Junior Consultant Research Associate - RDTS (EOI) 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.

The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) invites applications for the position below:

Job Title: Expression of Interest (EOI) for Junior Consultant - Research Associate - RDTS

Location: Home-based
Department issuing the request: RDTS
Place of assignment: Home-Based
Duration of the assignment: 6 months
Tentative Date of commencement: February 15, 2023

Background

• Over the past decade, Africa has seen enormous growth and transformation that has expanded opportunities and improved living conditions for millions of people. More than two-thirds of African countries have strengthened their quality of governance, improved basic services, and expanded economic opportunities.
• Yet, there are significant risks that this momentum could be undermined by important pressures—continuing patterns of exclusion and poverty, unemployment, high migration, rapid urbanization, climate change and poor management of natural resources—that threaten to overwhelm existing institutional capacities for managing political, economic, social and environmental challenges.
• These pressures are making every single African country more vulnerable, and, if unaddressed, often can also have negative regional spillovers.
• The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) is responsible for overseeing and implementing the African Development Bank Group’s 2022-26 Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa. It leads the Bank Group’s work on Fragility—at analytical strategic and operational levels—, including activities of all fragility and resilience experts posted in the various Regional Hubs and Country Offices.

Brief Description of the Assignment

• The main responsibility of the Research Associate (Junior Consultant) is to provide analytical and operational inputs to the implementation of the Bank Group’s Fragility and Resilience Strategy.
• The Junior Consultant will support RDTS in planning, organising, and coordinating its activities articulated around three areas: (1) Partnerships in support of the operationalization of the 2022-26 Strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa; (2) Rollout of the 2023 Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA) exercise and its derivative analytical and knowledge products; and (3) Administration of the 2023 lending activities of the Transition Support Facility (TSF).

Duties and Responsibilities

• Under the general supervision of RDTS Director, the main responsibility of the Research Associate (Junior Consultant) is to provide analytical and operational inputs to the implementation of the Bank Group’s fragility and resilience agenda.
• The junior consultant will support RDTS in planning, organising, and coordinating its activities articulated around three areas:
  • Partnerships in support of the operationalization of the 2022-26 Strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa;
  • Rollout of the 2023 Country Resilience and Fragility Assessment (CRFA) exercise and its derivative analytical and knowledge products; and
  • Administration of the 2023 lending activities of the Transition Support Facility (TSF).

Under these areas, he/she will be required to perform the following main tasks: Partnerships in support of 2022-26 Fragility & Resilience Strategy:

