REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP
Headquarters
Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS)
E-mail : e.kemayou@afdb.org and a.l.sanogo@afdb.org
Expressions of interest are being requested for a Junior Consultant Position
Brief description of the Assignment : The main responsibility of the Junior Research Analyst Consultant is to provide research and analytical support to the implementation of the Bank Group’s fragility agenda. The consultant will support RDTS around two areas: (1) Assessing the readiness of Countries in fragile situations in Africa to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, including the availability of countries’ implementation capacity, requisite infrastructure, policy coherence, so as to ensure that no country is left behind; (2) Providing upstream research to fragility experts in the preparation of their analytical work.
Department issuing the request : Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS)
Place of assignment : Abidjan
Period of the assignment : 6 months, from May 3rd, 2021 to October 29, 2021
Expected start date of the assignment : May 3rd, 2021
Last date for expressing interest : April 20, 2021
Expression of interest to be submitted to : e.kemayou@afdb.org and a.l.sanogo@afdb.org
Questions and clarifications to be addressed to : e.kemayou@afdb.org
How to Apply :
Interested candidates are invited to 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 e.kemayou@afdb.org and a.l.sanogo@afdb.org with the following email format.
File name : “[last name], [first name]” (e.g. Peterson, Anna)
Subject line : “RDTS Junior Consultant – Research Analyst”
Candidates are encouraged to include references to proven research and analytical products developed under their previous working experience.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYTICS CONSULTANT
- BACKGROUND :
The African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. The Bank’s development agenda entails delivering financial and technical support to transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas of focus (High 5), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; light up and power Africa (energy), feed Africa (agriculture and nutrition), industrialize Africa (industrialization), integrate Africa (regional integration and intra-regional trade) and improve the quality of life for Africans (sustainable socio-economic development).
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.
The Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) oversees and leads the implementation of the African Development Bank Group’s fragility agenda. It coordinates the Bank Group’s work—at analytical, strategic and operational levels—on addressing fragility and building resilience in Regional Hubs and Country Offices.
- DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :
Under the general supervision of RDTS Director, the main responsibility of the Junior Research Analyst Consultant is to provide background research and analysis support in the context of the implementation of the Bank Group’s fragility agenda.
The consultant will support RDTS activities articulated around two areas: (1) Assessing the readiness of Transition States in Africa to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), so as to ensure that no country is left behind; (2) Providing upstream research to fragility experts in the preparation of their analytical work.
Under these areas, he/she will be required to perform the following tasks:
2.1 Assessing the readiness of Transition States in Africa to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement :
- Collect and manage data relevant for scaling up the implementation of AfCFTA in countries in fragile situations and analyze the societal and socio-political dimensions of trade facilitation and its linkages with community resilience ;
- Conduct research and draft context specific and country-focused background analysis targeting priority areas relevant for implementation of AfCFTA and its relationship with the Bank’s fragility and resilience agenda.
2.2 Providing upstream research to fragility experts in the preparation of their analytical work :
- Monitor major ongoing and emerging policy or advocacy documents as well as analytical reports in line with global trends and thinking on issues of fragility and long-term resilience approaches ;
- Conduct desk research on key socio-economic, institutional and environmental trends and contribute to a diverse range of RDTS products including briefing notes, fragility notes and/or fragility resilience assessments ;
- Under the guidance of the Team Lead, coordinate closely with colleagues within RDTS to draft context specific background analysis and support the production of any related outputs and reports focusing on diverse country-focused, regional and/or thematic fragility and resilience issues;
The consultant will also be required to perform any other duties including administrative tasks required to facilitate the analytical projects, as may be assigned by the Director or the task manager for this undertaking.
- Management and supervision of the consultancy :
The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Director of RDTS and the immediate supervision of the task manager for this undertaking.
- Duration and location of the assignment :
The Consultant will collaborate closely with key stakeholders and will work on a full-time basis for a period of six (6) months, from May 3rd, 2021 to October 29th, 2021. The consultant will be based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and require fulltime presence in the Bank’s offices, as soon as it is practical to do so and in line with the Bank Group’s guidance for return to the office.
- REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS :
- Master’s degree in Economics, International Development, Development Economics, or related development fields ;
- Be under 32 years of age ;
- A minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 years working experience with an international organization, in Africa or other low-income countries, in research work and analytics in the context of international development and/or International Trade ;
- Experience in policy and strategy formulations, with solid analytical qualifications, coordination capacities and organizational skills. Sample of previous work may be requested from the consultant ;
- Excellent research, writing and reporting skills, with strong attention to detail ;
- Good understanding of fragility challenges, socioeconomic development, trade and globalization, specificities of African countries and their respective regional contexts would be a strong asset ;
- Proven capacity to work in a team, to deliver outputs in a timely manner and under tight deadlines with limited supervision ;
- 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 compile information from different sources. Experience in using data-driven approaches to analyze, 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 and Power Point).
- REMUNERATION :
The Consultant will be paid a competitive monthly lump sum for the entire period in accordance with Bank’s scale set for Consultants and commensurate with the number of years of relevant experience. The Bank will cover travel costs – round trip economy class air-tickets, with the shortest route – to join its headquarters, in line with its rules as authorized by the Bank in connection with the contract.
Please attach an updated Curriculum Vitae based on the template in Annex I.
Annex I: Curriculum Vitae Template