Portfolio Officer Consultant - AHHD (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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Expressions of Interest: Portfolio Officer Consultant - AHHD

Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Consultant type: Individual Consultant
Job family: Human Resources and Corporate Services

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy High 5s priority of “Feed Africa” and “Improve Quality of Life for the People of Africa”.
• The complex objectives are (i) to develop, policy and strategy; (ii) provide deep sector expertise to the Regions by gathering pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide sector expertise on complex transactions; (iii) develop new financing instruments; (iv) the Vice President will act as the spoke person to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on aspects of “Feed Africa” and “Improve Quality of Life for the People of Africa”.

The Hiring Department

• The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department spearheads the Bank wide Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy implementation coordination.
• The Department supports the Bank’s Jobs for Youth Flagship coordination, and education, skills, employment, health systems and nutrition programming for industrialisation and economic transformation.
• The Department leads the Bank’s support to Africa’s economic transformation by: (i) developing and promoting the adoption of relevant policies and strategies; (ii) providing deep multi-sector expertise to the regional hubs by gathering a pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted to provide technical advice on complex transactions (Communities of Practice); (iii) developing new financing instruments; and, (iv) fostering strategic partnerships to leverage resources into the human and social development sectors.

The Position

• The African Development Bank adopted in May 2016 the “Jobs for Youth in Africa” (JfYA) Strategy for the period of 2016 – 2025. This Strategy responds to the priorities in the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy and the New Corporate Priorities (High-5s), specifically the High 5 of
• Improving the Quality of Life for the People of Africa. Creating productive jobs for the youth will improve their living conditions and enhance their engagement in Africa’s growth and economic transformation.
• The Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF) is a grant vehicle set up in November 2017 to support the African entrepreneurship ecosystem. Its objective is to promote the creation of durable and sustainable jobs for youth through entrepreneurship. It funds Enterprise Support Organizations (e.g. incubators, accelerators and financial intermediaries) that equip youth and women-led start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with skills and financial support to run bankable businesses. It supports as well countries implement economic and social reforms to create an enabling environment conductive to job creation.
• Finally, it works with Research institutions, Think Tanks and/or Universities in order to produce innovative solutions adjusted to the African entrepreneurship context and reality.
• The Project Portfolio Officer Consultant for the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi Donor Trust Fund will be part of the YEI MDTF Secretariat, which is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund activities.
• The Consultant will support the management of a portfolio of funded projects selected through competitive calls for proposals. The YEI MDTF is seeking to hire one (1) individual consultant for this role.

Scope of Work
The Consultant will work within the YEI MDTF Secretariat, under the supervision of the YEI MDTF Task Manager and general guidance of the JfYA Coordinator. The Consultant will support the day-to-day implementation of the activities of the YEI MDTF and assist in the following areas:
Portfolio Management:

• Support the call for proposals process as needed.
• Support the YEI MDTF Secretariat in project review and screening of full proposals.
• Maintain a pipeline/portfolio management platform that tracks projects across all YEI MDTF components and maintain up-to-date records of the state of advancement of YEI MDTF projects.
• Collect progress reports and other deliverables from projects, and ensure that projects are executed in accordance with the contract or agreement.
• Support overall portfolio management to ensure timely effectiveness of grant agreements / services contracts in line with targets set across the portfolio.
• Keep the YEI MDTF Task Manager informed of any delays, challenges, or risks to the smooth advancement of the YEI MDTF portfolio.
• Maintain up-to-date guidelines, templates and user manuals for internal and external audiences.

Project Management:

• Support Secretariat in project preparation, including writing concept notes and appraisal reports, and conducting desk and on site due diligence missions.
• Support task managers and project executing entities in advancing YEI MDTF projects through the project cycle, particularly in areas of procurement, developing and executing work plans, legal processing, disbursement, and reporting in collaboration with relevant Bank departments.
• Conduct remote and on site monitoring and capacity building missions as needed to support executing entities with the application of the Bank rules and procedures.
• Liaise with internal (e.g. other departments and trust funds) and external stakeholders (e.g. other agencies supporting related projects) to ensure effective coordination of YEI MDTF projects with other ongoing related activities in the relevant countries and regions and to explore opportunities for collaboration.
• Support the M&E expert with monitoring the performance of the projects against the YEI MDTF results management framework.
• Support the Secretariat during meetings with project proponents and other stakeholders, including keeping minutes of meetings.
• Maintain updated files and documents for all projects.

