Vacancies at African Development Bank

THE POSITION

The core responsibilities of this position is to identify business opportunities and structure transactions related to private investments in transport and urban development infrastructures and services and originate projects for Bank financing.  The primary location for this position is Nairobi, Kenya.  But depending on the selected candidate’s skill sets (e.g. language) and expertise, the other location can be considered.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Division Manager the Chief investment officer will

Project Development and Processing

• Liaise and coordinate with other Investment Officers and Bank staff in business development and the origination of a good quality investment pipeline.
• Proactively identify potential investment partners and opportunities based on industry experience, reputation, market potential, financial capability, and strategic fit.
• Assess the attractiveness of specific investment opportunities with a strong focus on credit quality and development impact and make recommendations management.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with other departments, clients, banking and multilateral partners and government officials to develop specific investment opportunities.
• Prepare project concept notes and appraisal reports for presentation to the department, review committees, senior management and finally the Board of Directors.
• Execute loans, guarantees or equity financing including processing mandates, conducting due diligence, structuring deals, negotiating terms and documentation, arranging syndications, and processing internal approvals.
• Coordinate with sector colleagues, the internal approvals to proactively find pragmatic solutions to emerging/specific sector challenges.
• Develop investment promotion strategies in Africa, including targeting potential investors and promoting AfDB’s products and services proactively.
• Work with the legal department to ensure that all deals have appropriate legal documentation and that financial close is achieved, and hand over projects to portfolio management staff.

Design specific innovative transactions, projects and initiatives

• Undertakes the work on aspects of investments and infrastructure development and aligns them with institutional objectives.
• Works with regional teams/country offices to design and implement sector development support programs.
• Evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close new transactions, with a strong focus on credit and asset quality (include processing mandates, due diligence, negotiating term sheets and other documentation, syndications and board approval).
• Provide support to others and portfolio teams in processing and supervising projects

External Liaison and Knowledge Sharing

• Contribute to the documentation of lessons learned from investment operations and emerging best practices in areas of expertise
• Participate in and contribute to information and experience sharing sessions with internal and external stakeholders
• Participate in and contribute to activities for advocacy, dissemination and knowledge building relating to AfDB’s investments/operations, products and initiatives.
• Provide peer review to other colleagues to share industry knowledge and information on respective sector
• Provide technical leadership and support to knowledge and lesson sharing approaches and events with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, banking and multilateral partners and government officials to develop specific investment opportunities.

Policy and Project Evaluation

• Provide input and comments on project, policy and other papers related to respective sector operations and development across a range of key themes and sectors.

Strategy, Planning and Reporting

• Participate in relevant teams for planning and programming purposes.
• Contribute to develop sector strategies at regional level
• Assist in the development of the relevant Department’s knowledge management strategy and assist in execution of the strategy.
• Coordinate closely with social, environmental, advisory and technical assistance colleagues in order to champion AfDB’s value to our clients’ businesses, find pragmatic solutions to the specific sector challenges, and achieve sustainable development impact.

COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge)

• At least a Master Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics or in related areas, a professional qualification such as: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Accountant (ACCA) is an added advantage.
• Have a minimum of Seven (7) Years of professional experience in financial structuring and infrastructure project finance origination gained from a Commercial/Investment Bank, Development Finance Institution, Infrastructure/Private Equity Fund, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Project Developer, established Accounting/Consulting Firm.
• Having private sector experience is mandatory. Working experience in multinational organization or similar organization/s in Africa and emerging markets would be considered an advantage.
• Proven ability to identify, process, and negotiate complex transactions in the infrastructure sector from a private sector standpoint and in particular related to transportation assets and services.
• Thorough understanding of the Transport infrastructure and related services, in particular, Ports, Airports, Highways and Mass Transit Systems, and Infrastructure markets.  A familiarity of PPP infrastructure project development is an advantage.
• Strong analytical and financial structuring/ modeling skills as well as sound business judgment.
• Demonstrates ability to coordinate, participate in, and act as a catalyst for, strategic cross-sector dialogues within the networks, across the country, among Bank colleagues and other development institutions, governments and other organizations.
• A familiarity with climate finance and project development experience in climate resilient infrastructure is an would be considered a strong advantage.
• Ability to contribute to sound decisions and contribute to the execution of the decisions
• Ability to initiate, effectively and independently interact with the senior government officials, senior management of potential clients
• Strong commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities in order to enhance performance and create added benefits to the Bank and its clients.
• Excellent problem-solving capabilities applies business knowledge to the resolution of problems and identifies solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization.
• Excellent organizational, administrative, and time management skills
• Proven ability to work with limited supervision and efficiently to deliver under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing effectively in English and/or French. A good knowledge of the other working languages, e.g. Arabic, Portuguese, is desirable.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint).

