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: Lead Procurement Officer – Trust Funds and Special Initiatives

Location: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
Employment Type: Full-time

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-President (SVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve it strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The SVP is responsible for strengthening of the Bank’s internal procedures, ensuring the efficient and effective coordination of business processes, monitoring and maintaining vigilant and dynamic fiduciary, quality assurance, operational safeguards and providing clear guidance on measurable internal service standards across the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Senior Vice-President supervises the Fiduciary Services and Inspection  Department, which acts as the custodian of the procurement (including procurement for private and public partnership) and financial management profession, and has the following responsibilities for its functions: (i) developing and interpreting fiduciary policy, strategy and related implementing documents (Manuals and Tools), including serving as the anchor for the Procurement Review Committee (PRC); (ii) providing fiduciary support to operations complexes (Sector Departments, Directorate General) during the whole project cycle, including country strategy papers, to ensure that fiduciary arrangements comply with Bank Fiduciary (Procurement and FM) policies and procedures; (iii) developing and implementing fiduciary capacity building strategy for Bank  Staff and Regional Member Countries (RMCs); (iv) Inspecting and reporting on the performance of fiduciary activities undertaken by sector departments and the regions, including preparing annual post review reports on these activities for Board presentation that will contribute to building credibility and trust of the Bank in the countries and with other stakeholders; and (v) dialoguing with external and global partners with a view to building partnerships and fostering harmonization.

The Position
Under the general supervision of the Director, Fiduciary Services and Inspection Department, the incumbent will play a leading role in the following:

• Lead the development, interpretation and operationalization of procurement policies, guidance notes and manuals in relation to all Trust Funds related operations, Special Initiatives operations and overall coordination and supporting Sector Complexes at Headquarters.
• Play a leading role in (i) ensuring accelerated and focused support in implementation of Trust Funds and Special Initiatives operations (ii) Focused and timely support to sector complexes on operations managed from Headquarters; (iii) enhancing procurement capacity of Bank staff to ensure that the procurement activities of assigned projects and programs under Special Initiatives and Trust Funds are done within the framework of the Bank’s policies; and (iv) ensuring quality of procurement inputs in reports and documents in the Lending Program and portfolio management for Trust Funds and Special Initiatives.
• Contribute to the development, execution and evaluation of an annual work program to independently perform the procurement fiduciary function of Bank-financed projects under Trust Funds and Special Initiatives.
• Represent SNFI in all thematic working groups or in operations peer-review from other departments and complexes in relation to Trust Funds and Special Initiatives including overall coordination and supporting Sector Complexes at Headquarters in collaboration with Procurement Operations Divisions.
• Represent the procurement function in collaboration with the procurement policy team in global harmonization efforts by dialoguing with external partners and stakeholders and managing relationships with them in respect of procurement activities co-financed under Trust Funds and Special Initiatives.
• Contribute to capacity development of Bank Staff working under Trust Funds and Special Initiatives including mentoring them while undergoing Procurement Accreditation Program in tandem with supporting Regional Member Countries (RMCs) staff.
• Applies professional judgment and analysis from previous procurement experiences to make sound recommendations for improving and accelerating implementation of Bank’s operations funded from Trust Funds and Special Initiatives and to anticipate and address difficult procurement cases in a constructive and result-oriented manner, while ensuring that the Bank’s fiduciary obligations and standards are fulfilled.

Key Functions

• The Lead Procurement Officer – Trust Funds, Special Initiatives and Sector Complexes Support is responsible for the execution of the following activities with the associated deliverables.

Trust Funds Operations:

• The Bank Group manages several Trust Funds which include Multi Donor Trust Funds (MDTF), Single-Donor Trust Funds (SDTF) and other funds with an estimated average annual disbursement of approximately UA 70 million. To ensure smooth coordination and implementation of Trust Funds, the Lead Procurement Officer – Trust Funds and Special Initiatives will therefore focus on providing dedicated procurement support with the following responsibilities.
• Lead the formulation and interpretation of provisions in operations documents for activities funded from various trust funds in line with the Bank’s procurement policy.
• Advise and participate in Technical Committees on all procurement matters related to trust funds managed by the Bank.
• Lead the compilation, simplification and revision of standard bidding documents for use by Bank staff and recipient Regional Member Countries in line with the agreed provisions of the concerned Trust Fund implementation documents.
• In collaboration with Trust Fund Task Managers, contribute to the preparation and revision of rules and procedures governing the concerned Trust Fund with respect to procurement.
• Preparation of procurement guidelines, manuals, presidential instructions, guidance notes on various issues for use in carrying out procurement functions under Trust Funds.
• Development and revision of tailored training materials and carry out training for Bank staff .
• Ensuring good governance in project cycle activities including compliance in implementation of activities.

