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Roster of Experts - The Independent Review Mechanism

  • Grade: NA
  • Position N°: NA
  • Reference: NA
  • Publication date: 25/04/2011
  • Closing date: 31/05/2011

Objectives

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) was established by the Boards of Directors of the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund in 2004 and has been in operation since 2006. The IRM mandate is to respond to complaints of people who are or are likely to be adversely impacted by a Bank financed project due to non-compliance with the Bank Group policies and procedures. The mechanism handles the complaints through problem solving and/or compliance review. It is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU) headed by a Director, and supported by three Compliance Officers and administrative and secretarial services.

The IRM’s Roster of Experts comprises of three (3) individual experts, each serving a fixed term of 5 years. The experts are appointed by the Boards of Directors upon the recommendation of the President. They work on part time basis, and sit in Independent Compliance Review Panels authorized by the Bank Group’s Boards of Directors or the President, depending on the status of the project. The Panels report their findings and recommendations to the Boards of Directors for projects approved by the Boards, and to the President for projects under consideration for financing by the Bank Group. Interested applicants can find more information about the IRM Operational Rules and Procedures on the website.

Applications are invited from individual experts/consultants for the position of member of the Roster of Experts of the IRM.

Duties and responsibilities

The specific responsibilities of the members of the Roster of Experts include:

  • Determining, together with the Director of CRMU, eligibility of request(s) for compliance review and submitting a report recommending a compliance review to the Boards of Directors or the President, as the case may be, for approval;
  • Undertaking, as members of compliance review panels, compliance reviews as may be authorized by the Boards of Directors or the President;
  • Engaging with all stakeholders, including Bank Management and staff, complainants, executing agencies, governments or private project sponsors in obtaining thorough understanding of the issues of a project undergoing a compliance review;
  • Conducting extensive, objective and independent reviews of policies and procedural compliance;
  • Undertaking site visits as appropriate to projects complained about, including rural areas in Africa;
  • Preparing and issuing compliance review reports to the Boards of Directors or the President, as the case may be, with findings and recommendations; and
  • Cooperating with the Director CRMU in the preparation of IRM’s annual reports, which inter alia shall identify and describe trends relating to the activities of the Bank Group that have emerged from the problem-solving exercises and compliance reviews.

The Requirements:

The Expert shall have:

  • Excellent analytical skills and relevant track record of work, and demonstrated independence and integrity;
  • Relevant, solid and broad academic background (minimum a Master Degree, preferably PhD) with practical experience in development, particularly in environment, social, involuntary resettlement, economics, human rights, and legal issues in the public and/or private sector fields;
  • At least ten (10) years of experience in the field of policy review and/or project planning and implementation, including the ability to deal thoroughly and fairly with complex issues complained about;
  • Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills to facilitate effective interaction internally with the Bank’s Management and staff and the Boards of Directors, and externally with project affected people, borrowers, member States, other international institutions, and civil society organizations;
  • Outstanding team work skills;
  • Fluent in both oral and written French, with good working knowledge of English;
  • Ability and willingness to travel to countries in Africa, including remote areas;
  • Exposure to development issues and living conditions in developing countries; and
  • Good knowledge of and/or experience with the operations of multilateral development banks or international financing institutions.

To be eligible, the Expert shall:

  • Be a national of a member country of the African Development Bank Group.
  • Not have worked for any of the African Development Bank Group institutions in any capacity for a period of two (2) years prior to his or her appointment to the Roster of Experts.

The selection process for the Roster of Experts will take into consideration diversity of expertise, practical experience, nationality, linguistics and gender. Women and candidates from regional member countries of the Bank Group are encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria

The Roster of Experts comprises three members. The first three members were appointed in 2007 on a staggered basis for a non-renewable term of three, four and five years respectively. All new members will serve a fixed five-year term. The members will be required to spend at least five working days each calendar year at the Bank to attend meetings and to familiarizing themselves with the Bank Group’s policies, procedures and operations.

The Experts will be paid a daily honorarium (fee) when called upon to work for the independent review mechanism and be guaranteed a minimum of twelve (12) days of work per annum. The Experts will be reimbursed their travel and other expenses on the basis as provided in the Bank’s Travel policy for senior management staff.

An Expert who serves on a compliance review panel or is otherwise called upon to work for the mechanism during his/her term shall not be eligible to work for any African Development Bank Group entity for a period of two (2) years after the expiry of his/her term.

*The IRM’s Operating Rules and Procedures are available on the Bank’s Internet web site


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To apply for this position, you need to be national of one of AfDB member countries.