AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP

STAFF RETIREMENT PLAN

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

FOR

AN INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

Reference : SRPU/EOI/DESKTOP/PROCEDURES MANUAL/2021

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

STAFF RETIREMENT PLAN

Avenue Joseph Anoma 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire

STAFF RETIREMENT PLAN UNIT

EMAIL : plan_administrator@afdb.org

Title of the assignment : SRPU Desktop/Procedures manual

Brief description of the Assignment : The objective of this assignment is to design and develop a Procedures Manual which describes faithfully the processes, procedures, work instructions in a clear, simple, comprehensive and accessible manner while meeting international quality standards and norms. A consultant, for whom terms of reference are defined below, will be recruited for this purpose.

Profile of the consultant : The Consultant must have at least a Masters’ degree in the areas of accounting, auditing, financial management or related fields. He/she shall possess a proven record of accomplishment of at least 10 years, specific experience in drafting procedures manual and a sound knowledge of the procedures and policies of international organizations.

The Consultant shall also have good interpersonal skills, good communication skills and very good command of English and French.

Individual consultants are invited to indicate their interest in providing the Above -described services.

Place of assignment : The consultant will work under the responsibility of the Plan administrator of the Staff Retirement Plan based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Duration of the assignment : Tree months from the date of commencement of assignment

Tentative Date of commencement : 1st October 2021

Applications to be submitted using the following address : plan_administrator@afdb.org

Deadline for applications : 20 August 2021, not later than 17:00 GMT and must be clearly marked : “ SRPU/EOI/ DESKTOP/PROCEDURES MANUAL /2021”

Interested eligible consultants shall provide a cover letter of maximum 300 words, in addition to their Curriculum Vitae using the format in Appendix 1.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of a shortlist and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Rules and Procedures for the Use of Consultants under projects financed by the Bank Group. Please note that the interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist.

It is required that all consultants of the Bank be registered in our database of using the following link : https://econsultant.afdb.org:44356/welcomedacon#.

Any questions and requests for clarifications may be sent to : plan_administrator@afdb.org

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Background :

1.1 The Staff Retirement Plan (SRP or the “Plan”) of the African Development Bank (the “Bank”) was established by Resolution No. 05/89 of the Board of Governors on 31 May 1989 and became operational on 1^st January 1990. The Plan is a Defined Benefits (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) Scheme providing the following benefits: normal and early pension, death benefit (spouse and children), disability pension, withdrawal benefit and DC capital.

The main objective of the Plan is to provide income security to participants after separation from the Bank or to their survivors at the time of death of the member.

Regular benefits are paid monthly or quarterly to pensioners in several currencies and are adjusted annually with the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).

1.2 The Plan is financed by contributions from participants (9% of salaries) and the Bank (18% of salaries), as well as income generated from investments of the Plan’s assets which are invested by external asset managers in Africa and in the international financial markets.

1.3 The administration of the Plan is vested in three entities: the Steering Committee, the Investment Committee and the Plan Administrator.

1.3.1     The Steering Committee has the responsibility of :

• formulating the strategies and major policies of the Plan ;

• supervising the administration of the benefits provided under the Plan ;

• reviewing and following up the periodic actuarial valuation of the Plan ;

• monitoring the activities of the Plan Investment Committee.

1.3.2     The Investment Committee is responsible for the assessment of the global management of the Plan portfolio, payments made, the review of the sustainability of the Plan with an overall responsibility for the financial management of the Plan.

1.3.3     The Plan Administrator conducts the day-to-day operational and administrative business of the Plan and, subject to other provisions of the Plan, acts as the official representative of the Plan. The Plan Administrator office comprises two sections :

• Investment management service ;
• Benefit administration service.

1.4   Key documents of the Plan Administration are :

• Plan rules approved by the Board of Directors which governs the Administration, Investments and Benefits of the pension plan ;
• Administrative rules approved by the Steering Committee which interprets and complements the provision of the Plan ;
• Governance manual which describes the Governance and Administration structure of the plan, presents policies and procedures, guidelines, templates and examples relevant to administration and operations of Plan.

In addition to the above, the Plan Administrator aims to equip the Unit with a work-related procedures manual which formalizes all operational and administrative activities of the core business and any other associated task ranging from the secretarial task, acquisition of good, budgeting to archiving.

