Chief Legal Counsel - Operations, ALSF 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Chief Legal Counsel - Operations, ALSF

Position Number: 50106332
Location: Abidjan - Cote d'Ivoire, Pretoria - South Africa or Nairobi - Kenya
Position Grade: PL3

The African Legal Support Facility

• The African Legal Support Facility (“ALSF” or “Facility”) is an international organization dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in matters pertaining to creditor litigation and complex commercial transactions.
• The goal of the Facility is to remove asymmetric technical capacities and level the field of legal expertise among parties during litigation and negotiations. The ALSF's main objectives include:
  • Assisting African Governments in defending against litigation brought against them by vulture funds (and other such entities);
  • Providing legal advisory services to African Governments in the negotiation of complex commercial transactions relating to natural resources & extractive industries, infrastructure/PPPs, energy and sovereign debt (“Key Sectors”);
  • Capacity building for lawyers and Government officials related to the above; and
  • Development of knowledge products.
• The ALSF is hosted at the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and was established by Treaty on December 22, 2008. Its membership is open to (a) all AfDB member states; (b) other states; (c) AfDB; and (d) other international organizations or institutions. The ALSF currently has 60 members, comprising 53 countries and 7 international organizations".

The Position
The core responsibilities for this position is to manage and monitor the advisory services provided to African Governments by the ALSF and to assist the Division Manager & Head of Operations:

• In supporting, managing and monitoring legal counsel responsible for: (i) the legal analysis and advisory work, (ii) jointly with the capacity building unit, developing knowledge management solutions and initiatives, (iii) market research and sector analysis to support sound project proposals, and (iv) projects’ supervision and management of external counsel;
• In planning the funding requirements for ALSF’s project pipeline and implementation, (ii) build up the said project pipeline to meet the Facility’s objectives, and (iii) coordinating with the finance department to assess the liquidity needs for ALSF’s activities.

Key Functions
The Chief Legal Counsel will report to the Division Manager & Head of Operations and will work closely with internal and external stakeholders. The incumbent’s role includes but is not limited to:

• Analysis of country requests for legal assistance and review and supervise the preparation of project proposals and reports to the Director and Management Board of the Facility;
• Supervise and coordinate the preparation of briefs regarding legal due diligence required to carry out proposed operations;
• Assist in recruiting and managing external legal counsel, including negotiating cost effective fee arrangements;
• Assist in recruiting and managing internal legal counsel, including evaluating their performance;
• Regularly liaise and interact with senior government officials to discuss ALSF’s interventions;
• Provide advice to senior government officials in the context of complex commercial transactions;
• Contribute to compilation of precedents and best practices in negotiating complex commercial transactions;
• Establish ALSF's preferred market standards for transactions and coordinate the drafting of ALSF's standard agreements relevant to the Key Sectors;
• Liaise with partners, co-financiers and facilitate cooperation with other development partners;
• Assist the Division Manager & Head of Operations in the planning of the funding requirements for ALSF’s project pipeline and programme implementation;
• Coordinate with the finance department the assessment of the liquidity needs for ALSF’s activities;
• Assist in developing strategy to attract more project specific funding from development partners and private market participants;
• Assist in the drafting of policy documents on operational matters relating to the Facility;
• Mentor and assist with the development of team members;
• Assist with the development of a strategy to attract more project specific grants from development partners and private participants;
• Assist with the coordination the administrative process and funding structuring of the private entity funding framework; and
• Perform such other assignments as may be required from time to time by the Division Manager & Head of Operations, and Director of the Facility.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• A minimum of a Master's Degree or related disciplines in Law plus admission to the Bar of a member of the African Development Bank. Any other professional qualification relevant to the position is an added advantage.
• Relevant Skills and Experience: at least eight (8) years of relevant work experience including experience in all of the following areas:
  • Legal: Demonstrated experience and understanding of the sector(s) relevant to ALSF’s portfolio of projects;
  • Finance: Demonstrated understanding of the financial concepts and principles underlying project financed transactions;
  • Technical: Demonstrated understanding of the sector trends relevant to ALSF’s portfolio of projects.
• Relevant professional experience preferably with an established international law firm, and/or international financial institution, with proven technical competence and experience in international private law, project finance, extractive resources, international arbitration and/or commercial contracts;
• Strong skills in preparation and negotiation of complex legal documents including briefs, legal opinions, commercial transaction agreements and related transactions;
• Demonstrated effective management and coordination skills and an ability to work under pressure in a multicultural environment to complete multiple tasks and meet deadlines;
• High-level skills in communication, team building, inter-personal relationships, writing, and analytical skills;
• Competence in Microsoft Office; knowledge of cloud-based project management software;
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English and/or French with good working knowledge of the other language;
• Must be a citizen of a member country of the African Development Bank;
• Must demonstrate a high level of integrity, moral values, discretion and confidentiality;
• Willingness to undertake extensive travel (up to 30% of time).

Application Closing Date
30th April, 2022.