Job at European Investment Bank (EIB)

Operating network

As an External Action Policy Officer, you will report to the Head of the Hub for East Africa. You will coordinate and cooperate with colleagues working in the Regional Hub in Nairobi and with Luxembourg-based teams.

Accountabilities

• Proactively advise and provide professional support to the Head of the Hub in order to assist him/her in fulfilling his/her role; this includes:
• Support to representing and promoting the EIB and protect its Interests, as an integral instrument of EU External Action;
• Identify and gather Bank-relevant insights and information and contribute to the drafting of various documents, such as briefing material, reports, memoranda, speeches, presentations and notes
• Support the Head of the Hub in the exercise of his duties, by advising him on topical issues, as well as business and strategic relations;
• Upon request of the Head of the Hub, intervene in meetings or events both inside and outside the Bank
• Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge of the political, operational, institutional, economic, social and cultural dimension of the countries under the responsibility of the Head of the Hub
• Share own specialised knowledge and experience with other members of the team, producing and delivering presentations, workshops and training seminars and materials;
• In alignment with the EIB Group’s communication strategy, pro-actively support the Bank’s communication and visibility objectives;
• Cooperate closely with and support the work of the respective operations departments, as well as support along the project cycle colleagues in the appropriate departments;
• Help develop and maintain a regular relationship with development partners, in particular EU Delegations in the East Africa region, by proactively liaising with them and producing regular reports on the status of such relations for the Head of the Hub.
• Maintain active contact with borrowers and other counterparts, including consultants working on EIB-funded projects, ensuring close relationship management and follow up on operations; in close cooperation with the Head of the Hub, network with local authorities, and with local bilateral and multilateral institutions, commercial banks, and other partners;
• Track the delivery of political, strategic, business and organisational priorities of EIB in the region.
• Produce and maintain regular record of EIB’s historic operations in the region, and pipelines going forward.

Qualifications

• University degree in a relevant business- and/or international relations related discipline or equivalent qualification;
• Minimum of 8 years' experience in the banking, financial or development sector, or international economic affairs;
• Direct, hands on business experience in the form of lending and/or equity investment experience in the Sub-Saharan region is considered an advantage;
• Familiarity with the work of International Financial Institutions would be advantageous
• Multi-country working experience in particular in the Sub-Saharan Africa region would be an advantage;
• Understanding of the EIB's policy mandates and lending activities;
• Solid acumen in institutional affairs and policy analysis;
• Excellent drafting and presentation skills in English, communicating with clarity and concision and proven ability to summarise and present information;
• Experience in dealing with sensitive and complex issues;
• Knowledge of the standard IT office tools (Word, Excel, Power point);
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English. Knowledge of French will be an advantage.

Competencies & skills

• Achievement Drive: continually keeps an eye on performance, focusing on improving it, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals.
• Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes.
• Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team; works collaboratively with peers across organisational boundaries based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns.
• Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to an organisation whose mission is to support Europe and is open to diversity, and to align her/his own behaviour with the organisation’s needs and intrinsic values, acting with integrity in

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Main responsibilities

• Contribute to the identification, appraisal, approval and signature of suitable projects in order to develop a financing portfolio of public sector loans and investments in line with the Bank’s objectives and guidelines, and ensure the consistent application of EIB policies and procedures;
• Participate in the establishment and development of business relations with key external parties (e.g. government representatives, promoters, companies, commercial banks, local authorities, financial institutions, other EU institutions) in order to develop the project portfolio and originate new operations, build co-operation and stay abreast of best practice;
• In close coordination with other divisions in the Department, establish contact and provide information on Global Partners Department towards private sector counterparts
• Contribute to the implementation of Bank policies, propose relevant initiatives in lending and other investment operations and make suggestions towards improving key operational processes;
• Provide input into the strategy development process for EIB Global operations in assigned countries, in line with the objectives and guidelines of the Bank’s External Mandates in general and for Sub-Saharan Africa in particular;
• Regular reporting on activities, interactions, pipeline, country situation.

