Senior Knowledge Management Officer, BDEV3 at 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Senior Knowledge Management Officer, BDEV3

Reference: ADB/20/089
Location: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50102221

The Complex

• The Board of Directors (BDIR) provides oversight and strategic direction to the African Development Bank Group. It is composed of Executive Directors who are representatives of the AfDB member countries.
• Specifically, the Board is responsible for the conduct of the general operations of the Bank, and carries out the following functions: (1) determine the general structure of the Bank’s services; (2) approve the financing policy and take decisions concerning loans, guarantees, equity investments and fund loans by the Bank; (3) determine the interest rates of loans and guarantee commissions; (4) approve the Bank’s operations programme and administrative budget; (5) prepare the work of the Board of Governors; and (6) submit accounts and annual reports, as well as the administrative budgets for the approval of the Board of Governors.
• The Board does its work through a series of permanent Committees that review and discuss policy and program documents and make appropriate recommendations to the whole Board. Independent Development Evaluation (BDEV); Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (BCRM); Secretariat to the Sanctions Appeals Board (BSAB); Administrative Tribunal (BATR) report to the Board.

The Hiring Department:

• The overarching mission of the African Development Bank’s Independent Development Evaluation (BDEV) is to enhance the development effectiveness of the Bank in its regional member countries through independent and influential evaluations, oversight over self-evaluation processes and products, and proactive engagement in evaluation partnerships and knowledge-sharing activities.
• The core mandate of 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 African Development Bank’s self-evaluation activities. BDEV also collaborates and exchanges information with bilateral and multilateral development agencies’ evaluation departments, and undertakes joint evaluation of co-financed projects and programs.
• BDEV has three divisions; BDEV1, BDEV2 and BDEV3. BDEV1 and BDEV2 divisions focus on undertaking evaluations. BDEV3, the Knowledge Management, Outreach, and Capacity Development Division, is responsible for knowledge management, dissemination and outreach activities around IDEV evaluations, and for supporting the development of evaluation capacities both in the Bank and in its Regional Member Countries.

The Position

• The main objective of the Senior Knowledge Management Officer is to provide support to evaluation teams in fostering engagement with stakeholders throughout the evaluation process, and to coordinate, compile and disseminate evaluative knowledge in ways that meet the knowledge needs of various audiences.
• The incumbent provides guidance to more junior staff and consultants and the division team assistant as necessary.

Duties and responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager BDEV.3, the Senior Knowledge Management Officer will:

• Work closely with the Principal Knowledge Management Officers and evaluation teams on the implementation of IDEV stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Undertake and contribute to knowledge needs assessments of Bank operations staff, Management, Board members and other evaluation stakeholders. Develop strategies to meet those needs.
• Develop and deliver stakeholder engagement plans in accordance with the overarching stakeholder strategy.
• Prepare stakeholder mappings, coordinate and prepare communications to stakeholders and respond to stakeholder enquiries.
• Work closely with evaluation task managers and teams to compile and share evaluative knowledge and be responsive to clients’ needs throughout the evaluation process.
• Arrange and attend stakeholder meetings with evaluation teams and ensure that feedback of stakeholder responses and requests to evaluation teams are responded to within agreed timelines.
• Attend client-facing meetings, collaborative planning workshops and report to clients on progress.
• Support the implementation of IDEV knowledge management strategies by supporting evaluation teams throughout the evaluation process (acting as a peer reviewer and providing constructive comments on approach papers, inception reports, (draft) evaluation reports and other evaluation products as required), undertaking outreach, broadly disseminating findings and knowledge from IDEV evaluations, and responding to questions about evaluations.
• Prepare a range of knowledge products summarizing and presenting findings and lessons from IDEV evaluations, including evaluation reports, briefs and highlights, factsheets, info-graphics, audio-visual productions, presentations, lessons learned, etc.
• Ensure that the products meet high quality standards and that their content responds to the knowledge needs of various audiences: Bank operations staff and management, authorities and beneficiaries in Regional Member Countries, other development partners, researchers/academia, the media, etc.
• Disseminate IDEV knowledge products through various channels, including print and electronic publication and distribution, direct mailings, virtual and physical events, the IDEV website, social media, etc. Ensure that evaluation results are communicated across the Bank, including by undertaking presentations to stakeholders and staff.
• Develop relationships and collaborate with other Bank departments, external stakeholders and clients to ensure the widest possible dissemination of evaluative knowledge.
• Develop relationships with evaluation departments of other organizations to exchange best practices.
• Coordinate and guide the work of more junior staff members and consultants.
• Perform other duties as required.

Selection Criteria

• Hold at least a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Social Sciences, or related field.
• A Certification in knowledge management is desirable
• Have a minimum of five (5) years’ professional experience in international development.
• Knowledge of the Bank’s and IDEV’s mandate, strategic priorities, policies and operations.
• Ability to plan and manage projects, to guide project teams and to provide expert advice to project teams.
• Knowledge of methodologies, implementation, developments and trends in knowledge management and communication.
• Experience with knowledge management and communication
• Experience in participatory approaches and stakeholder engagement
• Experience having contributed to institutional/culture change
• Ability to maintain overview of issues with strong attention to detail
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing
• Ability to capture and communicate key messages succinctly.
• Ability to package and present information according to the needs of the audience.
• Excellent research, writing and reporting skills.
• Experience using different communication channels, including social media.
• Skills and experience with outreach campaigns.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other. Proficiency in both languages is desirable.
• Strong client orientation.
• Demonstrable ability to work collaboratively as a professional, strong team player with respect for others and the ethical requirements of the job.
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint); Experience with various online communication channels and dissemination approaches is an added advantage.

Application Closing Date
1st August, 2020.