Recrutement dun(e) chargé(e) de recherche au sein du secrétariat Making Finance Work for Africa, Côte d’Ivoire

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Permanent Address: Avenue Jean-Paul II, 01 B.P. 1387, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) / PIFD0

Email : [email protected] (cc: [email protected])

1. The African Development Bank invites Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in the following assignment : Research Officer within the Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat. Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) is a multi-donor initiative that was established in 2007 by the then G8, and is dedicated to advancing financial sector development in Africa. MFW4A plays a unique role as a platform for joint action, dissemination of ideas and coordination amongst and between donors and African financial sector stakeholders to address African financial sector development priorities. The Partnership is based on the recognition that the financial sector is a key driver of private investment, employment generation and economic growth. The Partnership’s mission is to be the reference platform for advocacy, knowledge sharing and cooperation on financial sector development in Africa. A Secretariat was established in 2008 to support the activities of the Partnership, and is hosted at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The Secretariat is headed by a Partnership Coordinator and assisted by a team of professional and support staff ;

2. The Research Officer will be part of the Knowledge Management team and will report to the Knowledge Manager, who will assume primary responsibility of the Secretariat’s research, knowledge management and dissemination activities. S/he will contribute to knowledge management, sharing of experiences and actionable insights, and carry out practical research outputs and knowledge dissemination, consistent with the Partnership’s position as a leading hub and influencer on financial sector development in Africa. Specifically, his/her functions and responsibilities are : 

• Support one or more workstreams, potentially across different financial sector thematic areas, to deliver on MFW4A’s work programs. This entails working closely with the MFW4A thematic leads to deliver on shared goals ;
• Carry our action-oriented research/knowledge outputs in collaboration with the MFW4A’s staff, members, partners and other third-part contributors. These may include topics in local financial market development, financial sector policy reforms, SME finance, trade finance, sustainable and green finance, emerging business models and innovative financial offerings, among others ;
• Carry out research on applying a gender-lens across all MFW4A work streams, constraints that impact women, as well as identifying financial sector responses that could help overcome those constraints ;
• Actively monitor and analyze financial sector development trends in both academia and private sector, identifying new ideas, resources and preparing analytical notes, blogs, and knowledge briefs on these topics ;
• Engage with external consultants (individuals or firms) carrying out analysis or research. Supporting with the development of the Terms of Reference, coordinate meetings and/or review deliverables ;
• Work with the Communications Specialists to translate insights generated from research into messages that influence the target audiences in the private and public sectors ;
• Regularly update featured sections of the Partnership’s website, including but not limited to, country/thematic profiles, the COVID-19 Response Tracker and the Donor Projects Database ;
• Manage blog contributions, review submissions, edits and publish blog posts ;
• Actively engage with a wide-range of stakeholders during research design, implementation, dissemination, including with MFW4A members and partners, development finance institutions, academic institutes, facilitators, industry bodies and policymakers ;
• Provide support in organizing country/regional events, workshops, policy dialogues; identify stakeholders to participate in these events, and disseminate knowledge and results of research; and
• Represent MFW4A in key regional and international events on financial sector development, influence policy agenda and promote the subject and the Partnership.

3. The Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership invites Individual Consultants to submit their interest in providing the above-described services by submitting their CVs detailing their qualifications, experiences, and a list of references, and a cover letter. Applications should be transmitted in one file only (PDF preferred), with CV no longer than 3 pages and cover letter no longer than 1 page. Applications non-compliant with these guidelines will be rejected ;

4. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Procurement Policy and Procedure for Corporate Consultants Recruitment. Please, note that interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist.

The qualification required for this assignment are the following :

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, preferably in economics, finance, public policy, business administration or related fields with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience ;
• Strong research and analytical skills, and in-depth knowledge around financial sector development issues. Previous experience working in the African financial sector will be an advantage ;
• Experience conducting research and knowledge projects in Africa, particularly gender-based research and market mapping to help inform and integrate a gender-lens across workstreams and projects ;
• Experience in linking research and policy, and effectively communicating research findings to both policy and general audiences ;
• Ability to create and maintain relationships with a wide variety of financial sector stakeholders including development partners, government officials, the private sector and others ;
• Demonstrate the ability to produce knowledge products for diverse audiences, including public, private and academia ;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with proven ability to communicate effectively in English both orally and in writing; Working knowledge in French will be an advantage ;
• Excellent IT skills, with the ability to produce high-quality learning support materials.

4. The duration of the mission is twelve (12) months (with the possibility of further renewal, based on satisfactory performance) and the commencement date is planned for 2 November 2020 ;

6. Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours: 00 to 17.00 local time ;

7. Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below no later than Friday, 2 October 2020 at 18.00 local time (GMT) and mention “EOI MFW4A Research Officer”.

For the attention of: Mr. Abdelkader Benbrahim African Development Bank

PIFD0 / MFW4A

Avenue Jean-Paul II, 01 B.P. 1387, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Town: Abidjan

Country: Côte d’Ivoire

E-mail: [email protected] (cc: [email protected])

Establishment of the short list :

8. A shortlist of three to six individual consultants will be established at the end the request of expressions of interest. The consultants on the shortlist will be judged on the following criteria on the basis of their updated resume and cover letter.