African Development Bank (AfDB) -  the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). 

POSITION : Division Manager Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Country and Corporate Evaluations (BDEV2)

Description

The core mandate of the AfDB’s Independent Development Evaluation (BDEV) is to conduct independent evaluation studies, provide relevant lessons, develop and harmonize standards and practices, support evaluation capacity development together with partner agencies and attest to the validity of both processes and the results of AfDB’s self-evaluation activities.

Within IDEV, the IDEV2 division is responsible for evaluations related to the second and fifth of the High 5s (Feed Africa and Improve the quality of life for Africans), as well as evaluations of the Bank’s country strategies and programs, and institutional evaluations focusing on corporate processes and reforms.

The Position

• The Division Manager- BDEV2 shall operate with delegated responsibility from the Evaluator General, and in accordance with the Bank’s policies and procedures, to provide independent and objective evaluations in order to add value to and improve the Bank’s policies and operations.
• The Division Manager will be responsible for planning, organizing, directing and supervising the activities of the Division.
• In performing these duties, the Division Manager will work closely with the management team and other relevant organizational units in the Bank in the preparation of work programs and the coordination of evaluation activities.
• The Division Manager is a member of the BDEV Management Team and will be accountable for the delivery of the agreed annual work program and the supervision and development of staff under its supervision.

Responsibilities

• Lead and identify key priority areas of the division providing inputs to the BDEV 3-year rolling work-program as well as its annual revision.
• Provide leadership in professional and operational matters, taking the lead in contributing innovative approaches to independent evaluation.
• Ensure compliance with evaluation principles of independence, impartiality, and integrity in assessing the development effectiveness and impacts of AfDB assistance.
• Lead, establish and ensure alignment of the division’s vision, goals, development strategies and key result areas in support of AfDB and BDEV goals.
• Lead the planning, implementation and supervision of work plans as well as monitor the quality of output and the achievement of long term goals and annual objectives for the division. Ensure quality, timeliness and cost-efficiency.

Independent Evaluation:

• Ensure evaluation recommendations are clear, actionable, and monitorable. Conduct constructive interactions with operations colleagues at various stages of the evaluation without compromising BDEV’s independence. Establish reference groups and chair the meetings.
• Keep up to date with changes in policies, strategies, practices and procedures in the Bank, and assess these changes (changing services, processes, operations, and controls) in order to inform the development and implementation of evaluation activities.
• Provide advice and recommendations to the Evaluator General on the appropriate actions to be taken to improve the quality of BDEV work and develop concepts or new approaches to improve and ensure the overall relevance, timeliness, cost, and utility of outputs.
• Keep abreast of trends and issues in development policies and programming in the region, especially as these are relevant to development effectiveness and evaluation.
• Supervise all evaluations conducted by the Division, ensuring quality through appropriate mechanisms including providing comments and arranging peer review meetings at various stages of the evaluation.
• Ensure timeliness by making sure that appropriate tools are used for each evaluation.
• Provide regular inputs into the BDEV Implementation Tracking System.
• Ensure that all evaluations are conducted with full regard to due process rules including principles of independence, credibility, fairness, transparency, usefulness and efficiency, taking particular care to avoid any conflicts of interest involving staff undertaking evaluation activities.
• Work closely with the Quality and Methods Advisor to ensure appropriate evaluation methodologies and quality control mechanisms are in place for each evaluation.
• Oversee the review and validation of PCRs, XSRs, and other self-evaluation products to strengthen AfDB’s self-evaluation activities, accountability and learning.

Operations Management:

• Ensure appropriate attention to the personal and professional development of staff, giving due attention to appropriate management of gender and diversity issues.
• Contribute to the preparation of the BDEV Annual report and other monitoring and reporting products.
• Under the guidance of the Evaluator General, participate in and contribute to global evaluation fora including the Evaluation Cooperation Group and the OECD-DAC.
• Develop and maintain contact with other international institutions and with relevant national organizations to ensure coordination of evaluation activities.
• Inform and advise the Evaluator General of significant developments, emerging opportunities and challenges related to the independent evaluation processes, including potential improvements to those processes, and participate fully in the Management Team.
• Ensure effective day-to-day management of the division paying special attention to work-load management, operations planning, adherence to policy, procedures, integrity, quality, timeliness, budget, human resource management and staff development.
• Provide strategic leadership, participate in staff recruitment, salary review and promotion decisions.
• Manage the performance of teams and individuals, providing clear direction and regular feedback. Provide coaching and mentoring to teams and individuals.

Knowledge Management:

• Work closely with BDEV.3 to prepare and implement dissemination of evaluations and broader evaluative knowledge through appropriate channels, including ECoPs and social media tools. Ensure dissemination plans are part of evaluation plans with clear audience and expected outcomes.
• Contribute regularly to Evaluation Matters and other BDEV knowledge publications.
• Work closely with BDEV.3 in formulating and implementing action plans to assist countries in developing and strengthening their own evaluation capabilities.
• In collaboration with BDEV.3, ensure that knowledge from evaluations and evaluation processes is captured, managed and shared, both internally and externally.
• Encourage staff to learn from each other and to share their knowledge, experience and expertise, to help promote a culture of evaluation and results.

Selection Criteria

• A Master's degree in a relevant field (such as Economics, Development Studies, Political Science, International Relations, Business Administration, Policy Analysis, Infrastructure, Social Sciences, or other related field).
• Degree or certificate in (development) evaluation, development oriented research leadership or other related field.
• Have a minimum of eight (08) years relevant international professional experience in development work, part of which in evaluation, with three (03) years in a managerial capacity
• 10 years of relevant international professional experience, with progressive experience in management.is desirable
• Experience in managing independent evaluations and/or evaluation teams, especially in multi-lateral development financial institutions.
• Team working and relationship management
• Competence in the use of quantitative and/or qualitative analysis tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft software (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint)knowledge of SAP is advantageous.
• Operational experience in areas covered by the Division
• Knowledge and understanding of socio-economic development issues in Africa.
• Private sector experience is advantageous.
• Knowledge of independent evaluation principles, standards and procedures.
• Knowledge of evaluation theories and practices including design and analysis of development interventions (policies; strategies; programs; projects).
• Significant knowledge in identifying, designing, conducting and reporting development evaluation studies, especially in IFIs.
• Knowledge of design, implementation, management and monitoring of policies, programs and projects.
• Knowledge of development theories especially within the African context.
• Knowledge of effective and efficient program budget management
• Well-developed process management skills to ensure timely delivery of useful, credible and at times challenging evaluation products of high quality.
• Managerial responsibility for the formulation, implementation, supervision and delivery of an appropriate evaluation work program.
• Direction and supervision of a group of professional staff (including evaluation of their performance) and the coordination of this work with other departments and related agencies.
• Strategic vision, and critical and creative thinking in order to identify relevant topics for evaluation and to select appropriate methods of study.
• Operational effectiveness
• Innovation and creativity
• Problem-solving
• Communication
• Client orientation