Closing: 31 July 2022

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THE POSITION:

The Senior Gender Officer will be based in Nairobi, Kenya and will support the effective operationalization of gender mainstreaming within (i) the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2013-2022 and (ii) the High-5 priorities areas, in support of gender mainstreaming in Bank operations at regional level.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the direct supervision of the Division Manager, AHGC.1, the Senior Gender Officer, will provide support to mainstream and promote gender equality and women empowerment. The responsibilities of the Senior Gender Officer – include, but are not limited to the following:

• Mainstream gender issues at all stages of the project cycle, from planning to monitoring and evaluation;
• Assist in the inclusion of gender in all programs/projects or any related activities, ensuring gender balance in project staff teams, training, and beneficiaries;
• Assist in developing indicators to monitor the gender impact of Bank supported projects using the Gender Marker System;
• Assess the potential gender impact of proposed projects, review impact of on-going projects and propose mitigating measures;
• Participate in operational missions and the drafting of project documents in order to promote the implementation of the Bank’s gender strategy, ensure that women are consulted and enhance the level of gender analysis of programs/projects;
• Work with Task managers to develop innovative approaches to gender stand-alone operations;
• Collect and make available to the Country Offices gender-related information on each of these countries (for example in the form of country-level “Gender Profiles”);
• Develop studies and any preparatory documents related to gender for the purpose of project formulation, supervision and post-evaluation;
• Develop Terms of Reference for knowledge products related to gender assessments and analysis;
• Contribute to research and studies relevant to gender policy development and implementation and/or contribute to gender sensitization and skill building activities;
• Liaise with key gender-related NGOs, multilateral, national and regional institutions and any relevant stakeholders in countries served by the Regional Office for purposes of partnerships, information sharing, networking and potential operational collaborations;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge):

• Hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in Gender Studies, International Development, Finance Development, Economics or closely related disciplines. Relevant qualification in development project management and project finance is a plus;
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience on gender and social inclusion in the development space and experience in project management;
• Demonstrate understanding of regional social issues, analysis and policy formulation; knowledge of the practices of major bilateral and multilateral partner development agencies in African countries is an added advantage;
• Demonstrate experience in private sector development, entrepreneurship and support to women SMEs;
• Demonstrate strong communication and organization skills, dealing with various stakeholders with different backgrounds and capacity to perform in complex situations;
• Ability to build effective working relationships in a diverse multicultural environment;
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is desirable.

Closing: 9 July 2022

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THE POSITION:

The AfDB is looking to recruit a Regional Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) Lead for each of the five regions - Central, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western regional offices, and for the Nigeria Country Office. NSO refers to a combination of private sector and state-owned enterprise (SOE) financing, where the latter is without a government guarantee.  The Regional NSO Lead (RNL) is responsible for business development, operationalizing, supporting and coordinating the implementation of the Bank’s NSO and private sector development strategy in the region.  The Bank’s NSO activities have been on a strong upwards trend in recent years. Recent independent evaluations have stressed the strengths of the Bank’s approach and highlighted areas where improvements are needed. The Bank’s new Private Sector Development Strategy 2020-2025 (the PSD Strategy) is intended to underpin its engagement with governments and private sector operators and to drive the Bank’s Private Sector Development agenda. This position will be critical in implementing this strategy, working within the framework of the Bank’s OneBank approach, and closely with both public and private actors.

The Regional NSO Lead will play a critical role in cascading down the Bank’s PSD Strategy at regional and country level. He/she will work in close collaboration with the Director General, Country Managers, NSO Sector Directors and Managers, and Governance Director and Country Economists, to ensure consistency and coherence in the Bank’s PSD Strategy implementation in the regions and in the countries. He/she will work with public sector and private sector teams to develop synergy in the Bank’s work. This is important to ensure that Private Sector issues are considered during upstream Sovereign Operations (SO) policy, regulatory and business environment activities to make the markets more attractive to private sector investors.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the VP PIVP, the Regional NSO Lead will perform the following, but not limited to:

