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: Principal Institutional Capacity Development Officer, RDTS
Reference: ADB/20/016
Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50083907
The Complex
- Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Directorates, one in each region of Africa: North, South, East, West, and Central.
- Each Regional Directorate is headed by a Director General (DG) and is staffed with the relevant sectoral functions and administrative capabilities for rapid delivery of services to client countries.
- The Regional Directorates provide overall strategic direction to country offices within the regions and are responsible for the Bank’s operations, business development, project management and overall effective delivery of the Bank’s High 5s agenda.
The Hiring Department
- The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) oversees the implementation of the Bank’s Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). It also coordinates lending and non-lending activities of fragility and resilience experts stationed in the various Regional Directorates and Country Offices.
- Over the past decade, Africa has seen enormous growth and transformation that has expanded opportunities and improved living conditions for millions of people. More than two-thirds of African countries have strengthened their quality of governance, improved basic services, and expanded economic opportunities. Yet, there are significant risks that this momentum could be undermined by important pressures—continuing patterns of exclusion and poverty, unemployment, high migration, rapid urbanization, climate change and poor management of natural resources—that threaten to overwhelm existing institutional capacities for managing political, economic, social and environmental challenges. These pressures are making every single African country more vulnerable.
- The mandate of RDTS is to place the Bank at the center of Africa’s efforts to address fragility and pave the way for a more resilient and inclusive development trajectory. A major part of RDTS’ activities involves the identification of the main drivers of fragility, including economic, social, political and environmental dimensions. RDTS also plays a crucial role in mainstreaming fragility considerations in the Bank’s strategies and programs, both at country and regional level, towards sustainable and inclusive development. Central to RDTS engagement is the systematic application of a fragility lens in Bank Group programming.
The Position
- Under the supervision of the RDTS Director, the main responsibility of the Principal Institutional Capacity Development Officer entails the development and the implementation of internal and external capacity building activities around the Bank’s agenda for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa.
- Her/his responsibilities also include preparation of analytical papers, fragility lens application, partnerships, resource mobilization and advocacy.
Duties and responsibilities
The Principal Institutional Capacity Development Officer will work closely with RDTS team members on the operational implementation of the Bank’s fragility agenda. Her/his duties are:
- Under the operationalization of the Bank’s strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience, prepare, implement and maintain a comprehensive capacity development plan around the Bank’s operational approach for tackling fragility, its fragility analytical tools, its financing instruments, as well as the fragility lens application.
- In coordination with appropriate Bank authorities, develop a clear and practical roadmap to foster dialogue with RMCs, assess their capacity building needs, and identify targeted entry points for building institutional resilience through capacity development programs. This includes strengthening RMCs capacities, especially those that are in conflict-affected and fragile situations, to apply the fragility lens towards the preparation of fragility-sensitive national capacity building frameworks, sectorial strategies, and development plans.
- Work with Regional Economic Communities (REC) and international development partners, as well as peace-building and humanitarian actors for the development of joint trainings and platforms of experience and information-sharing.
- Contribute to the preparation and the peer-reviewing of RDTS analytical products, including regional and national full-fledged fragility assessments, the annual Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA) Report, Economic and Sector Work (ESW) studies, as well as briefing notes.
- Contribute to RDTS team’s efforts for institutionalizing and applying the fragility lens through an appropriate mainstreaming of fragility considerations in the Bank’s strategies and operations. In close collaboration with key Bank units, she/he is expected to participate in the preparation, peer-review, and readiness reviews processes of the Country Diagnostic Notes (CDNs), Regional Diagnostic Notes (RDNs) Country Strategy Papers (CSPs), Regional Integration Strategy Papers (RISPs), Project Concept Notes (PCNs), and Project Appraisal Reports (PARs).
- Develop approaches for integrating institutional development and capacity building more comprehensively and effectively in the Bank’s lending and non-lending activities. Among others, these include the integration, in PCNs and PARs, fragility-sensitive components in investment projects promoting policy dialogue and sectorial policy reforms.
- Provide technical inputs to improve portfolio management in order to enhance project performance (cancellation of older projects, improvement of portfolio management in consultation with implementing project agencies, maintaining a continuous dialogue with governments and other development partners, training of project units, improved projects reporting system and promoting good governance, etc.)
- Support the institutionalization of the fragility lens application through the development of internal sensitization and capacity building programs for the benefit of operational, sectorial, and corporate Bank’s staff. This includes the development of training series and training accreditation modules in coordination with appropriate units in the Bank.
- Participate in the Bank’s departmental and inter-departmental working groups and provide technical inputs that help the understanding of capacity building and institutional development issues in fragile situations.
- Devise innovative and sustainable national and regional inclusive capacity building approaches to guide the Bank’s institutional capacity development interventions in fragile situations.
- Contribute to preparing relevant issues in key documents for resource mobilization, especially of the Transition Support Facility (TSF) during the replenishment and mid-term review discussions of the African Development Fund (ADF) in close coordination with relevant Bank units.
- Undertake any other assignments and tasks as requested by the Director (RDTS) and/or the Vice-President (RDVP). Such assignments may involve working with Bank teams and/or staff within or outside RDTS.
Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:
- Hold at least a Master’s or equivalent degree in Economics, Political Science, Social Sciences, International Relations, Human Resources Management, Organizational Development, Business Administration or related discipline;
- Have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience in economic research, peace and state building, social cohesion, public-private dialogue, management consulting and strong experience in developing capacity building plans and delivering training programs;
- Experience in assessing, designing, developing, delivering and evaluating training and programs for staff and RMCs Officials;
- Solid understanding of adult learning and instructional design;
- Very good knowledge of training and staff development delivery mechanisms;
- Good planning and organization skills;
- Strong familiarity with the Bank’s operations, procedures and policies, and deep knowledge of macroeconomic, economic policy and development issues in RMCs;
- Demonstrated ability to multi-task and manage their time effectively to deal with multiple demands and deadlines;
- Ability to drive training programs, mobilize resource persons, apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment;
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work across institutional boundaries with various teams in a productive way;
- Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language;
- Competence in the use of Microsoft Office software and familiarity with SAP.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Job Title: Senior Disbursement Assistant, FIFC.3
Reference: ADB/20/017
Location: Freetown, Bureau National de Sierra Leone
Grade: GS8
Position N°: 50071919
The Complex
- The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group.
- This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.
The Hiring Department / Division
- The Financial Control Department of the African Development Bank (The Bank) is responsible for accounting for the financial consequences of the Bank Group’s transactions and decisions, and for the preparation, fair presentation and overall integrity of the internal financial reports and published financial statements. The department is also responsible for loan administration and accounting and related fiduciary responsibilities, including disbursement of funds to projects and programs financed by the Bank Group. Lastly, the department provides decision support and expertise in the development and implementation of financial control policies, operational and financial strategies and related information systems.
- The primary objective of the Loan Disbursement Division is to ensure compliance with key fiduciary related articles in the Agreement Establishing the African Development Bank and Fund. Ensure that adequate controls are maintained around the disbursement of Bank Group financed project.
The Position
- Under the general supervision of the Disbursement Officer, the Senior Disbursement Assistant is primarily responsible for determination of the completeness of borrowers’ requests in accordance with the Bank’s policies and procedures, Verification of documentation and processing of disbursements or special commitment requests.
- The Incumbent provides support to negotiations, mission preparation, and disbursement seminars and ensure timely disbursements of proceeds from Bank Group and co-financed projects in accordance with relevant loan and protocol agreements and Bank Group policies.
Duties and responsibilities
Disbursement Transactions Processing:
- Analyze and determine the appropriateness of borrowers’ requests for disbursements and the supporting documentation.
- Determine whether they should be approved, reduced or rejected in accordance with Bank’s policies and procedures. This requires the identification of irregularities and non-compliance with Bank procedures and policies, as well as highlighting circumstances for further investigation where the Bank may be exposed to financial risk.
- Review and recommend changes to disbursement systems, policies and procedures to promote timeliness, accuracy and efficiency in processing while maintaining appropriate internal controls.
- Draft clear and concise correspondence to borrowers of operational staff on disbursement-related issues.
- Process special commitment amendments and prepare amendment letters.
Project Management:
- Respond to questions from Task Team Leaders, borrowers, commercial banks, and suppliers on payments, balances, and application status.
- Participate in technical discussions and loan negotiations to ensure that disbursement arrangements are compliant with Bank Group disbursement policies.
- Provide input on audit reviews, and monitor borrower compliance with audit findings, as requested by the Disbursement Officer.
- Cooperate with concerned departments and stakeholders to resolve disbursement issues promptly.
- Monitor borrowers’ utilization of special account funds, ensuring that the funds are properly accounted for and used in accordance with Bank procedures.
- Participate in loan disbursement missions to verify use of resources and resolve disbursement issues.
- Contribute to improving the efficiency of disbursement operations by ensuring that records and reports are properly maintained and updated at all times.
Capacity Building:
- Provide input into the training of Executing Agencies, Projects, and Bank Staff.
- Participate in the design of materials for disbursement seminars.
- Respond to questions regarding disbursement procedures.
- Answer questions from Task Team Leaders, borrowers, commercial banks, and suppliers on payments, balances, and application status.
Departmental / Divisional Tasks:
- Participate in departmental/divisional task forces.
- Identify issues relating to disbursement policies, procedures and guidelines and propose actions or enhancements.
- Undertake ad-hoc assignments at the discretion of the Country Manager or Division Manager.
- Participate in the review of project documents such as Appraisal Reports, CountryStrategy Papers, and Project Completion Reports and provide input to supervisors.
Selection Criteria
- Hold at least a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in Accounting or Business Administration.
- Have a minimum of six (6) years of direct relevant experience preferably in accounting in a large organization.
- Familiarity with disbursement policies, guidelines and procedures of multilateral development institutions
- Good understanding of basic general accounting concepts and principles, and their application.
- Analytical, systematic, strong numerical skills, attention to details.
- Ability to plan and coordinate schedules in order to meet tight deadlines
- Good understanding of internal control concepts and business aptitude for figures and attention to detail
- Ability to adopt new policies, systems and processes in a timely fashion.
- Good Client Orientation, Achieving Results and Problem Solving, Communication and Knowledge Sharing, Innovation and Change.
- Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French preferably with a good working knowledge of the other language.
- Proficient in the use of standard MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project Knowledge of SAP would be an advantage.
Deadline: 20th February, 2020.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Leave a Reply