African Development Bank Group (AfDB) - Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is 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).

The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 - 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5s), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Division Manager, Sovereign - FIRM.1

Reference: ADB/18/114

Grade: PL2
Position N°: 50092455

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Finance (FIVP) oversees the financial management of the Bank Group
• This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department

• The Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department is responsible for the strategic resource mobilization and the leveraging of the financial resources and instruments of the Bank Group
• The department’s role is to increase the pool and types of funding available to the Bank Group’s Regional Member Countries, particularly for transformative projects in line with the Bank’s Ten-year strategy.
• The Sovereign Division is responsible for resource mobilization initiatives and partnerships with sovereign entities. It is mandated to mobilize, allocate and monitor resources for the Bank Group’s statutory capital including the African Development Fund and ensuring compliance with the African Development Fund rules and the commitments taken upon the replenishment negotiations. It leads, coordinates and supports the implementation of Highly Indebted Poor Country and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative(s)
• The Sovereign Division coordinates the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment and is responsible for the process of allocating African Development Fund resources among beneficiary countries, and monitors their use in accordance with various African Development Fund policies and guidelines. The Division is also responsible for the required periodic reporting on the use of those Funds
• The Sovereign Division also leads the partnership with sovereign entities such as bilateral aid agencies and manages most bilateral trust funds of legacy partners.

The Position
Under the Supervision of the Director, the Division Manager’s objectives revolve around the five basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling – all of which stem directly from the purpose of the division summarized:

• Planning: The manager is responsible for mapping out exactly how to achieve the division’s various objectives, in consultation with the Department Director.
• Organizing: After a plan is in place, the manager is responsible for organizing his/her team and materials according to the agreed plan. Assigning work and granting authority are two important elements of organizing.
• Staffing: After the manager discerns the division’s needs, it is his/her responsibility to seek the attention of the Director and other institutional leaders to beef up staffing via recruitment, selection, training, and the development of additional staff.
• Leading: In addition to planning, organizing, and staffing to achieve the division’s objectives, the manager must also lead. Leading involves motivating, communicating, guiding, and encouraging. It requires the manager to coach, assist, and problem solve with various staff.
• Controlling: After the other elements are in place, it also the manager's responsibility to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective actions necessary to make sure that the division’s plans remain on track.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Director for Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department, the incumbent performs the following:

• Manages the team primarily responsible for the CPIA and Performance-Based (PBA) allocation process of ADF resources to eligible RMCs and plays a major role in updating and/or the development of any revisions to the ADF resource allocation procedures and operational guidelines;
• Leads on the organization of regular internal and external outreach events for the benefit of staff and other stakeholders to explain the activities, of the ADF as well as various bilateral trust funds and key drivers of the allocation system; propose new policies guiding resource utilization as required;
• Supervises coordination with other organizational units in the Bank Group to maintain and update the Bank’s HIPC and MDRI files and related debts and arrears;
• Participates in key Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Meetings, working groups on development finance resource mobilization as well as on other, related international meetings;
• Plays a key role in the development and adaptation of Policies and Programs as applicable to the activities of the department;
• Plays a key role in the development of strategic options for positioning the Bank Group in the global aid architecture, mobilizing and deploying its resources, by contributing to the planning, conceptualization, elaboration and presentation of the Bank Group key resource mobilization and negotiation documents; and
• Mentors and coaches the division’s staff, as required.
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervisor
• Leads the team that conducts the required monitoring and periodic reporting on the compliance of the use of ADF resources in accordance to relevant policies and guidelines, and in this so doing, works closely with, inter alia, Operations / Financial Control / Financial Treasury, Financial Management, Legal and other departments;
• Contributes to policy and strategy papers relevant to resource mobilization and/or negotiation process; coordinates and oversees ADF replenishment;
• Supervises the preparation of progress reports for ADF Mid-Term Review and ADF replenishments;
• Oversees the various relationships with the Bank Group’s legacy sovereign partners, and in so doing, oversees resource mobilization through co-financing arrangements, trust funds, special initiatives and any other innovative partnership mechanisms while also promoting the utilization of mobilized resources by user Departments;
• Organizes strategic initiatives consultations and meetings with key sovereign partners including high level partnerships events such as business opportunities seminars in collaboration with other departments in the Bank Group;

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• Hold at least a Master's or its equivalent in Economics, Finance, Law, International Relations, Development or related field
• Have a minimum of eight (8) years of extensive and progressive experience in a multilateral development financial institution or relevant development organization on issues pertaining to international development with extensive knowledge of Africa and/or other development societies; At least 3 years of this experience should have been in a supervisory capacity.
• In-depth awareness of the latest trends and developments in financing for development to make effective business decisions; including a solid appreciation of the various clients' needs and drivers to advance colleagues' thinking around business issues.
• Strong background in development banking with experience working with both bilateral donors and multilateral agencies as well as governments.
• Solid understanding of the concessional windows of multilateral development banks and of their respective replenishment processes. Ability to negotiate with donors to secure funding and partnership.  Knowledge of the resource allocation framework used by multilateral development banks in allocating concessional finance to eligible recipients.
• Excellent understanding and solid experience in partnering with, and fundraising from/alongside sovereign donors to help deliver the Bank’s mandate. Knowledge of parallel and joint co-financing frameworks and demonstrated ability to negotiate, and follow up on, such frameworks with partners.
• Demonstrated leadership in creative financial instruments to leverage concessional finance and a track record of supporting various financing structures utilizing various financial instruments.
• Ability to apply information from both inside and outside the Bank Group and to work with a wide range of clients, including:
  • Internal ones (senior management and line managers in both FIVP and other Complexes, Operations staff both at HQ and in the Bank’s representative missions, Executive Directors and their advisors); and
  • External partners (governments, other MDBs, international organizations);
• Experience demonstrating ability to take initiative, innovate, adapt and make smart decisions; to create, apply, and share knowledge/ expertise; to expand networks; to collaborate within teams and across boundaries
• In-depth understanding of the Bank Group’s strategies and operations complemented with strong analytical and innovative capacity to problem solving related to the Performance Based Allocation, CPIA, HIPIC/MDRI dossiers;
• Ability to apply sound experience and knowledge in the use of the principles of diverse disciplines, including development economics, finance, strategy and political economy to the multi-disciplinary issue of development finance;
• Ability to simultaneously work on a range of assignments and projects while prioritizing complex tasks appropriately.
• Strong leadership and people management skills to direct and effectively manage the Division’s processes, systems and outputs; and maintain a highly motivated, productive, customer-focussed team.
• Ability to interface effectively with internal and external stakeholders and partners; and work successfully as part of the FIVP management team.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.