• Focal point for Director Generals (DGs), NSO Sector Directors (NSDs), Country Managers (CMs) and NSO Sector Managers (NSMs) for all Private Sector (PS) and Non-Sovereign Operations (NSO) in the region;
• In consultation with the DG and Country Managers, while conferring with the NSDs and NSMs, ensure PS and NSO dimensions are adequately captured in the Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) as well as the Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) for the respective countries and region, as well as lead in the development and design of the Country Private Sector Profiles (CPSPs);
• Collaborate with the AIF team and in coordination with DGs and CMs in identifying a pipeline of projects to be presented at the African Investment Forum. In relevant countries, the RNL will also advise on the implementation of the Lusophone compact and on the identification of its pipeline;
• Lead, after consultation with the DGs and NSDs (as well as others as appropriate such as CMs and as appropriate NSMs and Country Coordinators), in finalizing the NSO IOP (Indicative Operations Plans for each year) for the Region;
• Focal point in the OneBank matrix structure to: (i) consolidate and inform DGs on all PS and NSO activities in the Region; (ii) serve as the focal supporting senior resource to all Sector Complexes regarding PS and NSO in the regions;
• Advise DGs and CMs on the management of headroom for NSOs in each region and country, and devise approaches for risk transfer and mitigation working with the appropriate departments such as FIST;
• In close collaboration with DGs, CMs and NSDs, and working with the Governance Department of ECVP (our Economics & Governance Complex) and the Country Economist, actively support policy dialogue at country and regional level with respect to PS and NSO;
• Advise DGs and CMs on policy dialogue with the authorities and with RECs on policy issues affecting private sector development and investment climate;
• Develop and design country and region-specific PS and NSO information notes and briefs to inform plans for integrated investment and TA operations, including sector priorities and business targets;
• Support the implementation of the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS), Financial Sector Development Strategy (FSDS), as well as PS aspect of the Strategy for Economic Governance in Africa (SEGA) in the region and the countries;
• Support PS upstream work as well as TA activities at country and regional level;
• Lead PS and NSO business development activities at country and regional level for single-country or domestic clients (and African regional clients based in their regions of coverage), and strategically support NSO portfolio management;
• Work closely with NSMs by supporting origination activities on the ground, especially with respect to identifying clients and business opportunities, validation, integrity due diligence of clients, local pipeline development, and support for proactive portfolio management through client relationship management in line with the Bank’s institutional priorities;
• Develop and manage relationships with stakeholders, including key clients (governments and private companies) at the highest level of seniority and position the Bank as the partner of choice to support high development impact projects at country and regional level, including transformative integrated industrialization projects;
• Build up relationships with key stakeholders (including relevant regulators, businesses, NGOs, PE Funds, and investors);
• Identify areas where the Bank can catalyze market development through innovation based on a thorough understanding of local markets and best practice from the Bank’s regional experience, as well as the potential of harnessing synergies between the Bank’s SO and NSO;
• Lead/coordinate the development of client engagement strategies for select existing and new strategic clients;
• For all investments and TA programs in the region, review and validate Bank’s added-value, development impact and fit with Bank’s strategic focus and CSP/RISP;
• Build and develop the Bank’s Private Sector franchise in the country and region, and the overall communications strategy; engaging with local media but coordinating with PCER (Communications Department);
• Represent and provide visibility for the Bank’s Private Sector activities at country and regional level including through organizing/participating in high profile events (Senior level visits, interviews, seminars, PPP roundtables, sector working groups, and conferences);
• Develop market knowledge and intelligence in order to ensure that the Bank is engaging with the right clients. Take accountability for client selection, ensure the integrity of potential clients and develop and maintain relationships with these companies to identify business opportunities considering the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy, High 5s, PSDS, FSDS, SEGA, and financial instruments;
• Share accountability (with NSMs and Portfolio Managers) for the quality and performance of the Country PS/NSO Portfolio in their region; and
• Provide administrative oversight for all IOs in the region. In addition, lead, develop and mentor an integrated and diverse team consisting of NSO IOs and POs (Portfolio Officers), ensuring that the team is high performing, well-motivated, has clear deliverables and is committed to the success of the Bank’s NSO activities in the region.

COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge)

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, International Development, or any other discipline relevant to the position;
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience in strategy, advisory, finance, investment banking, project and corporate finance, private equity and management consulting;
• Familiarity with strategies, policies, procedures and practices of multilateral development institutions;
• Strong client relationship management skills, with an existing network of relevant top-level contacts in the region’s private and public sector and/or demonstrated ability to build such high-level client network;
• Outstanding and proven track record of performance in investment and Technical Assistance activities;
• Significant experience with proven success in developing and managing key client relationships;
• Work experience in the Africa region and a strong interest in developing a thorough understanding of the cluster countries;
• Ability to represent the Bank externally with government, media, clients, donors, and other stakeholders;
• Ability to build successful relationships across the OneBank matrix;
• Ability to develop innovative solutions and challenge the status quo to develop the Bank’s private sector image and business in the region and its markets;
• Highly developed strategic thinking skills allied to an ability to translate strategic concepts and direction into the implementation of workable and sustainable projects and programs while consulting relevant stakeholders;
• Ability to pull together all aspects of project origination and drive the process to deliver the lending program;
• Excellent spoken and written English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications; Knowledge of SAP is advantageous.

Closing: 15 July 2022