REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Immeuble du Centre de commerce
International d’Abidjan CCIA, Avenue Jean-Paul II, 01 BP
1387 Abidjan 01 COTE D’IVORE
The Human Capital, Youth and skills Development Department (AHHD) Education and Skills Division (AHHD1) Email: h.doroba@afdb.org and k.takei@afdb.org
Expressions of interest are being requested for the African Education Fund (AEF) Coordinator, within the Education and Skills Division (AHHD1) of the Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department of the African Development Bank.
Brief description of the Assignment :
The AEF is a proposal for a unique, Africa-initiated, continental level education fund designed, owned, led and managed by Africans. Its main purpose is to provide strategic support for the development of more efficient and effective education systems that are financially and environmentally sustainable and to encourage innovative financing and fiscal reforms. The AEF feasibility study and its operationalization have been funded by the Government of Japan. The overarching goal seeking to attain is to enhance skills and human resources development in Africa by providing quality education through AEF under the Bank’s High 5s agenda (i.e. “Feed Africa”, “Light up Africa”, “Industrialize Africa”, “Integrate Africa” and “Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa”). This goal is in line with the strategic objectives of the African Union’s Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25) and the Association for the Development of Education for Africa (ADEA)’s five-year strategic plan. The AEF is led by the AUC with technical and financial support from the AfDB as well as ADEA and the Government of Japan in the design process.
Department issuing the request: the Human Capital Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD)
Place of assignment: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Duration of the assignment: 12 months, to be renewed based on delivery and performance
Expected start date of the assignment: 27th June 2019
Detailed Terms of reference for the assignment: (terms of reference)
Deadline for applications: Monday 13th May 2019 at 23:30h Abidjan time
Establishment of the short list :
Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Procurement Policy and Procedures for the acquisition of consulting services funded by the administrative or capital expenditure budget. Please note that the African Development Bank Group is under no obligation to shortlist any individual consultant who expresses interest. It is expected that interested individual consultants shall already be registered or register in the Bank’s DACON System for consultants. The link to the relevant registration is: http://dacon.afdb.org/dacon/. The following evaluation criteria will be used:
| 1. | General qualifications and adequacy for the proposed | 30 points |
| Assignment | ||
| 2. | Similar experience in the area of expertise of the Assignment as | 50 points |
| described in the Terms of Reference | ||
| 3. | Experience with the Bank or other international donors | 10 points |
| 4. | Language proficiency | 5 points |
| 5. | Knowledge of the Region (Bank’s member countries) | 5 points |
| Total | 100 points |
Applications to be submitted to: h.doroba@afdb.org and k.takei@afdb.org: Interested consultants should submit a cover letter and CV.
Any questions and requests for clarifications may be sent to: h.doroba@afdb.org and k.takei@afdb.org:
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE COORDINATOR: THE AFRICAN EDUCATION FUND (AEF).
Introduction :
- The African Education Fund (AEF) is an initiative of African Union and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) working in consultation with a range of partner organizations. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been asked to host the AEF which will be located in Abidjan and supported by the Bank infrastructure. These Terms of Reference follow on from the endorsement of the findings of the AEF Feasibility Study ;
- The AEF is a proposal for a unique, Africa-initiated, continental level education fund designed, owned, led and managed by Africans. Its main purpose is to provide strategic support for the development of more efficient and effective education systems that are financially and environmentally sustainable and to encourage innovative financing and fiscal reforms ;
- New approaches to financing educational development are needed that ensure the financial sustainability of interventions, minimize the negative impact of educational development on the environment, and maximize investment in the social and civic public goods. The AEF will promote more equitable access in relation to income, gender and location and other forms of exclusion. The AEF will develop to meet the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 for new kinds of development assistance with a special focus on TVET, STEM and STI in all RMCs (SDGs 4.3 4.4, 4.5; CESA 16-25, STISA 2024 and TVET Strategy) ;
- The AEF will be a Special Fund of the AfDB, owned and managed by Africans and resources controlled by African institutions. It will be hosted by the AfDB. It will have the capacity to make grants and offer concessionary loans to support programmes to accelerate African educational development and may also take a share of the equity of AEF supported development activities ;
- The AEF will make use of multi-lateral and bi-lateral funding during its inception and has the ambition to generate a substantial part of its funding from African sources as it develops. This would give real meaning to its aspiration for African ownership and long-term sustainability. The locus of control and accountability would be different to existing Global Funds for education. The AEF will have a Board with predominantly African members, and will be located and managed within the continent ;
- 1The AEF will complement rather than compete with existing mechanisms to finance education. It will provide high quality financing that will accelerate development and lead to more efficient and effective educational delivery systems supported from domestic revenues.
