agriculture and water management issues; experience in the Bank/multi-lateral development institutions will be an added advantage.
• Experience in partnership, economic analysis of projects and/or, resource mobilization is desirable.
• Good knowledge of challenges of agricultural development under climate change.
• Demonstrable experience of working well in teams within professional and organizational matters.
• Operational experience in Lusophone regional members countries across Africa, including states in transition.
• Proficiency in the use of COSTAB in financial and economic analysis
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French; with a working
  knowledge of the other language. Communication proficiency in Portuguese is highly desirable.
• Competence in the use of standard MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project).
  Knowledge of SAP would be an advantage.

Application Closing Date
4th December, 2023.

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