Principal, Policy

A leading Bank who provides financing and support to businesses and governments in countries transitioning to market economies, are looking for a Principal, Policy to join ther team in Benin. A senior Economist with a background in green economics, digital understanding of Africa.

Job responsibilities

• Support the development of sector-specific reform agendas in areas such as green transition, economic governance, human capital and equality of opportunity, competitiveness, digitalisation, and capital markets development.
• Contribute to assessments of structural reform progress and of economic performance in the countries of the SSA region to draft key Bank products, including the Regional Economic Prospects and the annual Transition Report.
• Contribute to the preparation of country diagnostics, in coordination with country banking / VP3 teams; contribute to the preparation of country strategies in the SSA region.
• Support the RPL in the preparation of the policy compacts for the SSA region.
• Work on a range of transactions or projects, either acting as the key team member for more complex or challenging investments or taking full responsibility to deliver a particular policy initiative / TC assignment, transaction support or analytical assignment.
• Depending on the specific thematic area / assignments allocated the Principal may be accountable for working to support Banking in the delivery of specific investments (including participating in Operations Committee and Board presentations), delivering defined policy projects or objectives, preparing a complex and comprehensive research assessment, or running largely autonomously a major administrative/data management process that plays an important role in supporting the delivery of the Bank’s policy agenda in the region.
• Provide strategic forward thinking on sectors where the Bank can enhance impact and foster private capital mobilisation.
• Lead on the ground engagement with internal and external counterparts, including at senior governmental level, to advance the Bank’s transition objectives in a specific thematic area.
• Represent the Bank in external forums.

Requirements

• Education – Postgraduate degree (master’s or PhD) in economics, finance, public or business administration, or a closely related field.
• Experience – Relevant work experience gained through roles in financial institutions, government agencies, multilateral organizations, consultancy firms, or think tanks. Solid understanding of development, governance, and institutional frameworks in the SSA region. Experience in managing projects and playing a leadership role in multi-disciplinary teams delivering those projects; familiarity with finance and investment decision making; ability to work across priority policy areas (green transition, human capital, inclusion, competitiveness and economic governance, digital transition).
• Motivation – demonstrated strong commitment to, and understanding of, the Bank’s transition agenda; solid networking capabilities to build relationships in the SSA region with international and national partners.
• Communication – capacity to communicate complex policy and technical issues to a wide range of stakeholders verbally and in writing; ability to build consensus and reach agreement in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Language/Technical – excellent written and spoken English and French. Ability to effectively represent the Bank in both languages at forums and with stakeholders. Computer literate (advanced Excel, PowerPoint and Word).