The role of the aef coordinator :
- The AfDB has agreed to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the feasibility study of the AEF. This requires the appointment of a Coordinator and the development of the structures and capacity needed to establish the AEF ;
- The Coordinator will lead the planning, development, and launch of the African Education Fund ;
- The Coordinator will report to the Director Human Capital Development Department of the AfDB ;
- The Coordinator will also work in close collaboration with the Education and Skills Division, AUC and the ADEA AEF Teams ;
- The Coordinator will produce periodic reports to support the development of the AEF and will be responsible for the documentation necessary for the AEF to obtain authorizations, establish legal compliances, and accept and disburse funds.
Terms of reference: aef coordinator :
General TOR of the AEF Coordinator :
- The Coordinator will be responsible for developing the strategic thinking, technical guidance and full documentation for the development of the AEF. The Coordinator will identify the steps necessary to realise the operation of the Fund, and will arrange the necessary capacity building
- The Coordinator will manage the process of AEF development through to the launch of the Fund in close collaboration with the AfDB, ADEA and the AU. Specifically, the Coordinator will develop a detailed specification of the AEF and a plan of activities, approvals and events for the start-up of the Fund ;
- The Coordinator will be located in the AfDB and will work with a small AEF development team with financial and technical capabilities, and will draw on special expertise as and when necessary. The Coordinator will hold team meetings regularly and will report to AHHD1 Departmental meetings as and when required.
Specific TOR and Tasks of the AEF Coordinator :
- Review the background documentation on the AEF and the AEF feasibility study report. These detail the development of the Fund and identify options for its development. In light of these, review AfDB experience with Special Funds and identify the configuration of Fund most suited to the AEF ;
- Propose institutional arrangements, a constitution, mission and membership protocol for the AEF within a clear governance structure and sustainable organisational framework based on the preliminary work already undertaken ;
- Identify and mobilize funding from agencies, foundations, RMCs and the private sector and develop methods of replenishment of the AEF to generate the resources needed to disburse grants and loans; consolidate current commitments to provide funding to the AEF ;
- Develop an AEF operational manual with inputs from AfDB Special Fund managers and contributors ;
- Implement the AEF development plan through to the launch of the AEF ;
- Identify and take advice on the recruitment of an AEF Board of eminent and motivated Africans with a track record of successful promotion of education in Africa, appropriate experience and capabilities, and no conflicts of interest with the mission and vision of the AEF ;
- Configure and consolidate the initial lending and grant programmes of the AEF to prioritise projects and programmes designed to i) enhance efficiency and effectiveness and ii) support innovative financing and fiscal reforms with the goals of diminishing gaps in educational funding and promoting sustainable educational financing ;
- Profile eligibility criteria for AEF grants and loans. The Coordinator should outline criteria for eligibility for its programme of grants and loans to RMCs that are inclusive of LICs, LMICs and UMICs. Different RMCs may qualify for different types of support from the AEF ;
- Design protocols for project identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to be included in an AEF operating manual ;
- Comply with the legal requirements for setting up and operating the Fund ;
- Review and manage costs of proposed procurement and disbursement modalities ;
- Develop a strategy for advocacy and mobilisation for the AEF and create capabilities for communication and public relations to present and manage the AEF to stakeholders and to the outside world ;
- Convene the core founding member partners of the AEF in consultation with the African Union, ADEA, and AfDB. This cluster of partners should include RMCs willing to contribute to, and benefit from, the formation of the AEF, and other organisations with a stake in the development of education in Africa including Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and other development partners ;
- Identify key relationships with other agencies that support educational development in Africa and profile mechanisms for coordination, collaboration and complementarity. The agencies include, but are not limited to, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and other development banks, JICA and major bi-lateral donors, the African Union, ADEA, International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd), Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and relevant international development Foundations and private sector actors.
Qualifications of the aef coordinator :
AfDB and its partners expect the AEF Coordinator to possess the following qualifications :
- At least 12 years of work experience in educational development, educational financing, educational planning, educational project management and evaluation, and resource mobilization to finance education systems. Direct experience developing and managing TVET, STEM and STI programmes for human resource development will be an added advantage ;
- A minimum of a Master’s degree in Education, Finance, Business Administration, Educational Planning, Economics of Education, Finance, Educational Management or a cognate field. A PhD will be an added advantage ;
- An established reputation in Africa as a strong team leader and with excellent interpersonal skills at the highest level, and an ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality outcomes.
- Considerable experience of fund raising in the education sector in Africa and deep knowledge of global and continental education strategies and frameworks ;
- A clear understanding of the assignment and strong analytical capabilities ;
- Good knowledge of ADEA, AfDB, AU and other pan-African institutions involved in education ;
- A broad understanding of the challenges of education financing in Africa, existing global and continental financial mechanisms, and key players in education financing on the African continent ;
- Understanding of the approaches of key donors and other cooperation development partners to education financing in Africa ;
- Considerable knowledge of existing key global financing initiatives in education ;
- Proven record of having successfully raised funds and handled similar assignments ;
- Competence in English or French and a working knowledge of the other ;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills ;
- Enthusiasm, commitment and a creative engagement with the goals of the AEF.