1.5     A number of reforms have been made to the Plan in the last two decades, including :

1. 2004: Definition of the role of the Bank towards the Plan ;
2. 2007: Inclusion of employees in Regional and Country offices of the Bank to the SRP ;
3. 2008: Introduction of spouse pension and reduction of early retirement reduction rates ;
4. 2009: 1^st Financial Sustainability Reforms of the SRP ;
5. 2010: Creation of the SRP Administration ;
6. 2011: Adoption of new commutation factors ;
7. 2012: Increase in the retirement age to 62 ;
8. 2015: 2nd Financial Sustainability Reform of the SRP.

2018 : Reforms for an Alternative Plan Structure resulting in a DB/DC (Hybrid) Scheme

1.6    Key interactions :

Within the Bank, the Plan Administration office interacts with the Human Resources, Treasury, Financial control, IT, Internal Audit and Risk Departments and outside the Bank, its principal stakeholders are the actuaries, the asset managers, the external auditors and sister organizations.

2. Objective of the Assignment :

The objective of this assignment is to design and develop a Procedures Manual which describes faithfully the processes, procedures, work instructions in a clear, simple, comprehensive and accessible manner while meeting international quality standards and norms.

The manual will : contain all activities carried out by all Staff Retirement staff taking into account segregation of duties and appropriate control measures ;

Make reference to the Plan rules as well as any other related documents or forms used by the Plan in order to : 

• Structure and optimize processes ;
• Strengthen understanding and control of activities and risks including key person risk ;
• Ensure business continuity and serve as a Training aid for new appointees ;
• Serve as a basis for internal initiatives for system improvement and strengthening of internal controls ;
• Improve communication within the pension staff and with internal and external partners.

3. Scope : 

The framework of the project will be as follows : 

• Mapping the different processes covering the activities of the Plan Administration, ranging from front office tasks to the management of investments and the administration of benefits ;  
• Formalize and submit for the Plan administrator’s validation, the processes and procedures using flow charts to emphasize the written descriptions of activities , with particular emphasis on areas where controls are to be implemented or reinforced; and develop, if necessary, operating modes attached to the various procedures.

4. Input to the study : 

The study will be based on the following documentary resources :

• The Regulations and administrative rules of the Plan ;
• The administration and existing governance manual ;
• Annual reports, Internal Audit reports, SRP Reforms, Investment Guidelines, Actuarial valuations, Asset Liability Management (ALM) studies and other similar relevant documents ;
• The Consultant’s shall gather all relevant information and undertake initial discussion; consult with any concerned stakeholders within the Bank and outside if necessary; and maintain regular communication with the Plan Administrator on the structure and content of the report  ;
• In addition to the above, a one-on-one interaction section of the consultant with each member of the Office of the Plan Administrator for a clear and thorough description of his/her activities and interaction with others is recommended.

5. Deliverables

The Consultant shall deliver a draft procedure manual to the Plan administration office and, shall amend it, as necessary, to include comments received. The final document reflecting all comments shall be delivered to the Plan Administrator.

6. Timetable : 

• The assignment should be completed within a period of three months from the date of commencement of assignment ;
• The process mapping will be presented within two weeks from the commencement date ;
• The first draft report should be produced within two months from the commencement date ;
• The Plan Administration and his team should provide their comments and reviews within two weeks of the initial draft report submission ;
• The final procedure manual in French and English reflecting comments shall be delivered to the Plan Administrator within the next two weeks.

APPENDIX 1. FORMAT OF CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

Education: {List college/university or other specialized education, giving names of educational institutions, dates attended, degree(s)/diploma(s) obtained}

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Employment record relevant to the assignment: {Starting with present position, list in reverse order. Please provide dates, name of employing organization, titles of positions held, types of activities performed and location of the assignment, and contact information of previous clients and employing organization(s) who can be contacted for references. Past employment that is not relevant to the assignment does not need to be included.}

Membership in Professional Associations and Publications:

______________________________________________________________________

Language Skills (indicate only languages in which you can work):

______________________________________________________________________

Certification:

I, the undersigned, certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, this CV correctly describes myself, my qualifications, and my experience, and I am available to undertake the assignment in case of an award. I understand that any misstatement or misrepresentation described herein may lead to my disqualification or dismissal by the Client, and/or sanctions by the Bank.

{day/month/year}

Name of Expert                                                                      Signature                                                                              Date