Private Sector Field Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

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: Private Sector Field Officer

Reference: ADB/17/419/2
Location: Cameroon
Grade: LP5
Position N°: 50067768

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Private Sector Infrastructure and Industrialization’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s TYS H5s priority of “Industrialize Africa”.
• The objectives of the Complex are to: develop the ‘Africa Industrial Strategy’; provide deep sector expertise to the Regions by leveraging on experienced individuals who can be consulted on complex transactions; develop new financing instruments; act as the Bank’s Spoke person on “Industrialize Africa”

The Hiring Department

• The Private Sector Development (PISD) mandate is to promote private sector development in Regional Member Countries through activities aimed at improving the investment climate.
• In line with bank ten year strategy, PISD will aim to strengthen the enabling environment for private sector development conducive to the inclusive growth and sustainable development, nurture public-private partnerships, strengthen indigenous entrepreneurship, and strengthen African regional and global integration, trade and investment inward flows for African member countries.
• Greater emphasis is also put on Low-Income countries and Fragile Situations.
• The mandate of the Portfolio Asset Management division (PISD2) is to implement the Private Sector Development strategy through effective, efficient and consolidated monitoring and supervision of projects, programs and investments supported by the Bank through its private sector window.
• This will be achieved by drawing lessons from past operations to help improve the quality of new operations; loans, equity investments, guarantees and other projects.

The Position

• The role of the Private Sector Field officer is to maintain high quality of the private sector portfolio in the country/region, develop Bank’s project pipeline in the country/region and develop a strong relationships with different stakeholders (Investors, Clients, Governments, Development Institutions).

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Division Manager and with guidance from other PISD Division Managers and senior colleagues, the Private Sector Field Officer will perform the following:

• Undertake sustained supervision of on-going private sector projects in the country/region and prepare relevant reports on progress, compliance with covenants and implementation issues.
• Undertake analytical work, including private sector profiling and assessment of business / investment opportunities and the competitiveness of the country, in particular within the regional markets, while working with other donors in assisting and advising government improve the business environment in the country.
• Assist in the disbursement process of approved projects and in examining compliance with conditions precedent.
• Assist in problem solving and workouts of distressed projects.
• Track the receipt from projects of all reports required under the investment agreements; follow up with clients on delinquent reports, and keep an overall summary of reporting compliance for the portfolio.
• Review quarterly operational and financial reports from clients to monitor progress in project implementation and in operations, and identify problems/issues.
• Prepare the quarterly portfolio status report for submission to Senior Management.
• Prepare all annual supervision reports and ensure appropriate input from Legal, Risk Management and Environmental Staff.
• Deal with problem projects, including handling of rescheduling, restructurings, and other instruments, and for processing the internal documents required to obtain Board Approvals.
• Participate in initial screening of project proposals to assess their feasibility for financial assistance and/or technical support by the Bank.
• Attend/participate in seminars/conferences/workshops dealing with private sector development and public-private partnership in the country/region.
• Contribute to the preparation of Country Strategy Papers, with particular reference to Private Sector Development and Private Sector Operations.
• Participate in relevant donor-coordination meetings and advise the Country Manager on approaches and policy issues concerning Private Sector Development and Private Sector Operations.
• Liaise at all times with the relevant Divisions at PISD to ensure consistency and compliance;

Selection Criteria
Including Desirable Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Hold at least a Master's Degree or its equivalent in Business, Finance or Economics or other related discipline;
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in a development financial institution and/or strategic consultancy, investment or commercial banking, business development and macroeconomic analysis
• Expert knowledge with operations of financial institutions and capital market structures and treasury products
• Familiarity with portfolio management concepts and the analytical tools needed to perform the required analysis;
• Experience in credit risk, risk rating methodologies, risk management frameworks, and relevant risk-related policies
• Familiarity with financial institutions and project financing/structured finance.
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Client and results oriented individual, with strong analytical and communication (both verbally and in writing) skills, sense of accuracy and attention to detail;
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues;
• A proven track record of working in teams and creating an empowering and self-development oriented work environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint);
• Experience in the use of SAP is advantageous.

Application Closing Date
2nd October, 2017.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online