Chief Strategy Officer - Agriculture, SNSP1 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 Officer - Agriculture, SNSP1

Position Number: 50076482
Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Position Grade: PL3

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-Presidency is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The Senior Vice-Presidency 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-Presidency will lead Senior Management discussions, decision-making processes and the implementation of keyboard and Management decisions.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Strategy and Operational Policy Department (SNSP) plays a key role in shaping a corporate vision and a strategic perspective for the African Development Bank as well as developing the operational policies aimed at guiding the Bank’s agenda.
• The primary roles of the department are: (i) to develop and help maintain (along with other units) corporate strategies and operational policies necessary for the Bank to deliver according to the spirit of its Charter and in line with the Bank’s Strategy, the High 5 priorities, and other strategies; (ii) to play a prominent role in keeping the Bank a strategy-focused organization in line with its policies;  (iii) to support the Bank in raising its profile and engaging strategically at international fora, as well as to foster cross-fertilization and greater coordination with other MDBs ; and, (iv) to lead the Bank in the development of a new culture of innovation and change, including the incubation of new financial/non-financial  products and business lines.

The Position
The key objectives of the position of the Chief Strategy Officer will be to:

• Support the development and implementation of Bank policies, strategies and action plans.
• Support operational sector departments in developing, and consolidating sector-specific strategies and policies in line with the Bank’s overall strategy
• Conduct or facilitate policy analysis of the different dimensions of sector plans and processes to ensure coherence of advice to management and country programmes (CSPs), project design and implementation support. 

Key Functions
Under the supervision of the Manager– Corporate Strategy and Policy, the Chief Strategy Officer will perform the following:

• Participate, as part of the core department, in corporate strategy development and its subsequent monitoring, reporting, updating and ensuring their alignment with the strategic planning directions and strategy. 
• Lead the analysis of legal, economic, policy, social and institutional frameworks related to selected sectors from the perspective of their adequacy, relevance and suitability.
• Contribute to a transformative and enabling institutional, policy and legal environment for the creation of sustainable sector dialogue through sound policy advice to both internal and external clients.
• Support the development of the Bank’s existing skillset in policy analysis to ensure that it can advise RMCs, RECs and other bodies on key levers within the overall policy matrix that are critical to driving agricultural transformation.
• Support operational sector departments in developing and consolidating sector-specific and regional strategies and action plans in line with the High 5 strategic objectives.
• Work with sectors departments, RMCs and the private sector to broaden their awareness on policy issues as well as developing innovative solutions.
• Monitor and report on the implementation of Bank group strategies.   
• Provide support to Senior Management in the formulation of strategic policy objectives and ensure their alignment with the strategic planning orientations and the Bank Strategy 2024-2033.
• Provide support to the office of the President as required, especially on recent policy developments, and on the Bank’s response to emerging international issues. 
• Support Strategic communications related to the Bank group strategies and policies. 
• Initiate and take lead in the Bank’s knowledge management effort especially in areas of finance, private sector development and macro-economic management. 
• Provide leadership to junior staff, consultants and interns.   
• Attend, where necessary, local, regional or national meetings on behalf of the Department.
• Undertake any other assignments as may be assigned by the Division Manager or Director.

Competencies (Skills, Experience, and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master’s Degree or its equivalent in Economics, Macroeconomics or Development Economics, Finance, Strategic Management, Engineering or related development fields and a broad knowledge of development issues in Africa.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience as a development specialist; sector specific specialisation (agriculture, private sector, infrastructure, industry, etc) will be an added advantage.
• Solid experience in leading and coordinating the development of corporate policies, strategies and other directional documents.
• Ability to develop corporate policies, strategies and other directional documents.
• Client and results oriented individual with a “can do” attitude;
• Effective consulting, analytical and advisory skills that enable and support the work of clients in rural development.
• Ability to work independently with little supervision
• Good understanding of development economics and specificities of Regional Members Countries.
• Experience with multilateral development banks and international organizations is an asset.  
• Experience and exposure to infrastructure and operational issues, and ability to provide advice, assistance and advice on these issues, will be an advantage.
• Ability to work collaboratively with several teams of multi-cultural backgrounds, both internally and externally to the Bank.
• Ability to manage multiple and simultaneous and shifting demands, priorities and tight deadlines.
• Innovation and creativity, communication and problem-solving skills, operational effectiveness and teamwork capability.
• 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) and preferably SAP.

Application Closing Date
17th July, 2024.

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