Deadline: 09 January, 2022

Location: Lilongwe, Malawi

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

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

Responsibilities

• Undertake analytical work and provide technical guidance focusing on agriculture, water and agriculture infrastructure development, and advise on how to ensure sustainability of benefits of bank-financed agricultural projects and programmes in Malawi
• Identify opportunities for strategic collaboration with multilateral and bilateral donors in support of the agriculture and water sector in Malawi
• Support RDGS in all agriculture-related activities, including project development, implementation and supervision, and coordination with other stakeholders within the bank as well as other donors and development partners
• Contribute to the preparation of country strategy papers, with particular reference to rural roads, water resources, and agriculture infrastructure development
• Participate in the relevant sector donor-coordination meetings, sector-wide approaches, and advise on sector policy issues
• Assist where required in the development of the bank’s policies, procedures and guidelines, and ensure their application
• Provide expert advice and guidance to officials of executing agencies on sector issues and priorities, technical and operational aspects of projects, and bank rules and procedures, including those for the procurement of works, goods and services, and disbursement activities
• Provide active support to government in facilitating effectiveness of loans/grants
• Assist country officials and implementing agencies in carrying out procurement and disbursement activities in accordance with the bank group rules and procedures
• Assist government and implementation agencies in the utilisation of revolving funds and preparation of quarterly reports and annual audit reports
• Provide inputs in the review of tender evaluation reports and undertake the evaluation of technical and financial proposals for contracts relating to project implementation
• Ascertain good performance of operations through regular supervision of portfolio operations, technical guidance and training of borrowers on compliance with the bank’s rules of procedure
• Collaborate with other banks’ units in reviewing the operations performance, preparing reports, etc., so as to ensure that the lessons drawn from the implementation of past operations are taken into account in new projects
• Undertake any other duties as may be assigned by the sector manager

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics or a related field
• Five years, minimum, of relevant professional experience in programme/project design and management, broad knowledge of all rural infrastructure, water/agriculture sub-sectors, with specific experience in implementation and management of donor-funded projects in the rural infrastructure and irrigation sub-sector
• Experience working in multilateral financial institutions or similar large organisations, and performing such roles as preparing project, appraising, supervising or implementing donor-funded projects
• Proven planning and organisational skills, with ability to think strategically and rapidly analyse and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusions and recommendations
• In-depth knowledge of job-related social, economic and environmental development issues in the country
• Fluency in English or French

To apply and for more information, click here.

Photo source: USAID