Qualifications

• University degree in Finance/Economics or any business related discipline;
• Minimum five, ideally eight years of relevant experience in the banking, financial or development sector;
• Good knowledge of financial analysis, credit risk assessment and financial modelling, or relevant experience in this field;
• Good knowledge of processes and procedures related to the administration, control and monitoring of lending operations;
• Relevant experience in managing multi-party stakeholder groups in complex projects
• Knowledge and work experience with the region and the specific country related to the post would be an advantage;
• Good knowledge of standard computer tools;
• Strong diplomatic and communication skills are essential;
• Excellent knowledge of professional-level written and spoken English; knowledge of other relevant languages in the assigned country would be an asset as would be knowledge of French.

Competencies:

Achievement Drive: Focuses on improving performance, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals;

Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes;

Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team with colleagues and across organisational boundaries, based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns;

Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to the EIB mission, open to diversity, and willing to align own behaviour with the organisation’s needs and intrinsic values, acting with integrity in ways that promote the organisation’s mission, policies and rules.

The EIB is an equal opportunity employer, who believes that diversity is good for our people and our business. As such, EIB group promotes the inclusion of suitably qualified and experienced staff without regard to their gender, age, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation/identity, or disability (*).

By applying for this position, you acknowledge the importance of maintaining the security and integrity of the Information of the EIB Group. In case of selection for the position you agree to comply with all measures (policies, controls, document classification and management) implemented by the EIB Group to prevent unauthorized disclosure of any information or any damage to the EIB Group reputation.

Personal data is processed in the context of recruitment in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.

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Achievement Drive: Focuses on improving performance, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals;
Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes;

Purpose

As an Economist, you will apply economic analysis and knowledge of the financial sector in East African countries to inform the Bank’s shape operational and strategic decisions.

Operating Network

The Economics Department provides impact-driven economic analysis to support the EIB in its operations, its global positioning and strategy and policy definition, both inside and outside the EU. It comprises three divisions - Economic Studies, Country and Financial Sector Analysis and Policy and Strategy and is part of the EIB's Secretariat General, responsible for the EIB's overall strategy formulation.

Specific Post Environment

You will work in a group of about 40 economists that are mostly based in Luxembourg, witin the Economic Department, and you will functionally report to the Head of Division of “Country and Financial Sector Analysis”. You will liaise on a regular basis with ECON colleagues working on Sub-Saharan African countries; communicate directly with Department management and EIB front-line staff, and external counterparts.

You will also be part of the Nairobi Hub team and support the EIB across all its activities in the Hub, working in close cooperation with colleagues working in Nairobi and Luxembourg. You will report to the Head of the Nairobi Hub for administrative and institutional matters.

You will carry out economic analysis on Kenya and East African countries contributing to the full suite of ECON products, ranging from sovereign and banking industry ratings to upstream macroeconomic analyses and contributing to the design and appraisal of EIB operations in East Africa. Your analytical, evidence-based work is aimed at further deepening the EIB’s understanding of the East Africa countries where it operates, strengthening the Bank’s strategic engagement on the field, via the Nairobi Hub, both at the operational level and in the dialogue with national authorities, EU counterparties, the international community and the private sector.

Accountabilities

• Identify clear links between economic analysis and operational and strategic priorities for the EIB in the East Africa context;
• Prepare economic and financial analyses on topics of relevance to the EIB (e.g. investment, investment finance, access to finance for SMEs, innovation and digitalisation, green finance etc);
• Contribute to the EIB flagship publications outside the EU (Finance in Africa and Enterprise Survey reports) with original research, including bank- and firm-level data;
• Participate in the drafting of key policy papers and reports for senior management and general use;
• Assess risk, by providing in -depth economic analysis of countries and financial sectors, under the region of own responsibility.
• Participate in the design and organisation of roundtables, conferences, seminars and events and support the dissemination of information inside and outside the Bank.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent degree in Economics or related field;
• Minimum 5 years of solid experience in macroeconomic and financial sector analysis, as well as applied economic research. Experience gained in the context of a granted PhD directly relevant to the role will be also considered.
• A solid knowledge of East Africa economies is essential to the job.
• Working experience with Central Banks and/or an international Financial Institutions will be considered a strong advantage.
• Broad knowledge of all of the most common areas of economics, including applied quantitative methods.
• Very good drafting and presentation skills in English, ability to communicate with clarity and concision.
• Excellent knowledge of English and/or French, with a good knowledge of the other.

