Director – Strategy and Delivery, Office of the President 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: Director – Strategy and Delivery, Office of the President

Position: 50001372
Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Position Grade: EL5

The Complex

• The President, plans, supervises and manages the business of the Bank Group. Under the direction of the Boards of Directors, the President conducts the business of the Bank and the African Development Fund and manages operations and activities in accordance with the Agreements establishing the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund.
• The President supervises several Departments and Units including Office of the President; Independent Development Evaluation Department; Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department; Compliance Review and Mediation Unit; Secretariat to the Sanctions Appeals Board; Administrative Tribunal; Office of the Auditor General; Group Risk Management Directorate;  General Counsel and Legal Services Department; Communication and External Relations Department; Staff Integrity and Ethics Office and Office of the Secretary General & General Secretariat.

The Hiring Departments
The Office of the President assists the President in planning, supervising and managing the business of the Bank Group. Main activities include:

• Monitors, coordinates and supervises the implementation of various Bank programs including administrative issues relating to Directors reporting to the Office of the President;
• Prepares and organizes the President’s missions and represents the Bank, in line with the President’s instructions, at international conferences and meetings; also on working missions to member countries;
•  Prepares and organizes Presidential Council meetings as well as meetings with Bank’s Senior Management, and facilitates follow-up on the decisions of these meetings;
• Reviews, evaluates and gives advice on communication and interaction between the Presidency and the various organs of the Bank;
• Ensures the effective and timely implementation of Board and Management decisions;
• Provides effective administrative and logistic support to facilitate implementation of the President’s programs; and
• Prepares, monitors and submits summaries of audit reports to the President and follows up on the implementation of the recommendations of the reports by concerned Departments/Units.

The Position

• The Director of Strategy and Delivery, in the Office of the President’s Office, provides technical and operational support to the President to ensure strategic focus and the effective delivery on the Bank’s work program as well as reinforcing compliance and accountability.
• As suggested by the title, the position has two inter-related focus areas: strategy and delivery.
• In terms of strategy, the role primarily consists of assisting the President in formalizing the Bank Group’s strategic-planning processes, forging new working relationships and synergies across the institution, and establishing greater transparency and accountability for staff carrying out the Bank Group’s strategy. This is to ensure that the successful creation and execution of strategy focuses not only on good processes but also the ability to make quick decisions.
• Working closely with the Corporate Strategy & Policy Department, the Director acts as the President’s point person in Cabinet in assessing whether the Bank’s strategic initiatives, at all levels of the organization, are in line with the Bank’s standards and objectives.
• A key part of that function is to look for any signs of strategic drift, and if so, to work with others in developing an early warning system, strategic resilience and organizational flexibility. In this regard, the Director also represents the President in the corporate processes for development and approval the Bank’s next Ten-Year Strategy.
• In terms of delivery, the role focuses on working across Complexes with the various delivery teams to ensure timely execution, frontline impact, and stakeholder satisfaction. The role involves working closely with the Development Impact and Results Department , to ensure strategic focus as well as to provide better reporting, greater scrutiny, support, coordination and oversight for effective delivery of the President’s priorities.
• By reporting directly to the President of the Bank and communicating to cross-Complex delivery teams on his behalf, the Director helps ensure accountability in the delivery on the overarching objective of scaling the Bank’s impact.
• Primary coverage: strategy implementation, portfolio delivery, lending (pipeline & portfolio), financial performance, corporate wide initiatives and strategic partnerships.
• The Director also provides cross cutting support in the implementation of the Bank’s High5 operational priorities of its Corporate Strategy, Bank policies and operational strategies, as well as key corporate priorities. In this regard, the Director also provides regular technical and practical advice and recommendations to the President; reviews and provides comments and guidance on strategy papers, policies, briefing notes and operations documents.
• The Director also provides technical advice to ensure cross-Complex coordination and alignment of activities to accelerate deliver on the High5s in the Bank’s regional member countries and across regions.
• The issue of delivery is intimately tied to the following five areas which combine with the programmatic High 5s operational priorities of the Bank to transform the development landscape of Africa: (i) building a stronger institution; (ii) strengthen human capacity; (iii) enhancing effectiveness; (iv) deepening quality and impact; and (v) maintain financial sustainability.

Key Functions
Under the overall supervision of the Director of the President’s Cabinet, the Director of Strategy and Delivery performs the following specific functions:

Support the President to achieve his strategic goals for the African Development Bank Group:

• Work with other members of the President’s cabinet as well as across the Bank to ensure a coordinated and effective approach in the implementation of the Bank’s overall strategy, the High 5s operational priorities and associated corporate targets and performance indicators.
• Ensure that internal processes and initiatives related to project delivery are aligned with overall corporate strategy and the President’s priorities.
• Maintain effective engagement with the relevant Departments and Units across the Bank and provide strategic advice to the various management and delivery teams across the Complexes on being strategy-focused and results-oriented, particularly on solving challenges of high-visibility corporate-wide initiatives.