• Support the implementation of action-driven and joint activities with humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding actors, as well as private sector operators and civil society organizations in fragile and conflict-affected situations. This includes support to prepare, advance and up-date institutional partnerships as needed (such as MOUs, Framework Agreements, Action Plans etc.). This also includes M&E and updates/maintaining respective Teams sites/entries as required.
• Support joint fragility assessments, joint programming, and joint capacity development activities with bilateral and multilateral partners towards promoting dialogue with national authorities and regional organizations.
• Provide research reviews and technical inputs in support of RDTS and/or Bank’s participation in regional and international advocacy forums and resource mobilization platforms.
• Support the implementation of the migration/Forced Displacement-Diaspora workstream of RDTS in partnership with internal departments and external partners.
• Provide research assistance and logistics support for the organization the Africa Resilience Forum 2023, including outreach to and engagement with internal and external partners in support of the organization of the 2023 Africa Resilience Forum.
• The rollout of the 2023 CRFA and its Products, and other Department Analytical Flagships:
• Support the implementation of the 2023 CRFA exercise, including the organization of necessary meetings, the collection of internal and external data metrics, the compilation of the CRFA scores, and the technical validation of final scores.
• Provide quantitative and qualitative analytical inputs feeding into the preparation of the 2023 CRFA Report and Profiles and help RDTS engage in a consultation process with internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist in integrating feedback from the review process, editing, formatting, translating and printing the 2023 CRFA Report and Profiles. Support various validation processes, the launch, and the publication of the final products.
• Contribute research assistance or logistics support for the Economic and Sector Work on Developing a New Delivery Model for Implementation in Insecure Environments.
• Contribute to the conceptualization and operationalization of the CRFA web portal. Continuously provide data engineering support in updating the web portal with relevant content and compelling interfaces. Administration of the 2023 TSF Lending Activities:
• Support the development of the updated TSF Operational Guidelines, including consultations with appropriate internal units, the Board of Directors, and external partners and shareholders.
• Provide technical inputs feeding into the drafting, review, and clearance processes of the updated TSF Operational Guidelines. Support awareness raising with the Board of Directors, key management members, and operational and sectorial staff.
• Support the preparation of TSF-related advocacy and communication materials supporting portfolio management, pipeline development, partnerships, co-financing, and resource mobilization efforts.
• Support efforts for the compilation of country eligibility, calculation of country allocations, the implementation of TSF Call-for-Proposals processes, as well as monitoring and reporting on the utilization of TSF resources.
• In coordination with fragility and resilience experts conduct desk research and provide analytical inputs in support of for the application of the fragility lens in TSF-funded operations.
• Carry out any other duties at the request of the Task Manager and/or RDTS Management.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Economics, Statistics, International Development, Development Economics, International Relations, or related development fields;
• Under 32 years old and a minimum of 2 (two) years of proven experience in policy and strategy issues with solid analytical qualifications, data engineering abilities, coordination capacities and organisational skills;
• Good understanding of development economics and specificities of Regional Member Countries (RMCs) and their respective regional contexts combined with proven exposure to the Bank Group’s corporate functions and existing strategies, operations, processes and instruments would be strong assets;
• Working experience with international/development organizations and knowledge of the African Development Bank Group’s strategic and operational approach to addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa is an added advantage;
• Ability to critically analyse and compile information from different sources. Experience in using data-driven approaches to analyse, assess and make recommendations on policies, strategies and operations at country and/or regional levels;
• Ability to handle stress due to multiple, simultaneous and shifting demands. Demonstrated record of operational effectiveness, capacity to deliver output in a timely manner, client orientation, problem-solving, communication and teamwork; • Ability to communicate and write effectively preferably in both working languages of the Bank Group, French & English, and capacity to handle discussions with diplomacy and tact;
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Teams). Knowledge of database management systems is an added advantage.

Accountabilities

• The Junior Consultant will work under the overall guidance by RDTS management, with direct supervision by a dedicated RDTS Task Manager, and will report to and support the key RDTS staff with regards to the specific tasks undertaken.

Duration and Location

• The consultant is expected to begin his/her mission preferably on February 15, 2023, for a duration of six (6) months, with potential extension. This is a home-based assignment. Physical presence in the premises of the Bank is not required.
• If the consultant needs to travel to take up this assignment, all travel arrangements and payments shall be in accordance with the Bank’s Travel Policy.

Remuneration

• Remuneration will be commensurable with experience, in line with the Bank Group’s compensation guidelines.
• In addition, if the consultant needs to travel to take up this assignment, round trip economy class air-tickets—with the shortest route—will be provided.
• The consultant will be responsible for his/her personal health insurance at his own cost, including all medical expenses resulting from illnesses or injuries that may happen during the assignment.

Application Closing Date
7th February, 2023. at 17:00 hours, Abidjan local time

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their updated Curriculum Vitae (based on the template in Annex I) and letter of interest in a single PDF file (in English or in French) to: [email protected] and [email protected] with the following email format:

• File name: “[last name], [first name]” (e.g. Peterson, Anna)
• Subject line: “RDTS Junior Consultant – Research Associate”

Click here for more information

Click here for the Job Description (PDF)

Note

• Candidates are encouraged to include references to proven research and analytical products as well as projects/programs developed, led, co-led or supported under their previous working experience.
• Please attach an updated Curriculum Vitae based on the template in Annex I in the PDF document above.