Fund Management Support:

• Support the development of YEI MDTF’s progress reports, annual report and periodic updates as required by the YEI MDTF Task Manager.
• Engage with relevant Bank departments and other trust funds to share experiences and identify best practices in streamlining project cycle processes and procedures and opportunities for collaboration.
• Co-monitor the YEI MDTF email account, including responding to unsolicited requests for funding and organising correspondence.
• Maintain an updated database of contacts and keep YEI MDTF files and documents up to date using the platform Collaboration or other appropriate platform.
• Provide logistical support for the organisation of events, workshops and meetings and take minutes at various events.
• Carry-out research and prepare briefs as required by YEI MDTF Task Manager.
• Support the development of YEI MDTF communications materials, including brochures, press releases and graphics.

Other:

• Other tasks related to the advancement of the objectives of the YEI MDTF, as requested by the YEI MDTF Task manager and the JfYA Coordinator.

Deliverables and Reporting:

• The consultant will report to the YEI MDTF Task Manager. Specific outputs to be produced during the course of the assignment include:
• Brief monthly reports
• Support the YEI MDTF Secretariat in meeting its reporting obligation to the donors, including the preparation of Work Plans, Annual Reports and other reporting requirements as captures in the YEI MDTF Operational and Procedure Guidelines
• Fund-level performance reporting at the project and portfolio level with key metrics.
• Take minutes of meetings and keep YEI MDTF files and records up to date
• Any other report/assignment required by the YEI MDTF Secretariat
• A Completion Report at the end of the assignment outlining all deliverables achieved and further work necessary.

At the conclusion of the assignment, the Consultant’s outputs will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Professional competence
• Analytical, reasoning, organizational and communication skills
• Reliability and organisation
• Output
• Quality of work produced.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)
The qualifications required for this assignment are the following:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, International relations, or related field;
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in the African Development Bank or similar institution and/or in strategic consultancy, development organizations and business development;
• Sound understanding of and ideally practical experience in MSME and entrepreneurship development in Africa;
• Experience of project or portfolio management and/or of trust fund operations with multilateral institutions;
• Client and results oriented, with strong analytical and communication (both verbally and in writing) skills;
• Enthusiasm and ability to learn new concepts quickly and to take initiative;
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail;
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues;
• Good team skills, professional judgment, diplomacy, presentation and maturity;
• Proficiency in MS Office applications, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint; experience in using web platforms for data management would be an advantage;
• Professional proficiency and demonstrated writing and verbal ability in English and French is required.

Selection Criteria

• General Qualifications and suitability to the Tasks 40
• Experience in the specific assignment 30
• Experience with International Institutions 10
• Language Capacity 10
• Working knowledge of the Africa Region 10

Remuneration
Remuneration will be competitive and based on the qualifications and experience of the selected consultant, in line with the Bank’s guidelines on individual consultant remuneration.

Application Closing Date
24th April, 2023.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their Expression of Interest to the email below and specifically mentioning the “EOI_Portfolio Officer Consultant”.

For the attention of:
Mohamed AGREBI:
Email: [email protected]
And copy to:
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Click here for more information

Click here for the Job Description (PDF)

Note

• The AfDB invites individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested individuals shall provide information on their qualification and experience demonstrating their ability to undertake the assignment (experience to similar services, assignments undertaken etc.) by submitting a CV and a motivation letter, to be sent by e-mail to the addresses mentioned below.
• This is a re-advertisement, and consultants who had earlier applied for the position need not reapply.
• Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Rules and Procedures for the Use of Corporate Consultants on the following criteria on the basis of the CVs and other documents received. Consultants should be national of one of the AfDB’s member countries.
• Six shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a technical and financial proposal for the assignment. An interview will be held with the candidates who obtained over 70% following assessment of their proposals. Final ranking will be based on 50% of the scores obtained following assessment of proposals, and 50% of the score obtained from the interview scores.
• The Bank is under no obligation to shortlist any individual who expresses interest.
• Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information at the address above during the Bank’s working hours: from 09:00 to 17:00 GMT.
• The total size of the email file transmitted must not be larger than 5 MB, and all documents must be transmitted in ONE (OR MAXIMUM) TWO FILES ONLY. PDF format is preferred. Files containing malware will be deleted and the application rejected. Applications missing files as listed in (5.) above will be disregarded.
• Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.