African Development Bank Group Job Vacancy : Senior Operations Specialist

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 Banks 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: Senior Operations Specialist

Reference: ADB/19/012
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL5
Position N°: 50086490

The Unit

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is housed in PERN1. SEFA is a multi-donor trust fund financed by the Governments of Denmark, the UK, the USA, Italy and Norway. SEFA provides technical assistance and innovative and catalytic financing for energy access by unlocking private sector investments in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects and programs.

Duties and responsibilities
Under the supervision of the PERN Special Initiatives Manager and the Head of SEFA, the Incumbent will carry out the following tasks:

Programme Administration:

Supervise the pipeline/portfolio management platform that tracks projects across all SEFA components;
Work with the operational teams in carrying portfolio management activities, particularly in areas of procurement, legal processing and disbursement;
Support the team in post-grant activities (project structuring);
Serve as primary liaison and ensure timely responses to solicitations from internal and external stakeholders; and
Maintain up-to-date guidelines, templates and user manuals for internal and external audiences;

Business Development:

Support Secretariat team in project identification, review and screening;
Support applicants and Bank task managers with writing of grant requests;
Provide technical inputs and support due diligence activities on grant applications
Facilitation and liaison with other Bank-hosted concessional finance instruments

Reporting, M&E and Knowledge Management:

Ensure operationalisation of the SEFA’s M&E framework;
Carry supervision missions to assess programme effectiveness;
Lead in the preparation of SEFA’s annual report, quarterly updates and monthly briefs;
Support on development of annual strategies and work plans, closely monitoring implementation;
Carry-out research and prepare briefs as required by Management and SEFA Head.

Public Relations:

Coordinate SEFA public relations workflow and explore possibilities of SEFA web-presence (AfDB website, external website, external donor data platform, etc.)
Manage SEFA communications materials, including brochures and press releases
Liaison and coordination with internal and external partners

Deliverables:

Develop a specific annual work programme contributing to the SEFA objectives
Develop quarterly progress reports
Lead the preparation of the annual reports.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

At least a Master’s degree or equivalent in in Economics, Finance, International Relations, Energy or related field;
A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in project portfolio management, preferably linked to technical assistance and capacity building programs
Experience of working with projects and institutions in Africa, preferably with some exposure to processes and procedures of development finance institutions
Some prior exposure to energy sector, business development and private sector finance not mandatory but considered an advantage
Ability to work independently, pro-actively and with little supervision
Good communication and team skills, professional judgment, presentation and maturity
Proficiency in MS Office applications, particularly excel and access;
Gender and Diversity competence
Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
Working knowledge of an additional language relevant for conducting duties in Sub-Sahel African countries will be an asset;
Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications; knowledge of SAP is an added advantage.