African Development Bank (AfDB) - The premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. 

POSITION : Director, Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research

The Complex

• The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the Vice-President for the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex. The Complex is responsible for:
  • Providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio economic development issues; and coordinate the generation of analytical works to inform operational policy;
  • Systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.

The Position

• The Director of the Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting And Research Department will be responsible for providing strategic direction, developing work programs with specific, measurable, and achievable key performance indicators, and for the technical oversight on the work of team members.
• In addition, he/she will build a strong, motivated and diverse workforce to ensure alignment of research and knowledge generation and dissemination to the Bank’s operations and projects.

Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, the Director will:

Work program validation and execution:

• Review and validate the objectives and work program of the Department, ensuring alignment to the strategic priorities of the department, the Complex and the Bank.
• Monitor their execution and provide guidance as needed to the teams.
• Review and validate the budget, and its effective implementation.
• Report on the work program execution, and propose alternative and corrective measures as needed.
• Actively contribute to the designing and monitoring of the corporate key performance indicators.

Technical oversight on the department’s activities:

• Provide the Bank Group and member countries with economic intelligence on macroeconomic developments, projections of the most widely used economic and financial variables relating to Africa's economy and Bank Group operations.
• Analyze regional member countries’ economies with emphasis on the HI-5s, using cutting-edge techniques and assessing regional and continental development strategies with particular emphasis on debt-sustainability analysis and impact of major exogenous shocks on macroeconomic aggregates and living standards.
• Conduct or participate in special studies aimed at improving the strategies and programming of Bank Group operations.
• Develop appropriate analytical tools for the purpose of streamlining Bank Economic and Sector Work on critical areas, such as macroeconomic analysis and impact evaluation of development projects.
• Coordinate the preparation of the Bank Group's flagship reports.
• Supervise the processing of the Bank's major publications, including the African Development Report, the African Development Review, and the annual statistical publication.
• Prepare and process major statements, speeches and briefs for the President and Vice-Presidents, for the high level meetings, conferences and visits to the regional member countries.

People Management:

• Ensure the department has the appropriate skills-mix at any time for effective delivery of the objectives defined in the work program.
• Review and validate the staffing needs, and build with the Human Resources department the required recruitment plans.
• Assess work performance, appraise staff potential and determine training needs.
• Put in place, with the assistance of the Human Resources department, talent management mechanisms, to build a talent pool for the department for business continuity.
• Organize effective delegation of responsibilities by empowering staff at all levels.

Relations with Stakeholders:

• Ensure effective collaboration with the other departments of the Complex.
• Work closely with operational departments to ensure relevance of knowledge and research work to the Bank’s operations and projects.
• Promote and maintain relations with institutions dealing with economic research and development policies, especially as relating to Africa.
• Serves as Acting Chief Economist/Vice President for the Complex for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management when required.
• Performs other duties assigned by the Chief Economist/Vice President.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Ph.D. Degree from a reputable university in Economics, Applied Macroeconomics or other relevant discipline.
• Have a minimum of ten (10) years of highly relevant professional experience, at least five (5) of which should be in a managerial roles, in a multilateral development institution, government agency or reputable organization involved in applied research.
• Strong capacity in macroeconomic and microeconomic research with a traceable record of publications in peer reviewed reputable journals in the same field or relevant subject.
• Ability to adopt and implement emerging and cutting edge analytical tools in the areas of macro and micro economics.
• Extensive and in-depth ability to use statistical and econometric methods and packages in data processing and analysis.
• Strong planning and organizational skills with strict attention to details.
• A proven ability to think strategically, taking into account the bigger picture without sacrificing the details.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a credible ability to influence and present ideas.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to stay abreast of the latest developments, best practices and trends to bring leading edge expertise to the position.
• Capacity to connect, understand and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Capacity to communicate orally and in writing effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is highly desirable.

How to Apply
Candidates should send their CV with a supporting statement highlighting their experience and skills against the requirements of the role, to: afdb-971327@globalcareercompany.com please quote the role title and assignment code 971329 in the subject heading of the email. 

For Enquiry call: +44 (0) 20 8834 0300