Chief Research Economist at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Full Time

Job Title: Chief Research Economist

Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Employment Type: Contracts

The Complex

• The core mandate of the Vice Presidency (ECVP) is to lead the Bank Group on prioritizing the generation, analysis, dissemination, brokering and implementation of relevant knowledge solutions in all High-5 operational priorities and the cross-cutting themes of its Ten-Year Strategy. Such solutions must be a clear response to priority development challenges facing regional member countries (RMCs), individually or collectively and need to involve RMCs in both the planning and implementation of the solutions.
• The solutions include: (i) research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods; (ii) country diagnostics and future perspectives; (iii) policy dialogue and advisory services; (iv) economic, sector, and thematic knowledge work; (v) improving national and sub-regional statistical systems; (vi) preparation, design and support to implementation of public financial management and Governance operations; (vii) capacity development for policy formulation and implementation; (viii) technical assistance and advice related to RMCs’ management of natural resources; and (vii) knowledge dissemination and development of national, regional, and inter regional knowledge networks.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting and Research Department (ECMR) is dedicated to research on major development issues facing Africa and their relation to global economic governance and other major global public goods.
• It provides economic research intelligence to support the Bank’s operational effectiveness in the regional member countries through rigorous micro-and macro-economic policy analyses, policy dialogue and technical assistance implemented in collaboration with other Departments in the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Vice Presidency (ECVP) Complex, and other Sector Complexes of the Bank Group to enhance the operational effectiveness of the Bank in achieving the High 5s.
• The activities of the Department are structured around the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting on one side, and the Microeconomics, Institutional and Development Impact, on the other.
• The Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact Division (ECMR.2) focuses on microeconomic research designed to improve the effectiveness of the Bank’s Operations.
• The Division leads the Bank’s assessments of development additionalities of projects and provision of knowledge solutions to improve the development effectiveness of infrastructure development, private sector development, industrial organizations, governance, competitiveness & investment climate, agriculture, institutions, and regional integration across all the Bank’s High 5s priorities. ECMR.2 is the institutional anchor for the ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcomes Assessment (ADOA) and Impact Evaluation (IE) of the Bank’s operations.
• Thus, it is a key element of the Bank Results Framework and the primary tool for mainstreaming Development Outcomes in the Bank’s operations.
• The Division works in close collaboration with the Sector Complexes of the Bank Group including Agriculture and Human Development (AHVP); Power, Energy, Climate Change, and Green Growth (PEVP); Industrialization and Private Sector Development (PIVP); Regional Integration and Trade (RDVP) and the Natural Resources and Investment Centre (ECNR), among others.

The Position

• The Chief Research Economist is part of the ECMR.2 team and is expected to perform ADOA assessments of the Bank’s lending operations and research activities related to the Bank’s High5 agenda.
• This is a high impact role with opportunities to lead the design of economic models to assess the incremental development impact of the Bank’s private sector operations in regional member countries.

Key Functions
Under the supervision of the Microeconomic, Institutional and Development Impact Division Manager, the Chief Research Economist will:
Perform Ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessments of Bank’s lending operations:

• Lead and provide inputs for the delivery of ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessments of the African Development Bank Non-sovereign and Regional lending Operations and any other type of operation as required by the management.
• Contribute to any revisions to the Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment framework on the basis of lessons learnt from implementation experience and other Development Finance institutions as well as Industry best standards.

Lead and participate in research activities in the areas supporting the Bank’s High 5s (High priority areas):

• Light Up and Power Africa (Energy), Feed Africa (Agriculture and Nutrition), Industrialize Africa (Industrialization), Integrate Africa (Regional Integration) and improve the quality of life for Africans (Sustainable socio-economic development). This includes strengthening knowledge generation in the area of inclusive and green growth.
• Initiate and/or lead research projects related to microeconomics and development impact evaluation using established and proven methods for publication in leading economic journals or as high-level policy reports.
• Provide senior management and regional member countries with comparative research analyses, socioeconomic data and economic projections.

Provide inputs into the production of the Bank’s flagship publications:

• Lead and contribute to the preparation of flagship reports or assigned chapters, write assigned
• sections and ensure follow up (peer reviews) until their publication.
• Assist and lead on the dissemination of the findings of reports.

Provide technical and analytical inputs into the work of Operations Complexes:

• Provide input into Country Strategy Papers.
• Lead or participate in Economic Sector Work.
• Participate in the peer review process of project, program and policy documents, including documents submitted to the Operations Committee and the Board.

Contribute to the Bank’s “Working Papers Series ” and the Bank’s “African Development Review”:

• Publish research papers and review submitted articles to the African Development Review and
• Working Paper Series.
• Provide inputs to collaborative research and knowledge management activities carried out jointly with regional and international organizations, research and capacity building institutions in Africa, development research centers and universities:
• Review operation documents and participate in review meetings.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisor or Management.
• Assist in the management of the division’s HR and financial affairs and mentor more junior staff.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Have at least a Master’s Degree in Economics, Finance or a relevant field; A PhD is strongly preferred.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience combining research and strong operational involvement in the design and evaluation of operations relevant to the High 5s areas including the following: infrastructure, energy, agriculture, private sector development, industrial organizations and social sectors, project analysis and/or monitoring and evaluation.
• Sustained record of high-quality publications in leading economic journals, book chapters, and reports.
• Good knowledge and background in the use of modern econometric methods and related programming software packages (R Programming, Python, and STATA) for research.
• Proven ability in leading and producing development policy research and analysis of economic conditions that are of relevance for the High 5s (Bank priority areas)
• Proven record of developing, and attracting funds (e.g. grants and trust funds) and managing multi-year research projects related to development impact evaluation.
• Ability to understand and identify development outcomes expected from real sector projects.
• Demonstrated skills in writing and preparing policy documents and briefs and speeches for decision-making.
• Communicate and write effectively in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Good communication skills and a proven ability to work in teams and on multiple projects in parallel until tight deadlines.
• Competences in the use of leading econometrics software packages and in Microsoft Suites (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access).

Application Closing Date
9th June, 2024.