« Project Officer – Liaison Officer» based in Zambia.
The Agency is a public financial institution and the main stakeholder in France’s development policy. The agency works in various sectors (energy, biodiversity, water, digital technologies, etc.) and supports the transition to a safer, more equitable and more sustainable world: a world in common. Its action is fully in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Through its network of 85 agencies, operates in 115 countries and is currently supporting over 4 000 development projects.
The AFD activities in Zambia are overseen by the Regional Office in Johannesburg, which has a regional mandate covering Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Agency has been working in Zambia for a long time, and a portfolio of projects is currently being implemented in the sectors of water, energy and biodiversity. The Agency is considering to increase its support to Zambia both in the public and private sectors. For this purpose, The Agency is recruiting a Project Officer (PO) who will be based in Lusaka. The PO will work under the direct supervision of the Head of unit in charge of Zambia, based in Johannesburg. Regular trips of the PO to Johannesburg will take place to work with the team at the regional office.
Job Description
Under the supervision of the head of unit, the PO will assume the following responsibilities:
1. Project activities
- Portfolio development:
- Establish and maintain a dialogue between the Agency and Government departments, Cooperating Partners, public and private companies and financial institutions;
- Identify funding opportunities (sovereign or non sovereign loans) and assess their feasibility;
- Participate in the organisation of appraisal missions and contribute to discussions on economic, financial, legal and technical aspects necessary to assess potential funding operations;
- Participate in the preparation of reports and project documents to be submitted to The Agency geographical and technical departments and decision-making bodies;
- Identify opportunities for technical assistance and partnership between The Agency, Zambian institutions, French institutions and other Cooperating Partners;
- Management of the existing portfolio and relation with partners:
- Process disbursement requests related to approved funding and ensure that beneficiaries comply with their contractual obligations;
- In coordination with the Johannesburg regional office and headquarters, supervise on-going projects and participate in preparation of reports; monitor compliance with contractual obligations and implementation issues. If concerns are identified during the implementation, propose timely corrective action; If more in-depth supervision is necessary, ensure field supervision visits and investigations;
- Review operational and financial documents from beneficiaries for annual risk assessments.
- Administrative management
- In coordination with the accounting team at the Johannesburg regional office, prepare the monthly reporting for operational expenses of the office in Zambia (cleaning, transport, stationary).
- The PO will also be in charge of the security aspects of the Zambia office.
- Strategy and communication activities
- Contribute to the country strategy through the mapping of key stakeholders and identify business opportunities in line with the Group’s strategic objectives and policies;
- Participate in working/coordination groups with government departments and cooperating partners and prepare minutes of the meetings;
- Participate in coordination meetings with the French Embassy and ensure, in liaison with the Johannesburg regional office, timely information of the Ambassador concerning activities in Zambia;
- Attend/participate in seminars/conferences/workshops; Prepare documents for seminars/conferences/workshops on activities, including presentations;
- Contribute to The Agency communication (Preparation of projects’ presentation documents, organisation of events, maintenance of website);
- Represent the Group.
Skills required
- Sound knowledge of Zambian public institutions and the local donor environment;
- Strong ability to build and entertain a quality network both internally and externally;
- Good knowledge of the work done by the Development Financial Institutions (project cycle, funding processes, etc.)
- Ability to learn fast in a dynamic environment;
- Strong interpersonal skills;
- Committed to sustainable development;
- Pro-active, logical reasoning, problem solving, analytical skills and detail-orientated;
- Willingness to work in multi-cultural environment.
Qualifications & experience
- A master’s degree in economics, Development or another relevant discipline;
- Proven fluency in English (written and oral);
- Knowledge of French would be a plus;
- Experience of 5-8 years or more in the public institutional or donor space in Zambia or/and in Africa;
- Experience in international procurement would be a plus;
- Prior international experience would be a plus;
- A valid working permit to work in Zambia.