REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Program and Policy Support Consultancy

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Statistics Department (ECST)

Avenue Joseph Anoma 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01 Cote d’Ivoire

Email : c.baradandikanya@afdb.org ; b.adingra@afdb.org

Background :

The goal of the Statistics Department (ECST) of African Development Bank (AfDB) is to position the institution as the leader and partner of choice for statistical development work in Africa. To that end, its activities focus on: (i) responding to the ever-increasing demand for good statistics to facilitate the design of effective policies and programs and to serve as a tool for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development results geared towards fostering more inclusive and transformative growth in African; (ii) providing technical and financial support to African countries to meet the data needs for the AfDB’s High 5s agenda, as well as the post-2015 SDGs agenda; and (iii) paying a close attention to post-conflict and transitional states, which need targeted and customized support for statistical capacity building.

The activities of the recruiting division, the Economic and the Social Statistics Division (ECST.1), focus on providing technical and financial support to AfDB’s Regional Member countries (RMCs) in generating data to inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development results of policies and strategies. Activities include but are not limited to :

1. Managing and disseminating data for the AfDB’s High 5 and SDGs agenda in RMCs through the Africa Information Highway (AIH) initiative, which aims at revolutionizing data management and dissemination in Africa and serves as a central repository and hub for easy access to real-time development data on African countries ;
2. Coordinating the One Bank Data System, once set up, to ensure quality and consistency of the data that inform the Results Measurement Framework ;
3. Providing support to RMCs on conducting surveys and generating poverty profiles of RMCs to inform the design and implementation of national poverty reduction strategies ;
4. Providing systematic statistical support for country programming and project cycle activities ;
5. Building partnerships with internal and external stakeholders and engage at the appropriate levels to coordinate the Bank’s statistical activities to enable consistent monitoring and evaluation of the Bank’s strategic goals ;
6. Leading the process of tracking economic and social development on the continent and generating projections of macroeconomic indicators for RMCs for the purpose of informing the African Economic Outlook process and other flagship publications of the Bank ;
7. Providing the Bank and member countries with comparative research analysis, socioeconomic data and projections of the most widely used socio-economic parameters relating to Africa’s economy and Bank Group operations.

Objectives of the Assignment :

The consultant will primarily be tasked with supporting the implementation of an ongoing project being financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) geared towards the harmonization of statistics in Africa. The consultant will also provide support to the division in its work of tracking and reporting on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in RMCs through the implementation of the department’s Statistical Capacity Building Program Phase 5 (SCB 5). Key responsibilities of this assignment include organizing several virtual training workshops for country statisticians and government officials hosted by the division under these two projects, as well as designing concept notes and policy briefs for selected initiatives aimed at improving the institutionalization of statistics in national agendas. The Consultant will report to the Manager of the Economic and the Social Statistics Division.

Main Activities and Deliverables :

The consultant will be responsible for completing the following activities :

1. Develop and contribute to concept notes, policy briefs and program implementation documents for specific activities to be conducted under the BMGF and SCB 5 projects ;
2. Prepare the required reporting (financial and activity) documents for submission to project donors ;
3. Support the project implementation teams in any other capacity as requested by Task Managers ;
4. Provide systematic statistical support for country programming and project cycle activities ;
5. Contribute to the development and subsequent improvements of the COVID-19 dashboard ;
6. Serve as the primary coordinator for virtual training workshops and other large-scale events conducted by the division ;
7. Produce articles for various mediums (intranet, newsletters, etc.) that showcase the outcomes of the training workshops and other work of the division ;
8. Fulfill any other duties as requested by the Division Manager or Director ;
9. The Statistics Department (ECST) invites Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services. Interested Consultants shall provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to undertake this Assignment (documents, reference to similar services, experience in similar assignments, etc.) ;
10. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Procurement Policy for Recruitment of Corporate Consultants.

Please, note that interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist.

