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

POSITION : Division Manager, Agriculture and Rural Finance

The Hiring Department

• The Agriculture Finance and Rural Development Department works closely with the Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department and the Regional Directorates to provide support for the delivery of Feed Africa: Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa, 2016-2025. Of  the “7 Enablers”:
  • Increase productivity by catalysing the development of effective input distribution systems and reduction in post-harvest waste and loss;
  • Realize the value of increased production by facilitating increased investment into output markets and supporting market incentives for value addition;
  • Increase investment into enabling infrastructure, both hard and soft infrastructure;
  • Create an enabling agribusiness environment with appropriate policies and regulation;
  • Catalyze capital flows  (especially commercial lending and private investment) to scale agribusinesses;
  • Ensure inclusivity, sustainability and effective nutrition beyond what the market may deliver otherwise; and
  • Coordinate activities to kick start transformation, align activities and investments of different actors, and guide initial activities to the point where private sector actors can be crowded in, the Agriculture Finance and Rural Development Department focuses on delivery of the following Enablers:
    • Increasing investment into enabling infrastructure, both hard and soft infrastructure;
    • Catalysing capital flows (especially commercial lending and private investment) to scale agribusinesses;
    • Coordinating activities to kick start transformation, align activities and investments of different actors, and guide initial activities to the point where private sector actors can be crowded in.
• The core mandate of Agricultural Finance and Rural Development Department is to develop the strategy of the Bank related to agricultural and rural finance and rural development, execute non-sovereign operations for the transformation of value chains, represent the Bank with external stakeholders, provide sector expertise to the regions by gathering experts who can be consulted by operations and closing the financing gap for private sector-led development of agricultural value chains.
• The Department is to mobilize and deploy the required expertise; and, provide support in the design and implementation of agricultural finance and rural development operations for key commodity value chains.
• The Agricultural Finance and Rural Development Department is structured into two Divisions: (i) Agriculture and Rural Finance Division; and (ii) Rural Infrastructure Development Division.

The Agriculture and Rural Finance Division will be responsible for working with private and financial sector to transform value chains, identifying opportunities for long-term investments to address food security and boost economic growth in Africa. The division has the following deliverables:

• Non-sovereign operations targeting private sector companies, investment and impact funds,
• High-quality and innovative debt and equity investments for private and financial sector development for value chain development and transformation
• Practical implementation arrangements with key implementing partners
• Knowledge management of agriculture, rural finance and best practices
• Enabling environment and alliances with key stakeholders
• Monitoring of performance and recommendations for corrective actions.

The Position
The Manager, Agriculture and Rural Finance Division reports to the Director, Agricultural Finance & Rural Development. The main work objectives are focused on development and upgrading of 18 key priority value chains articulated in the Feed Africa Strategy in targeted Agro Ecological Zones:

• Lead support for an enabling environment for private and financial sector development  for de-risking investment and lending to the agricultural value chains and promoting digital financial services;
• Lead strategic partnerships with key private sector clients, financial institutions and commercial banks to finance value chain stakeholders along the 18 key priority agricultural value chains;
• Create and manage a strong portfolio of existing and potential clients, investors along key value chains and achieve sustainable development impact;
• Lead the Division to evaluate, structure, negotiate, and close debt and equity transactions; use strong negotiation skills to develop solutions and overcome impasses in all transactions;
• Lead the mobilization of resources and blended finance initiatives to close the financing gap for private sector-led development of agricultural value chains;
• Lead support and expertise to regional directorates for high-productivity agriculture and value adding Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in rural areas with a specific focus on women and youth agri-enterprises;
• Lead support and expertise to regional directorates for non-sovereign operations with solutions to reach smallholder farmers, productive enterprises (particularly women and youth);
• Monitor and report on the implementation of the financial instruments and their contribution to Feed Africa and action plan.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight to mobilize funds to support financing of climate adaptation and mitigation activities (Climate finance/Innovative finance);
• Formulate alliance strategy with investors, including venture capital, private equity firms and strategic investors with a particular focus on public private partnerships (at the country and continent level) to engage stakeholders in alignment of sustainable socio-economic development goals;
• Agree upon portfolio management arrangements for investments and technical assistance for implementation upon consultation with concerned Regional /hubs, country offices;
• Supervise budget preparation and follow its execution, and advise senior management on the budgetary and financial impacts of the division’s operations;
• Develop and implement an action plan for Agriculture Finance for  assigned periods, with innovative new products to support private sector in Feed Africa value chains and mobilises new sources of financing with solutions for smallholder farmers, agricultural micro small and medium enterprise, women and youth;
• Set objectives, formulate policies, establish priorities, define and monitor the key performance indicators of the Division;
• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight to scale up risk-sharing facilities (comprising loans and guarantees and technical assistance) with the objective of catalyzing private investment and bank lending in the sector (Innovative Financing and Risk Sharing);
• Execute investments in agriculture value chain financing through private sector companies and investment / impact funds (agricultural finance and innovative financing);
• Build and maintain a strong pipeline of potential investee companies to initiate new debt and equity investments, follow up on new business opportunities, and liaise extensively with potential clients on the African continent and beyond;
• Solve challenges during negotiations and transaction structuring with potential investee companies as well as due diligence;
• Support existing portfolio investments including strategic and value-add activities with portfolio company management and co-investors;
• Develop and execute dedicated Agricultural Micro Small and Medium Enterprise financing through investment funds and other non-banking financial institutions that offer equity and working capital finance to Small and Medium Enterprises in agricultural value chains (Innovative Financing mechanisms);
• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight to promote agricultural insurance markets, provide technical assistance, and convene partners and governments (agricultural insurance/innovative financing);
• Provide strategic vision and technical oversight to enhancing financial inclusion through outreach of payments, savings and other services through financial digital services;
• Review all reports and papers prepared by the staff of the Division and give appropriate guidance;

People Management & Leadership:

• Manage a team of professional level and support staff in providing efficient and high quality services that support the business. Set realistic performance goals and motivate team members to meet them, both for individual staff and for the team as whole;
• Manage team’s staffing and resources competently and responsibly to achieve the Division’s objectives.
• Assess the training needs of staff in the Division, monitor and evaluate their performance, and recommend personnel actions to the Director;
• Be a collaborative member of the department Management Team, contribute and share expertise and input and foster a collegial environment.
• Understand the business needs and build strong relationship management to assist in developing practical and effective solutions;
• Supervise complex project identification, preparation and appraisal for Bank Group financing and verify quality of the projects;

Staff Engagement:

• Lead People: Serve as a role model, leading by example, builds alignment and commitment. Is courageous in challenging others to move the Bank forward;
• Promote collaboration and facilitate teamwork across teams and across organizational units;
• Maintain a high standard of professional integrity, treat individuals fairly and respectively and be sensitive to differences across culture, nationalities and gender.

Corporate Communication:

• Ensure effective communication between the Management and staff of the Bank, the authorities of member countries, officials from other organizations;
• Monitor best practice in the Division and, as appropriate, liaise with counterparts in other organization.

Performs other duties assigned by the Director, Agricultural Finance and Rural Development.

Selection Criteria

• Knowledgeable in the execution and structuring of debt and equity investments in the assigned sector projects and programs.
• Networking ability required to build successful relationships and partnerships with a broad range of clients, internal and external, for effective delivery of results.  Prudence and skill in identification of such relationships and partners based on meeting the needs and long-term interests of clients within and outside the institution.
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, 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.
• Hold at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Finance or closely related disciplines.
• Have a minimum of eight (8) years relevant professional experience in the area of investment banking, consulting or private equity/venture capital, five (5) of which should be in multilateral development institutions; have three (3) years working on the topic in a managerial capacity in an international bilateral/multilateral institution;
• Sound experience with investments in developing markets, venture investing and emerging countries including a satisfactory knowledge of their operational policies and procedures;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Proven leadership in matters relating to negotiating and structuring debt and equity transactions, technical review of reports and consultation with other financiers, among others;
• Knowledge of Africa and the rural development needs, opportunities, development challenges and possible solutions;
• Comprehensively understands projects structures, including project planning, risk management strategy, communication management strategy, lessons learned and handover, and other critical success factors, strategies, policies, procedures and practices of other similar institutions;
• Acute knowledge and understanding of the elements essential for the effective delivery and measurement of development impacts through projects and programs in Africa.
• Ability to identify and create meaningful linkages across sectors to drive development impact at a country and regional level;
• Highly developed negotiation skills proven to yield positive outcomes with senior counterparts, both internal and external;