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

POSITION : Chief Education Analyst

The Hiring Department

• The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department, within the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex will spearhead the achievement of the High 5s on “Improving the Quality of Life of People in Africa” and contribute to the other High 5s. The Department has two divisions (i) Education, Human Capital and Employment Division which focuses on scaling-up of Bank’s support to education, human capital and employment/livelihoods; and (ii) Public Health, Security and Nutrition Division focusing on strengthening health systems and nutrition for human wellbeing. It also hosts various pertinent initiatives and trust funds.

The Education, Human Capital and Employment Division focuses on human capital development, skills training, employment creation and empowerment, poverty reduction for improved and sustainable wellbeing and livelihoods. The Division:

• Leads the development and promotion of Bank’s policy and strategy work so that operations which are identified, developed and executed by the regional hubs effectively implement the Bank’s relevant sector policies and strategies;
• Provides technical guidance/advisory services and expertise to regional hubs by generating relevant knowledge and gathering a pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide technical advice on complex transactions (Communities of Practice);
• Fosters strategic partnerships with regional and global partners to leverage resources into the human and social development sectors. It also directly contributes to the work of the various initiatives and trust funds hosted under the Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department; and provides expertise to support Vice President’s role as the Bank’s spokesperson to external audiences, and;
• Ensures coherence of the Bank’s action in human and social development across regions.

The Position

• The Division will lead the Bank’s agenda on Education, Human Capital and Employment. It will promote activities related to improving the demand responsiveness of the training system to the needs of the labour market and job creation on the continent. Specifically, activities focusing on improving the basic, post-basic, technical and vocational training, tertiary education and science and technology in education will be undertaken.

In this context the main objectives of the Chief Education Analyst will be to:

• Provide expertise to the department and other relevant Bank’s departments;
• Lead knowledge work;
• Provide documented strategic advice to Management;
• Contribute to the preparation of policies and strategies.

Responsibilities

Strategy Implementation:

• Responsible for developing and promoting evidence-based policy positions in accordance with the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy 2013-2022, the Human Capital Strategy 2014-2018 and the High 5s priority 5 focusing on improve the quality of life for Africans and in consultation and dialogue with Regional Member Countries and Regional Economic Communities;
• Support the Regional and Country Offices in analyzing the financial requests of the Regional Member Countries in light of the priorities identified by the Bank;
• Provide technical support to country and regional office staff during drafting of Country Strategy Papers, identification, preparation, appraisal of new operations and as well as review all related documents for Board approval and provide analysis of the implementation difficulties and adoption of corrective measures;
• Provide leadership in initiating, developing, updating and implementing Economic and Sector Work  and economic analysis of project/program interventions;
• Play a leading role in knowledge sharing with the Bank’s clients, staff and development partners
• Provide other departments/divisions of the Bank with expert advice on economic and financial issues, particularly on links with educative sector;
• Review and give opinions on documents, studies and other reports prepared by the Bank;
• Supporting the development, management and monitoring of the Bank’s interventions in the Education system through the Education, Human Capital and Employment  Division;
• Lead the design, steering, coordination and implementation of Human Capacity development measures at all levels of the education system;
• Prepare education requests to be submitted for bilateral funds, and necessary management and follow up actions for the funds.

Supporting education and human capital partnerships at international, national and local level by:

• Enhancing the collaboration between the Bank and the key partners on skills development and support the resources mobilization from multilateral/bilateral development institutions, donors and private sector institutions to complement the Bank Group’s operations;
• Representing the Bank at technical meetings on education;
• Liaising with and supporting the interventions under the different education and human capital technical assistance;
• Leading the Bank coordination mechanism on skills development and employability;
• Following-up on execution of decisions and recommendations made at the international level on Skills development and employability to keep the Bank up-to-date;
• Leading the development of a strong monitoring tool for human capital development interventions;
• Leading the development of public private partnerships in education.

Knowledge management:

• Contributing to the preparation of policy related documents;
• Leading study and capacity building interventions in education;
• Periodically disseminating key information on education and human capital to sensitize Bank staff;
• Leading the development of education donor and activities data base;
• Leading the preparation of briefs, talking points, status reports for management and the board.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Selection Criteria

• A Master's Degree or its equivalent in Education, or closely related disciplines. A PhD (or its university equivalent, a certification or diploma in project management is a plus;
• A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in the areas of education and human development;
• Ability to understand complex problems in education, to identify key issues and recommend pragmatic solutions;
• Good knowledge of the education systems and development issues in Africa;
• Knowledge of activities of multilateral development banks will be an added advantage;
• Proven experience in project management;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong understanding and grasp of multisector approaches of education, partnerships in Africa, as well as professional ability to build partnerships and deliver services that meet both immediate needs and long-term interests of clients within and outside the institution;
• Ability to innovative and integrate skills training through the other sectors;
• Ability to engage, support and motivate others to implement efficient ways of doing things;
• Ability to deliver high quality work within very tight deadlines;
• 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.