Competencies & skills

• Achievement Drive: Focuses on improving performance, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals.
• Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes.
• Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team with colleagues and across organisational boundaries, based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns.
• Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to the EIB mission, open to diversity, and willing to align own behaviour with the organisation’s needs and intrinsic values, acting with integrity in ways that promote the organisation’s mission, policies and rules. Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team with colleagues and across organisational boundaries, based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns;
• Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to the EIB mission, open to diversity, and willing to align own behaviour with the organisation’s needs and intrinsic values, acting with integrity in ways that promote the organisation’s mission, policies and rules.

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Main responsibilities

• Engage in and initiate communication activities for EIB Global and EIB Global Hub in Nairobi, conveying the key messages of the Group to journalists, influencers and stakeholders in the region, and internationally.
• Develop national and regional communication plans and supervise local media consultants and communication agencies working for EIB Global.
• Offer expert, pro-active and responsive support to all Management Committee members involved in work within the designated areas, first and foremost the Vice Presidents overseeing EIB Global business in the region.
• Build and extend a contact network and engage with media and influencers to increase the visibility of the EIB Global in the East Africa region and other regions as required and use it to communicate the EIB Global and EIB Global Hub in Nairobi contribution to the economy of these countries.
• Organise events, press conferences and journalist visits in the region and produce press material for these activities, cooperating closely with EU institutions and other stakeholders.
• Prepare briefings for EIB Group leadership visiting the region.
• Contribute to the communication of EIB Group mandates that are especially important for the region, including fulfilling obligations under delegation agreements.
• Develop creative ideas for multimedia content and social media activities to increase the reach of communication both at EIB Global level and at EIB Global Hub level.
• Work closely with the Director of Communications and the Head of Media Division as well as other colleagues in the department and experts in other parts of the EIB Group.
• Work closely with colleagues to produce content, promote this content to media outlets and arrange projects like series of articles, advertorials and web specials.
• Identify individuals and organisations to cooperate with in communication and include in a network of EIB ambassadors amplifying the key messages of the EIB Group.

Qualifications

• University degree, preferably oriented towards communication, public relations, political sciences, or economics;
• A good understanding of current economic and political debates generally and especially in the region;
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience with a focus on strategic communications, media and /or public relations;
• Strong experience of interacting with Board-level leaders, political judgment, diplomacy, clarity and all-round communication skills;
• Excellent skills in communicating with different public audiences and knowledge of channels to reach our audiences;
• Highly developed oral and written communication skills;
• Experience in audio-visual and social media;
• Proficiency with common software such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• Good knowledge of the EU institutional and political framework;
• Good understanding of the EIB’s mission and its activities;
• Experience in dealing with sensitive issues;
• Excellent knowledge of English and Swahili. Knowledge of French and other languages spoken in Africa would be an advantage;

Availability to travel.

Competencies:

• Achievement Drive: continually keeps an eye on performance, focusing on improving it, showing drive and determination to meet short and long-term goals.
• Change Orientation: Adapts to differences and changes in the environment; takes a flexible approach to reach outcomes.
• Collaboration: Works cooperatively as part of a team; works collaboratively with peers across organisational boundaries based on a genuine interest in and an accurate understanding of others and their individual perspectives and concerns.
• Organisational Commitment: Is willing to commit to an organisation whose mission is to support Europe and is open to diversity, and to align her/his own behaviour with the organisation’s