2020. The estimated duration of services is six (06) months and the estimated starting date is 15 July 2020.
2021. Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information at the address below during the Bank’s working hours: from 08:00 to 17:00 Hours, Abidjan Local Time.
2022. Expression of interest must be received at address not later than 2 July 2020 at 23:00 hours Abidjan local time, and specifically mentioning : Program and Policy Support Consultancy

For attention of Mrs. Bossoma Rose-Marie ADINGRA Statistics Department (ECST)

Avenue Joseph Anoma 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01

Cote d’Ivoire

Phone: (+225) 20 26 58 51

Email: b.adingra@afdb.org (cc: c.baradandikaya@afdb.org)

Requests for clarifications may be sent to b.adingra@afdb.org

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHORT LIST :

A shortlist of three to six individual consultants will be established at the end the request of expressions of interest. The consultants on the shortlist will be judged on the following criteria on the basis of their updated resume.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultancy on Finance and Training Coordinator

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Statistics Department (ECST) Avenue Joseph Anoma 01 B.P. 1387 Abidjan 01Cote d’ivoire

Email : c.baradandikanya@afdb.org ; b.adingra@afdb.org

BACKGROUND :

The goal of the Statistics Department (ECST) of African Development Bank (AfDB) is to position the institution as the leader and partner of choice for statistical development work in Africa. To that end, its activities focus on: (i) responding to the ever-increasing demand for good statistics to facilitate the design of effective policies and programs and to serve as a tool for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development results geared towards fostering more inclusive and transformative growth in African; (ii) providing technical and financial support to African countries to meet the data needs for the AfDB’s High 5s agenda, as well as the post-2015 SDGs agenda; and (iii) paying a close attention to post-conflict and transitional states, which need targeted and customized support for statistical capacity building.

The activities of the recruiting division, the Economic and the Social Statistics Division (ECST.1), focus on providing technical and financial support to AfDB’s Regional Member countries (RMCs) in generating data to inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development results of policies and strategies. Leading the process of tracking economic and social development on the continent and generating projections of macroeconomic indicators for RMCs for the purpose of informing the African Economic Outlook process and other flagship publications of the Bank;

SCOPE OF CONSULTANT’S WORK :

The consultant will primarily be tasked with monitoring the budget of the division and ensuring all funds are properly utilized in accordance with Bank rules and regulations. S/He will also be responsible for organizing several training workshops for country statisticians and government officials hosted by the division in RMCs. The Consultant will report to the Manager of the Economic and the Social Statistics Division.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES :

The consultant will be responsible for completing the following activities :

1. Managing and disseminating data for the AfDB’s High 5 and SDGs agenda in RMCs through the Africa Information Highway (AIH) initiative, which aims at revolutionizing data management and dissemination in Africa and serves as a central repository and hub for easy access to real-time development data on African countries ;
2. Coordinating the One Bank Data System, once set up, to ensure quality and consistency of the data that inform the Results Measurement Framework ;
3. Providing support to RMCs on conducting surveys and generating poverty profiles of RMCs to inform the design and implementation of national poverty reduction strategies ;
4. Providing systematic statistical support for country programming and project cycle activities ;
5. Building partnerships with internal and external stakeholders and engage at the appropriate levels to coordinate the Bank’s statistical activities to enable consistent monitoring and evaluation of the Bank’s strategic goals ;
6. Serve as the primary coordinator for training workshops and other large-scale events conducted by the division ;
7. Fulfill any other duties as requested by the Division Manager or Director.

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS AND SUITABILITY FOR THE TASK :

• At least a Master’s/post graduate degree in a finance or economic discipline ;
• Minimum of 5 years relevant professional experience ;
• Competence in the use of standard software and finance packages used in the Bank (Microsoft Office packages, knowledge of SAP an advantage) ;
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, with a good working knowledge of French ;
• Ability to write reports and complete tasks on a timely basis ;
• Excellent interpersonal and coordination skills in liaising with colleagues ;
• Ability to work in both a team environment and, in specific areas, with a considerable degree of independence ;
• Experience of working in a developing country environment, preferably in Africa.

DURATION OF CONSULTATION :

The consultant will be recruited for a period of six (06) months renewable after evaluation.