Director & CEO, ALSF 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 & CEO, ALSF

Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Grade: EL5
Position N°: 50077511

Objectives

• The African Legal Support Facility (“ALSF” or the “Facility”) is an international organization established by Treaty on December 22, 2008.    Its membership is open to (a) all AfDB member states; (b) other states; (c) AfDB; and (d) other international organizations or institutions.  The Facility currently has 60 members, comprising 53 countries and 7 international organizations. ALSF’s main objectives include: (i) assisting AfDB’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs) address litigation brought against them by vulture funds (and other such entities); (ii) creating an avenue for AfDB’s RMCs to access technical advice when negotiating complex commercial transactions (especially in the area of infrastructure and natural resources); and (iii) investing in and organizing the training of legal counsel from RMCs to equip them with legal expertise necessary to better represent their countries. The ALSF also develops and proposes innovative tools for capacity building and knowledge management.
• The institutional structure of the Facility consists of (i) the Governing Council, (ii) the Management Board, and (iii) a Director.   The Director will be responsible for managing the ALSF and ensuring it achieves its objectives.  Under the direct supervision of the Management Board, the Director provides leadership, manages resources and coordinates support for activities designed to lead to the attainment of the objectives of the Facility.  The incumbent is an ex-officio member of the Management Board.
• The Governing Council is made up of twelve (12) representatives and twelve (12) alternates of the Facility’s member states, the Bank, and other international organizations.  Its functions include determining and approving policy, appointing the Management Board, authorizing replenishments of resources, and appointing external auditors. The Management Board comprises five (5) persons appointed by the Governing Council and is responsible inter alia for approving the annual budgets and annual work programs, issuing By-laws, rules and regulations, and making decisions necessary to ensure the efficient and effective operations of the Facility, and overseeing the management of the Facility’s Endowment Fund and exercising of such powers as shall be delegated to it by the Governing Council.
• Since its inception in 2010, the Facility has assisted support African governments in negotiations of commercial agreement of a cumulative value of over US $60 billion and more than 8,000MW of energy projects. Currently it is assisting African States on more than 110 projects with over 70% of the projects related to advisory services for either direct assistance in contract negotiation or the building of legal foundations needed to properly negotiate contracts
• The Facility’s key partners include African Development Bank, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Canada, France, India, Islamic Development Bank and European Union.
• The Facility is hosted by the African Development Bank, has an annual administrative budget of about US $3 million, and a staff complement of professional and support staff of approximately 35 people.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Establishing and promoting the Facility’s vision and strategy towards the achievement of the Facility’s objectives, in compliance with the Agreement establishing the Facility (its rules, regulations and general By-laws).
• Planning, developing and building up effective operations for the Facility and establishing performance and accountability systems that ensure consistency in decision-making.
• Preparing operational and salary budgets and efficiently managing and monitoring expenses relative to the budget and resources allocated to ALSF thereby ensuring that the Facility’s funds and funds entrusted to it are used for their intended purposes.
• Carrying out activities aimed at raising awareness and increasing membership of the Facility and ratification of the Facility’s Agreement;
• Continuously carrying out resource mobilization and fundraising for the Facility amongst governments, supranational organizations, bilateral and multilateral bodies including building and maintaining collaboration with sister institutions.
• Directing outreach programs, organizing interactive workshops and conducting training to, inter alia, disseminate lessons learned amongst the Facility’s members, international organizations, bar associations, judiciaries and other relevant external parties.
•  Recruiting, training, mentoring, coaching and providing overall management of a multi-faceted team consistent with ALSF’s business requirements.
• Ensuring prompt and appropriate review consistent with established standards of all requests for assistance received from the Facility’s Members and determining the suitable response and course of action.
• Representing ALSF in national and international fora on debt relief, vulture fund litigation and other matters related to the Facility’s objectives.
• Organizing meetings of the Management Board and the Governing Council and day-to-day administration of the Facility including appointing the staff of the Facility and submitting independently-audited financial reports to the Management Board and the Governing Council.
• Preparing quarterly and annual reports to update the Management Board and the Governing Council on the progress of activities and of the Facility.
• Ensure that the contractual and/or procedural obligations of stakeholders (members, law firms, donors etc) in the work of the Facility are followed and fulfilled in a timely manner; and
• Carrying out such other duties as may be reasonably requested by the Management Board and/ or the Governing Council.

In exercising these responsibilities, the Director/CEO is accountable to the Management Board for guiding the Facility’s operations and for ensuring its overall performance.

Selection Criteria

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or its university equivalent in Law, Economics, Management or relevant social sciences or related disciplines.
• A minimum of ten (10) years (or seven (7) years of experience for PhD holders) demonstrated track record of extensive and progressive experience in international law with a particular focus on complex sovereign litigation, enforcement of judgments and sovereign natural resource contracting and related issues, five (5) years of which must be at a managerial level.  Specific African experience dealing with (i) mining, oil and gas concessions; (ii) vulture fund litigation and, (iii) cross-border litigation, will be an added advantage.
• In-depth experience in high-level resource mobilization and fundraising amongst governments, supranational organizations, bilateral and multilateral bodies amongst others.
• Ability to articulate a clear vision for the Facility’s development mission in achieving sustainable legal capacity on the African continent.
• A good understanding of the legal practices in Africa.
• Demonstrable diplomatic skills and experience working in complex and politically-sensitive contexts with excellent political judgment.
• Demonstrated effective coordination, management and leadership skills and an ability to work under pressure in a multicultural environment to complete multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated political judgment and internationally recognized ability to bring strong strategic thinking, multilateral cooperation and other qualities needed for effective leadership in international governance structures such as the ALSF as well as in the international fora for sustainable development.
• Proficiency in either Arabic, English, French or Portuguese. Knowledge of one other language will be an added advantage.
• Be a national of the ALSF’s member countries.

In addition to the foregoing, the candidate should possess:

• Strong talent management skills;
• Strong analytical skills, strategic mind-set, decisive decision making and an ability to conceive, formulate, and implement policies and programs;
• Strong capacity to analyse actions from the perspective of stakeholders and donors;
• Ability to build partnerships with a broad range of clients and deliver results that meet the needs and long-term interests of the Facility;
• Possess a high level of integrity, moral values, discretion and confidentiality;
• Willingness to undertake extensive travel; and
• Competence in the use of standard IT software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Benefits

• ALSF package includes tax free remuneration, diplomatic status; comprehensive medical insurance coverage, attractive benefits, relocation allowance for staff member and family including an installation allowance, education grant for dependent children and paid home leave to home country.

Application Closing Date
22nd February, 2021.