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

POSITION : Senior Research Economist - ECMR.1

The Hiring Department/Division

• The Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research Department is dedicated to the generation of high quality knowledge in the area of development in Africa. It provides technical support to operations and regional member countries through rigorous analytical work; engages in impactful policy dialogue with decision-making bodies within and outside of the Bank; and most importantly enhance the operational effectiveness of the Bank in achieving the High 5s.
• The activities of the department are structured around the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting on one side, and the Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact on the other.
• The Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Division is responsible for the following, inter alia:
  • Conducting policy research and debt sustainability analysis in order to improve the Bank’s macroeconomic surveillance and understanding of sovereign debt risk profile and the policy tools that regional member countries can deploy to contain debt distress;
  • Conducting macroeconomic analysis, modelling and forecasting to inform decisions made by the Bank’s regional member countries
  • Providing cutting edge analytical support to Senior Management through timely and rigorous economic intelligence work;
  • Collaborating with partner institutions; research think tanks and universities, both within and outside Africa, in order to deepen analytical capacity and broaden the scope and outreach of the Bank’s research work and
  • Leading the production and dissemination of all the Bank’s flagship publications and other knowledge products on Africa’s emerging macroeconomic and development issues and on the Bank’s High 5s priority areas.

The Position

• The Senior Research Economist is responsible for contributing to analytical and research work focusing on macroeconomic issues that are relevant for the Bank’s regional member countries and its operational engagement.
• The position entails leading and contributing to research on the Bank’s High 5 agenda, as well as active involvement and leadership in designing and implementing models for African countries individually and as a group.
• The Job holder will also conduct development policy analysis on regional member countries.

  Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting, the Senior Research Economist will:

• Implement research programs and projects focusing on macroeconomic issues of particular relevance to the Bank’s RMCs and its High 5 agenda. This involves:
  • Initiate, oversee and contribute to research projects focusing on macroeconomics issues using established and proven quantitative techniques/methods. This entails among others constructing a suite of structural macro-econometric models, Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium, Global Vector Autoregressive Analysis and other simpler Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average models.
  • Contribute to the preparation of Flagship publications and knowledge products such as the African Economic Outlook; African Development Report; Economic Frontier Research and Bank Policy Briefs; books, reports, etc.
  • Provide senior management and regional member countries with comparative research analysis, socio-economic data and macroeconomic projections of the most widely used socio-economic parameters relating to Africa’s economies and Bank Group operations.
  • Keep abreast of latest research and innovative solutions pertaining to the development agenda and macroeconomic issues in the region, considering their practical applications for the Bank and its regional member countries.
  • Provide inputs in collaborative research and knowledge management activities carried out jointly with regional and international organizations, research and capacity building institutions in Africa, development research centers and universities.
• Provide technical and analytical inputs into the work of Operations Complexes. This involves:
  • Provide support and input to regional, investment and technical assistance project teams on macro-economic issues related to country/regional context, macroeconomic trends, country, region or sector -specific analysis. This entails among others providing input into Country Strategy Papers and budget support operations;
  • Carry out simulations and forecasts based on the models developed and lead in the disseminating results and provide advice to the Bank’s senior management and RMCs to strengthen policy dialogue.
• Participate in the Bank’s dissemination efforts of its analytical and research products with the view to help build capacity of RMCs and position the Bank’s as a though leader:
  • Organize internal Research Seminars and/or International Conferences such as the African Economic Conference on Development Policy Issues.
  • Contribute to the training and capacity development activities in the Bank and in RMCs.
  • Publish research output in the Bank’s working paper series and reputable peer reviewed journals.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• A minimum of a Master's degree in Macroeconomics; Econometrics, Development Economics; Applied Statistics, or any related discipline. A PhD would be a strong advantage.
• A specialization in industrial policy, agricultural or energy economics would be an added advantage.
• A minimum of five (5) years with PhD or nine (9) years with Master of relevant professional and research experience in multilateral or research institution in an Africa country or other low income countries.
• Having a private sector experience is an added value.
• Strong publications record in reputable peer review journals on general issues of development and on macroeconomic issues in Africa or low-income countries.
• Extensive knowledge of empirical regularities of different macroeconomic theories.
• Ability to construct large macroeconomic models using sophisticated econometric techniques.
• Ability to handle, process and analyze large datasets using packages such as Matlab, R, Eviews, or the General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS).
• Ability to identify the appropriate methods and techniques to analyse and forecast macroeconomic trends resulting from policy and external shocks.
• Proven ability to lead and manage small team of researchers in specific projects and/or tasks;
• Capacity to initiate innovative research ideas and techniques in order to improve policy making content of development research.
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in Microsoft Suites (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access) and SAP.