Principal Transport Engineer at African Development Bank

Job Description
Support the development of policies and strategies for the transport sector within the Bank and in regional member countries (RMCs) in consultation with relevant government agencies, development partners, and other stakeholders:

• Advise RMCs on issues pertaining to policy and institutional reforms in the transport sector, especially in the areas of Planning and Programming, transport network development, asset management/maintenance, and private-sector participation.
• Participate and contribute to country and regional programming activities (CSP and RISP) and ensure that key sector issues and proposed solutions are adequately reflected in the resultant country/regional programming documents.
• Conduct analytical and sector work to inform and underpin the downstream intervention of the Bank in project and programme design in the transport sector.

Provide leadership in the development of a pipeline and lending programme for transport projects and programmes:

• Oversee a multi-disciplinary team of experts as Task Manager in the identification, preparation, and appraisal of complex projects and large scale projects/studies;
• Identify suitable projects for inclusion in the Bank Group lending programme in the transport sector and be responsible for the formulation of the project concept note identifying key development issues, project/programme objectives, risks assessments, budget and timetables for management decisions;
• Advise member countries on the preparation, organization and execution of feasibility studies and assist in drafting Terms of Reference; review the progress reports of studies; select the components to comprise the eventual project; review and supervise the work of consultants engaged by the Borrowers to the assigned projects/studies;
• Oversee the preparation and appraisal of transport projects and programs involving general resource planning and technical evaluation of alternative ways of shaping projects towards optimal contribution to development objectives; prepare and process the appraisal report involving detailed assessments of technical aspects, economic and financial feasibility, environmental and social safeguards, fiduciary issues, institutional arrangements, etc.

Provide leadership in monitoring implementation progress of on-going transport projects, programmes and technical assistance funded by the Bank:

• Supervise projects; play a key role in following up the progress of projects; supervise and monitor procurement activities for goods, works and services in accordance with Bank Group’s rules; review the submissions from the Borrowers, including tender lists, bidding documents, bid evaluation reports, award recommendation and contracts documents; study and analyze data submitted by borrowers; verify and approve contracts for disbursement of funds;
• Lead or participate in project midterm review missions, sector portfolio review missions and country portfolio review missions and prepare the related reports;
• Lead project completion report mission and collect adequate data for the preparation of the Bank Group’s project completion-report; advise the Bank Group on lessons derived from the project which will guide future intervention in the sector and in each country;
• Manage fiduciary responsibilities including procurement, and ensuring compliance with the Bank guidelines and the provisions of loan/grant agreements.

Participate in sector dialogue and donor coordination activities:

• Advise the regional member countries on the Bank’s financing requirements; act as a key person to liaise with government officials and the spokesperson of the Bank in the transport sector; negotiate sensitive policy and sector reforms issues with borrowers and other parties
• Coordinate with other development partners and RMCs for consistency of approach, exchange of experiences, and continuous improvement of practices and integration of transport sector policy commitments to the management of projects.
• Collaborate with other development partners in the transport sector for consistency and harmonization of approach, exchange of experience, partnership and co-financing where appropriate.

Serve as technical authority in Transport integrating a broad spectrum of issues:

• Develop and maintain a knowledge base in the transport sector, keeping abreast of the latest developments and issues related to policy and planning, institutional development, design and construction, financing, operation and maintenance, and regulation;
• Contribute to activities for advocacy, dissemination and knowledge building around transport-sector issues.

Requirement/Skills

• Hold at least a Master's degree (or equivalent) in Civil or Transportation Engineering or related fields.
• Preferably have at least six (6) years of experience in the transport sector and a proven ability to work on policy, institutional and financial aspects of transport infrastructure projects, construction and maintenance, management and procurement, capital and maintenance planning and programming, knowledge of private-sector participation and the connection with economic development and poverty reduction.
• Be able to apply advanced technical knowledge, skills and expertise in the transport sector to advise and support project/country teams and RMCs in policy and institutional development and implementation.
• Be able to apply technical skills in a team leadership role to resolve and manage complex issues in relation to transport project/programme design and implementation from a broad developmental goal of poverty reduction
• Ability to make decisions, work in teams and motivate people.
• Ability to effectively communicate in French or English (written and oral), with practical working knowledge of the other.
• Proficiency in the use of common Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint); proven knowledge of SAP.