The role is expected to help the Bank achieve its mission -“stimulating a consistent expansion and diversification of African trade so as to increase Africa’s share of global trade, while operating as a first class, profit oriented, socially responsible financial institution and a centre of excellence in African trade matters” by carrying out various theoretical and applied economic research and participating in the preparation of reports and publications as may be required by Senior Management.
Nature & Scope
The position holder will be responsible for macroeconomic, especially monetary economic analysis as well as financial economics and financial modelling. The role will also include generation of econometric output for various research and Bank reports, and also participate in the preparation of technical reports for Senior Management, the Board of Directors and Shareholders.
Duties and Responsibilities
• Contribution to the enhancement of research methodology in the preparation of required studies in the areas of monetary and financial economics as well as economic development issues of importance to Africa;
• Contributing to the development of in-house macroeconomic and financial models, including PD models, Stress testing models, Loan grading Models, Capital adequacy models, macroeconomic and financial forecasting models and other relevant models as appropriate;
• Collection, organization, and monitoring of key monetary and financial economic and trade data covering the globe, major trading regions, global trade with Africa and intra-African trade to guide Bank policies and operations;
• Macro and financial economic modeling to be applied to relevant variables of interest to the Bank including monetary data;
• Analyzing large data and interpreting econometric and statistical output in support of Bank operations and policy formulation;
• Monitoring and updating relevant data of interest to the Bank including balance of payments dynamics for African countries;
• Contributing to the provision of timely and relevant research and analytical support to Business Origination Department/Units and other Department/Units;
• Contributing to the preparation of technical reports, including the African Trade Report, Banking and Finance and Credit Trends in Africa, as well as other periodic reports for dissemination to colleagues, Senior Management and the Board through the Bank’s knowledge management function;
• Building and updating a reliable database covering variables of interest to the Bank;
• Contributing to the preparation of regular research reports to monitor developments in global trade and trade finance as well as the Bank’s key markets and products and providing timely analyses on their likely impact on the African economy and the Bank’s operations;
• Leading ongoing efforts to build time series data on trade, trade finance and banking in Africa;
• Participating in the conduct of cutting-edge research in economics, ranging from theoretical methodological issues to applied economics touching on trade development and financial issues covering sectors such as energy, telecommunications, entertainment, agriculture, manufacturing and services.
Required Skills, Knowledge and Attitude
• A PhD degree or equivalent in Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, Financial Economics, or other related field from a recognized University;
• Excellent knowledge of Balance of Payment (BoP) and data analysis;
• Excellent knowledge of African banking and financial landscape including regulation, development, practices, among others;
• Sound and proven experience of at least 8 years in macroeconomic and financial economic analysis, financial economic modelling or economic research and analysis in a Development Finance Institution (DFI) or reputable organization and experience in trade and development economics will be an advantage;
• Proven practical experience in designing models relevant in the financial services sector including (a) PD, LGD models, (b) Stress testing models, (c) Loan grading Models, (d) Capital adequacy models, and (e) other relevant financial forecasting models as appropriate;
• Research capacity in relevant fields demonstrated and supported by a track record of relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals;
• Demonstrated experience in preparing research papers for use by the financial services industry and an expert understanding of quantitative and qualitative research and econometric and statistical methods;
• Demonstrated experience in financial modeling and developing forecasting models;
• Ability to analyse and interpret econometrics and statistical outputs;
• Excellent knowledge of growth and trade-related models;
• Good knowledge of statistical and econometric software for economic, finance and trade analysis (e.g. SPSS, STATA, E-Views, Mathlab, SAS, MICROFIT, PcGive, Excel spreadsheet, etc.)
• Familiarity with major macroeconomic and trade database including those of World Bank, IMF, ITC, WTO, and UNCTAD;
• Ability to interact with senior officials of banks, corporates and governments and to represent the Bank at important professional fora where oral presentation of technical and professional papers will be necessary to a technical and professional audience;
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and under pressure with tight deadlines;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Language
• Fluent in English or French and working knowledge of the other
• Working knowledge of Arabic will be an advantage
Contractual information:
• Permanent role;
• Willing and able to relocate to Cairo;
• Willingness to travel extensively and to work long hours where required;
• Ability to communicate and function in a culturally diverse and change oriented setting.