Principal Fragility and Policy Analyst(s) - RDTS at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/18/083
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50071222 / 50001412

The Complex

• Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery (RDIBD) 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 of ‘Light up and Power Africa,’ ‘Feed Africa,’ ‘Industrialize Africa,’ ‘Integrate Africa,’ ‘Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.

The Hiring Department

• The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) is responsible for leading and implementing African Development Bank Group (the Bank) Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in its Regional Member Countries.
• It coordinates the Bank’s work on addressing fragility and building resilience, including activities of all fragility and resilience professionals stationed in the various Regional Hubs or 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. RDTS aims 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, and how the Bank’s programs and projects can contribute to equity and inclusive development.
• Central to RDTS engagement is the systematic application of a fragility lens to identify, respond to and prevent fragility and to build resilience and focus the Bank’s engagement in the areas where it can have the biggest impact.

The Position

• Under the supervision of the Director of the Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) and the Division Lead Coordinator/Fragility Expert, the role of the Principal Fragility and Policy Analyst is to review, analyze, provide analytical support, draft policy documents to highlight the main factors effecting the fragility of the client countries and engage in, and working with, the principal resilience expert to identify programs and interventions which could enhance the capacity and resilience of client countries.
• The candidate will work closely with the government counterparts in designing the interventions as well as the other respective departments of the Bank.
• The Principal Fragility and Policy Analyst will also be responsible for carrying out research and drafting Economic and Sector Work papers to identify project interventions in transition member countries in close collaboration with the Chief Economist Office of the Bank and other related departments.
• The Successful Candidate will promote and showcase the Bank’s development impact achievements in transition countries in Africa, and projecting the Bank’s image as a leader in transition countries through representation in various fora, publications, and networking with key stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Director and Lead Coordinator/Fragility Expert, the Principal Fragility Expert and Policy Analyst will:

• Review and provide comments on key documents that need to be cleared by the Director and Vice President before they are submitted to the Board or member countries.
• Review, analyse, and draft policy documents on vulnerability and fragility of selected transition member countries,
• Review and provide comments on key Bank documents,
• Review and provide comments on documents which are sent to the Operations Committee for clearance and onward transmission to the Board of Directors. These include project documents, Country Strategy Papers, Country Portfolio Performance Reviews and new Bank Group Strategies.
• Prepare briefing notes for the Director for presentation to senior management and stakeholders.
• Prepare presentations as needed for the Director.
• Monitor macroeconomic issues in the global economy as well as in Fragile countries
• Work closely with Principal Resilience Expert to develop interventions to enhance the capacity of transition countries.
• Coordinate with complexes on strategic issues.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Economics, Political Science, International Law, International Relations or related qualification.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of experience in economic research, peace and state building, social dialogue, management consulting and strong experience in the drafting and review of policy and strategy documents, particularly in multilateral institutions.
• Excellent analytical and drafting skills and demonstrated ability to communicate ideas effectively.
• Proven ability to identify and articulate policy issues, trade-offs and priorities to provide sound advice.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and demonstrated ability to work across institutional boundaries with various teams in a productive way.
• Strong familiarity with the Bank’s operations, procedures and policies, and deep knowledge of macroeconomic, economic policy and development issues in Regional Member Countries.
• Experience in coordination and facilitation of cooperation among multiple stakeholders in private, public and research sectors.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and manage their time effectively to deal with multiple demands and deadlines.
• Ability to apply innovative approaches, work independently and apply new methods to solve problems, while remaining efficient in a fast-paced, changing and challenging institutional environment.
• 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 standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint,), Knowledge of SAP is highly desirable.