Special Initiatives:

• The Bank has embarked on several high-impact special initiatives such as Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), Special Agriculture Processing Zones (SAPZ), Climate Action Window (CAW), etc. and other Funds, which require accelerated and focused implementation. The Lead Procurement Officer – Trust Funds and Special Initiatives will therefore be focused on ensuring dedicated procurement support with the following responsibilities.
• Ensuring timely delivery and provision of procurement inputs in all operations documents related to various Special Initiatives.
• Contribute to discussions at various stages of the project cycle and designing Fit for Purpose procurement arrangements to ensure accelerated delivery of the lending program for the Special Initiatives.
• In collaboration with the procurement operations divisions, coordinate and advise the sector departments and complexes on portfolio management issues to ensure compliance and  accelerated implementation.
• Improvement and reinforcement of continuous dialogue, interaction and communications with Clients and Partners including co-ordination of the Bank’s procurement activities with other co-financing partners.
• Treatment of complex Procurement issues and Complaints as stipulated in relevant Presidential Instructions and serve as anchor for Special Initiatives.
• Undertake diagnostic studies and reviews on projects, prepare reports and draw lessons for ascertaining sufficiency of the procurement arrangements and where required propose modifications to procurement arrangements accordingly.

Sector Complexes Support:

• Act as Lead Advisor and anchor on all procurement related matters to PIVP, PEVP and AHVP complexes at Headquarters in close collaboration with Procurement Operations Division Managers.
• Lead discussions with Sector Complex Vice Presidents on all emerging complex procurement matters in close collaboration with Procurement Operations Division Managers.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• A minimum of Master’s Degree or equivalent in Engineering, Procurement, Law, Public/Business Administration, Economics, or related fields.
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in providing procurement support and advice in the preparation and implementation of programs and projects financed by the Bank under Trust Funds and Special Initiatives or any other similar international institutions in developing countries.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience at managerial or supervisory level in providing procurement support and advice in the preparation and implementation of procurement activities for bank-funded operations or other similar International Financial Institutions.
• Sound knowledge of the African Development Bank’s Operational and Procurement Management Policies and Procedures or other similar development institutions.
• Experience in supporting private sector operations (banking, auditing, finance, microfinance institutions, agriculture, electricity, water) would be an added advantage.
• Proven ability to implement country or sector-level procurement management analytical and capacity building initiatives.
• An understanding of cross-cutting issues beyond procurement (e.g. financial management, governance, donors’ practices) at sector/country/regional/project level.
• Proven familiarity with and solid experience in the development and operationalization practice of procurement for goods and works and the acquisition of consultancy services under donor funding conditions with special focus on Trust Funds and Special Initiatives, and knowledge of Bank Procurement policy.
• Effective consulting and advisory skills that enable Sector Staff and RMCs to build their confidence and skills to deal with procurement issues.
• Operate primarily within the existing guidelines set forth in the Delegation of Authority Matrix as well as the Guidelines relating to Procurement and Project Administration in force with the freedom to review and interpret the guidelines in line with best practices and harmonization with other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs).
• Demonstrate good leadership qualities to ensure quality and compliance of the policies and procedures relating to procurement.
• Good knowledge of key aid effectiveness issues especially harmonization of donors’ practices and alignment to borrowers’ systems.
• Flexible approach with the ability to use own initiative and respond to stakeholders needs.
• Demonstrable ability to quickly pick up new tasks and communicate complex and technical concepts effectively.
• Communicate and write effectively in English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office Suite applications and preferably experience in SAP Operations.

Application Closing Date
9th June, 2024.