Provide oversight and actively monitor the implementation of the President’s strategic guidance on corporate targets:

• Monitor progress of priority corporate wide transformative initiatives and targets and provide prompt updates to the President. Work with the various Complexes to manage, estimate, and continually improve delivery management processes and procedures.
• Arrange briefing meetings for the President with the Senior Management Group and/or other teams/complexes, as necessary. Be point of escalation for delivery issues and engage the Senior Management Group and/or other key stakeholders where necessary to resolve problems and overcome obstacles.
• Work with Senior Management and with others across the Bank to find solutions that deepen the quality of operations and minimize reputational risk as per the President’s guidance.

Support the President in evaluating the key performance indicators to hold Senior Management accountable:

• Conduct analysis of implementation challenges with concerned Complexes and recommend improvements to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
• Work with Regional and Sector Operations to take ongoing ownership of all operations-related data in the Bank’s corporate systems and ensure accuracy of reporting to the President related to progress, challenges and results.
• Regularly provide the President with detailed, data-driven, technical write ups with respect to Bank’s strategy implementation, delivery and performance, including on what is going well, the key challenges and how to fix them. In this regard, work closely with the Development Impact and Results Department  to develop proprietary dashboards for timely decision-making for the President, particularly on the Bank’s lending operations but also in other areas.

Represent the President in various statutory committees across the Bank:

• Work with other members of the Cabinet to effectively represent the President in various statutory and or ad hoc committees of the Bank, including the Senior Management Coordination Committee, the Operations Committee  and others. In this regard, articulate to every extent possible, the President’s vision, directives and expectations, particularly as related to strategy and delivery.
• Help set the tempo, attitude and approach articulated in the President’s expectations in terms of proactivity, approachability, inclusiveness, accountability and professionalism. Be a good listener.

Support the President in the development of the next Ten-Year Strategy (TYS 2.0):

• Work closely with Senior Management, and with the Corporate Strategy and Policy Department in particular, to articulate the President’s vision in the development of the TYS 2.0.
• In this regard, help shape the strategy, sense and interpret shifts in the Bank’s operating environment, and otherwise help lead the strategic planning process.
• Take a lead role in the TYS 2.0 choreography and roll-out, including internal and external consultations with various stakeholders and always channel the President’s vision, priorities and direction.

Advise on areas where Bank Group sector policies and related guidelines need to be reviewed and updated:

• Work closely with the Bank’s Senior Leadership, and with the Corporate Strategy and Policy Department  on bringing to the President’s attention outdated policies that need updating or eliminating by assessing evolving institutional needs, the President’s guidance, requests of the Board of Directors, or a changed external environment.
• Regularly scan the horizon to ensure that the Bank’s policies and practices are ahead of, or in line with lessons learned as well as best practices at sister institutions.

Be the President’s ear to delivery teams on the ground:

• Work with the Regional and Sector Operations management to engage with and listen to the Bank’s delivery teams on the ground to better understand how to drive positive morale necessary for enhanced efficiency and productivity as well as frontline impact and client satisfaction.
• Advise the President, as necessary, on the needs and interests of the Bank’s delivery teams throughout the organization. Seek to understand issues affecting the Bank’s Task Managers and their teams: what is going well, chronic challenges, and practical solutions.
• Work with Senior Management team to create and implement a coherent and solutions-focused, on-the-ground delivery strategy, including improvements to efficiency, budgets, and processes as the institution scales its operations to allow delivery of maximum impact and value to beneficiaries, partners and shareholders.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Management, Finance, Economics or other relevant fields.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience, with at least five (5) years in a managerial role acquired in an international development organization.
• Track record in strategy, delivery, performance management and reporting with solid understanding of results based management approaches, corporate and operational performance issues.
• Strategic mindset and capacity to translate strategic thinking into a compelling plan of action.
• Demonstrated ability to take prudent business risks and make effective, timely and well-determined decisions, taking due account of stakeholder interests and perceptions.
• Excellent listening skills and cultural sensitivity, a clear commitment to diversity and capacity to initiate and manage innovation and change
• Proven experience in coordination activities with demonstrated ability to work across institutional boundaries with various teams, build and lead a team of professional staff, and utilise talent and expertise of team members in a productive way.
• Sound people management skills combined with the ability to multi- task and demonstrate sound judgement.
• Ability to think clearly and write to communicate effectively with diverse audiences, individuals and across teams, including senior management team.
• Ability to make administrative/procedural decisions and judgements, with excellent technical and analytical skills.
• Ability to provide strategic leadership and drive results and execution.
• Proven ability to communicate both orally and in writing with high level individuals/stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build and lead teams.
• Ability to collaborate with a highly diverse Senior Management teams and responsive to needs of multiple stakeholders, with excellent negotiation skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, with a working knowledge of the other.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access and Power Point, SAP and/or other integrated document management system).

Application Closing Date
2nd September, 2022.