Research Economist - African Development Bank

The Research Economist at African Development Bank is part of the ECMR.1/2 team and expected to undertake research micro and/or macroeconomic research work relevant to the Bank’s High 5 agenda and perform ADOA assessments of the Bank’s lending operations.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the  Research Economist will:

Participate in Ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment of Bank’s lending operations

• Lead, provide inputs and assist the team in the delivery of ex-ante Additionality and Development Outcome Assessments of the African Development Bank’s lending to Non sovereign and Regional Operations and any other type of operation, as required by the management.
• Contribute to any revisions of the Additionality and Development Outcome Assessment framework on the basis of implementation experience, lessons from other Development Finance institutions and best practices.

Lead and participate in both macroeconomic and microeconomic 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 also strengthening knowledge generation in the area of inclusive and green growth.

• Initiate and/or lead research projects on macroeconomic issues using established and proven methods.
• Provide senior management and regional member countries with comparative research analyses, socioeconomic data and macroeconomic projections.
• Lead the preparation of flagship publications and knowledge products such as the African Economic Outlook and African Development Report.

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

Selection Criteria

• Have at least a Master degree in Economics, Finance or relevant field. PhD is a strong advantage.
• Have a minimum of seven (7) years (for PL3 position) and a minimum of six (6) years (for PL4 position), of professional experience combining research and operational involvement in the design and Evaluation of operations relevant to the High 5s areas including the following: infrastructure including energy, agriculture, private sector development, industrial organizations and social sectors, project analysis and/or monitoring and evaluation.
• Publication record in international peer reviewed journals, working papers, book chapters, reports, etc.
• Proven ability in development policy research and analysis of economic conditions that are of relevance for the High 5s.
• Ability to design, supervise and conduct research projects/programs,
• Ability to understand and identify development outcomes expected from real sector projects,
• Proven skills in drafting and preparation of policy memoranda, speeches and notes for use in decision-making processes.
• Communicate and write effectively in French or English, with a good working knowledge of the other language;
• Competence in the use of leading econometrics software packages (Stata, SPSS, etc.) and in Microsoft Suites (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access).