Chief Operations Officer needed at African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

THE BANK:

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 81 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 (2023 – 2032) 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. The Bank is seeking to build a management team that will lead the successful implementation of this vision.

THE COMPLEX:

The Senior Vice-Presidency is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results. The Senior Vice-Presidency will provide effective leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions. The Senior Vice-Presidency will lead senior management discussions, decision-making processes and the implementation of key Board and Management decisions.

THE HIRING DEPARTMENT:

Located within the Senior Vice-Presidency Complex, the Department SNMO is overseeing the Secretariats of two key management committees – the Operations Committee (OpsCom, SNMO.1) and the Senior Management Coordinating Committee (SMCC, SNMO.2).

The role of the Operations Committee Secretariat (SNMO1) is to support the Bank’s Operations Committee in its efforts towards sharpening the country focus and strategic selectivity of the Bank’s operations. enhancing the quality of operations; strengthening the Bank’s internal cooperation and cohesion among operations departments; and improvement in the development impact of the Bank’s support to its Regional Member Countries.

THE POSITION:

Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Chief Operation Officer will (i) contribute to enhancing the quality of proposals by undertaking rigorous and high quality internal prior review of all operations proposals; managing the OpsCom review process and prepare appropriate analytical/advisory notes and briefing material for regular and special OpsCom meetings, as well as on an ad hoc basis as requested; conducting post-review of all revised proposals and issue clearance notes on behalf of the Operations Committee; supporting the implementation of key initiatives and representing the Secretariat in working groups, task forces, and other special initiatives; (ii) contribute to organizational efficiency and effectiveness by developing and continuously improving OpsCom’s internal operating procedures as well as sharpening the Secretariat’s internal processes and procedures; and (iii) assist in  the revision of Opscom’s review and processes related presidential directives (PDs) and Procedures and Guidelines as necessary.

The main objectives of the position are to:

1. Support the Bank’s increasing strong focus on the quality of its operations and therefore their development impact, through quality and timely review of proposals submitted for OpsCom’s review and activities to continuously enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of internal operating processes and procedures.
2. Develop and revise directives, processes, procedures, and guidelines to continuously improve the quality of the Bank’s review and clearance processes.
3. Report on systemic issues raised and develop solutions to address them.
4. Work with the Wakanda Team in the context of the development of the Bank’s operations portal.
5. Share knowledge with and train as necessary, including on compliance with the Bank’s review and clearance and related directives, processes, procedures, and guidelines and with the use of the BPPS to support Teams deliver quality proposals on time, and on the drivers of quality and results in Bank operations.
6. Undertake all ad hoc tasks as per Director or Manager request.

KEY FUNCTIONS:

Under the overall supervision of the Division Manager, Operations Committee Secretariat, the Chief Operations Officer will be responsible for:

Quality and Timely Review of Proposals:

1. Conduct and coordinate systematic prior internal review of all operations proposals to ensure alignment with strategic objectives, quality standards, readiness, and compliance with Bank policies; provide high quality and concise briefings, analysis, and recommendations accordingly for OpsCom and the Chair.
2. Produce and/or coordinate analysis, briefing material, and recommendations on cross-operations issues and policy matters on an ad hoc basis as guided by the Operations Committee.
3. Provide guidance to country and project teams as may be necessary in the processing of proposals as well as in the implementation of OpsCom’s decisions.
4. Draft minutes and related reports following regular meetings and ensure timely dissemination to Senior Management and the President.
5. Advise on new approaches, procedures, and techniques to improve the quality of proposals, proposal development processes, their review, and the execution of operations.

Enhancement of the Bank’s Review and Clearance Instruments.

1. Contribute to periodic review and update of the directives, processes, procedures, and guidelines, including but not limited to LOTB procedures, Fast Tracking Procedures; streamlined review and clearance processes.
2. Support review of internal processes and procedures guiding OpsCom meetings as well the OpsCom Secretariat’s internal processes and procedures for continuously improving efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Contribute to the periodic review of the implementation of the BPPS and propose improvements to meet business needs and that are in line with the Bank’s business processes and the DAM.
4. Lead and/or contribute to training Bank staff in the use of new versions of the BPPS.

COMPETENCIES (skills, experience and knowledge):

1. Hold at least a Master’ s degree in economics, engineering, development studies or related disciplines.
2. Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional experience working in operations as a policy analyst or advisor with proven competencies and experience in leading in project management, policy and strategy development and implementation.
3. Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
4. Strong knowledge and practical experience of operations policies, procedures, and review processes of multilateral development banks or other development agencies.
5. Excellent analytical skills and ability to review lending and non-lending proposals and prepare analytical notes to support senior management decisions.
6. Full understanding of core African Development Bank policies, strategies, and priorities.
7. Experience serving in a senior management committee secretariat is a plus.
8. Ability to write concise, accurate reports reflecting the guidance and comments made at meetings by senior management committee.
9. Ability to distil out and focus effectively on key priorities.
10. Demonstrated rigor, analytical capacities, and interpersonal skills.
11. Strong teamwork and communication skills.
12. Ability to work in English and/or French, with a working knowledge of the other language.
13. Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, SAP, PowerPoint, MS Project).

THIS POSITION IS CLASSIFIED INTERNATIONAL STATUS AND ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.