Chief Capacity Development 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Chief Capacity Development Officer

Position Number: 50000814
Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Position Grade: PL3

The Complex

• The core mandate of the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Vice Presidency (ECVP) is to lead the Bank Group in prioritizing the generation, analysis, dissemination, brokering, and implementation of relevant knowledge solutions in all High-5 operational priorities and the cross-cutting themes of its Ten-Year Strategy. Such solutions must be a clear response to priority development challenges facing regional member countries (RMCs), individually or collectively, and need to involve RMCs in both the planning and implementation of the solutions.
• The key focus areas include (i) research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods; (ii) country diagnostics and future perspectives; (iii) policy dialogue and advisory services; (iv) economic, sector, and thematic knowledge work; (v) improving national and sub-regional statistical systems; (vi) preparation, design, and support to the implementation of public financial management and Governance operations; (vii) capacity development for policy formulation and implementation; (viii) technical assistance and advice related to RMCs’ management of natural resources; and (vii) knowledge dissemination and development of national, regional, and inter regional knowledge networks.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The African Development Institute (ECAD) is the Bank Group’s focal point for institutional capacity development support to regional member countries (PMCs). It also coordinates and oversees capacity development in the Bank Group and champion the Bank’s capacity development interventions (training, technical assistance and policy dialogue) in the RMCs for enhanced development effectiveness.
• The Department leads the Bank’s implementation of several flagship capacity development initiatives, including the Institutional Capacity and Fiduciary Clinics (ICFCs), Public Finance Management Academy for Africa (PFMA), Macro-economic Policy Management Academy for Africa (MEMA), the Bank’s Global Community of Practice Policy  Dialogue; the Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers Lecture Series (ESLS); and the Public Service delivery Index for Africa (PSDI), Country Capacity Development Needs Assessments (CCDNAs), Country Capacity Diagnostic Notes (CCDNs), among others.
• The Department comprises of three Divisions – (i) Program Development Division (ECAD.1); Policy Management Division (ECAD.2); and (iii) Knowledge Management and Information services Division (ECAD.3), each led by a manager who reports to the Director.
• The Division of Programme Development (ECAD.1) supports programme quality and project cycle management effectiveness by providing capacity development mainstreaming and advisory services to Bank operations; capacity development diagnostics and analytical tools; and capacity building activities in support of country portfolio performance enhancement.  

The Position

• The Chief Capacity Development Officer, ECAD1, will play an active role in the day-to-day delivery of the Department’s mandate, ensuring that high-quality standards are met, and collaborating with the staff of ECAD and other Bank Units as well as external partners to promote capacity development in Africa.
• The successful candidate will play a leading role in the implementation of the Bank’s Capacity Development Strategy (CDS) by strengthening the capacity of regional member countries (RMCs) to effectively design and implement their development programmes and projects, leveraging capacity development analytical tools, supply outcomes and knowledge to ensure quality at entry, during implementation and at completion, to achieve development effectiveness.

Specifically, the Chief Capacity Development Officer will be responsible for the following roles:

• Lead capacity development mainstreaming effort in Bank programmes and projects from the design stage to completion.
• Lead, design, and support the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of ICFCs in all RMCs.
• Lead, design, and produce capacity development analytical tools and country capacity needs assessment reports.
• Build country capacity development programmes, drawing on capacity needs assessment results.
• Advise ECAD Management and Bank Senior Management on the design and delivery of quality capacity development improvement measures for improved development effectiveness in the RMCs.
• Foster relationships with external (bilateral and multilateral) clients as well as regional and national institutions with a view to enhancing support for implementation and harmonization of capacity development initiatives.
•  Oversee resource mobilization and utilization in the Division and across the Department, for efficient delivery of planned activities, including addressing emerging capacity development needs in the RMCs.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Manager, Program Development Division (ECAD1), the Chief Capacity Development officer will:

• Provide the Bank with Capacity Development assessment, guidance and evaluation tools for use along the Bank’s operational business cycle.
• Provide intellectual leadership to improve capacity development effectiveness in RMCs, by leading the drafting of concept notes, making presentations, drafting policy briefs, and undertaking appropriate analysis based on outcomes of the Seminars, etc.
• Deliver capacity development analysis to support programme and project design quality and implementation effectiveness.
• Design, deliver, assess, and evaluate ICFCs in support of portfolio enhancements in RMCs.
• Design and deliver the CCDNs and CCDNAs to inform the design of tailored, country-specific, and context-focused capacity development initiatives for RMCs.
• Review the Bank’s core policy, strategy, and operational documents to ensure capacity development integration in the Bank operations, by providing useful comments based on good judgment.
• Organize policy dialogues on capacity development to engage the RMCs in sustaining the catalytic role of capacity in development effectiveness.
• Oversee capacity development data management and contribute to capacity development impact evaluation, focusing on the Bank Group’s Capacity Development Strategy.
• Coordinate the preparation of annual Capacity Development Report covering the division’s workstreams.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly Capacity Development briefs to inform ECAD Director, ECVP complex and Senior Leadership of the Bank of emerging developments and best practices in capacity development issues.
• Oversee the preparation of the African Development Institute’s input into the Bank Group’s Annual Report.
• Support knowledge leverage, dissemination, and outreach within the Bank and in the regional member countries, for increased ownership and development effectiveness.
• Produce and contribute to producing high-quality capacity development and other knowledge products for publication on the G-CoP knowledge series and other platforms that include those of the Bank and externally.
• Advise the Management of the African Development Institute on the design and implementation of quality and impactful capacity development initiatives and measures for improved development effectiveness in the Regional Member Countries.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to reflect capacity development priorities in the design of capacity development activities.
• Represent the Bank at High-level Capacity Development fora, to foster and enhance alignment and harmonization of capacity development approach and delivery.
• Supervise consultants’ activities and mentor colleagues to ensure effective delivery of the work program and key performance indicators of the Division’s work.
• Represent the ECAD Director and ECAD.1 Division Manager in meetings, upon request.
• Undertake any other duties as may be requested by ECAD Director and ECAD.1 Division Manager.

Competencies (Skills, Experience, and Knowledge)

• Hold at minimum a Master's Degree in Development Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy, Governance / Political Science, Law, or any area of the Bank’s High Fives, with top-notch experience in addressing development challenges, especially in African countries, preferably gained in diverse bilateral and multilateral development agencies. A PhD in the above-mentioned areas would be an added advantage.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant work experience in programme and project development, capacity development management, with strong professional practice of results-based programme and project cycle management, design of analytical reports, knowledge harnessing in the RMCs, etc. Strong experience in the development and delivery of development policies, programmes and operations in the RMCs is a must.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing strategies and implementation tools.
• Strategic mindset and strong capacity to build and manage strategic partnerships with a results-oriented mindset.
• Strong experience and proven track record in the design and delivery of capacity development tools, public policy analyses, and/or capacity development in international development settings, especially in Africa.
• Strong ability to translate development challenges into knowledge and leverage challenges and opportunities for formulation of effective capacity development initiatives.
• Good knowledge of andragogy and proven experience in curriculum development or design of training programmes and modules.
• Proven ability to build and lead a team in an interdisciplinary, multicultural and multilingual environment, with excellent team spirit, valuing mutual respect as well as regular and open communication.
• Proven track record resource in resource mobilization ability to support project and program implementation, through successful collaboration with external donors and the Resource Mobilization and Partnership Unit to identify bilateral sources of funds and alternative sources of financing initiatives not budgeted.
• Experience working with international, regional and/or national capacity development institutions to deepen and expand the scope of capacity development activities in the RMCs.
• Experience in managing trainings in collaboration with external partners and other relevant staff members across the Bank is an asset.
• Experience in managing institutional support grants involving the RMCs or regional institutions in Africa.
• Demonstrated contribution to the Bank’s core policy, strategy and operational documents or similar tasks in peer organization.
• Contribution to the drafting of the African Economic Outlook and participation in relevant peer review meetings is an advantage.
• Superior monitoring and evaluation abilities combined with strong analytical and negotiation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications and SAP.

Application Closing Date
5th January, 2024.