Deadline: 07 December, 2021

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is seeking to fill the role of Senior Agriculture and Rural Development Officer.

AfDB’s mission is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction.

Responsibilities

• Ensure that the bank’s agriculture portfolio remains of good quality
• Provide expert advice and guidance to officials of executing agencies on sector issues and priorities, technical aspects of projects, and the bank rules and procedures, including those for the procurement of goods and services
• Undertake analytical work in agriculture sector with a view to determining its level of priority in the country’s development programme, and advise management on how to ensure sustainability of benefits of bank financed agricultural projects and programmes in Sierra Leone
• Contribute to the preparation of country strategy paper, with particular reference to agriculture and rural development
• Formulate, evaluate and supervise projects, lending proposals, feasibility studies and sector work
• Design technical assistance programmes, estimate financing needs and propose governance models to enhance the performance of agricultural value chains
• Participate in the agricultural sector working group’s activities and related donor-coordination meetings and sector-wide approaches on the basis of which to advise the country manager and management on policy issues in the sector
• Assist in the development of the bank’s policies, procedures and guidelines, and ensure their application
• Serve as a technical specialist and anchor for multi-disciplinary identification, preparation, appraisal, launching, monitoring and follow-up, supervision, and completion of agriculture sector missions
• Participate in other technical tasks assigned by the country manager and the division managers in the agriculture and agro-industry department
• Perform other duties requested by the country manager and the management

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Agriculture, Agricultural Economics or a related field
• Five years, minimum, of experience in rural infrastructure and development of agricultural value chains; formulation, monitoring and evaluation of agricultural policies, or a related area
• Possess solid experience and proven track record in the design and execution of operations (including investment projects and operations focusing on agriculture and rural development) as well as in project management
• Experience working in multilateral financial institutions or similar large organisations
• Full understanding of the principles of project cycle and project implementation as applicable in the RMCs
• Proven planning and organisational skills
• Strong conceptual and research/analytical skills, with ability to think strategically and rapidly analyse and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusions and recommendations
• Possess the ability to implement innovative approaches, work autonomously and apply new methods to solving problems, while remaining effective in a dynamic, evolving and demanding institutional environment
• Excellent oral and written skills
• In-depth knowledge of social, political and development issues in the country
• Proven ability to interact competently with the staff of government and donor agencies on issues relating to aid coordination
• Competence in the use of COSTAB and other bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access, MS Projects and PowerPoint)
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English and French

To apply and for more information, click here.

Photo source: CIAT