Manager, Strategy & Innovation

 Vision & Purpose

The role is expected to help the Bank to achieve its mission “stimulating  a consistent expansion of and diversification of African trade so as to rapidly 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 participating in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Bank’s long term, medium term and short term plans and initiatives that enable the achievement of its macro/developmental objectives and mandate.

Nature & Scope:

As a Pan-African development Bank with a mandate of promoting intra and extra-African trade, Afreximbank under its strategic plans has identified a number of macro/development objectives that it is pursuing. The role holder will be responsible for providing professional input into the Bank’s performance management process, working with various cross-functional teams to ensure alignment to the strategic objectives the Bank is undertaking, as well as ensure that these objectives are cascaded from the corporate level scorecard, through the departmental score and finally down to the individual’s performance management scorecard.

The role will primarily focus on working with the Departments to develop individual objectives that align to the departmental plans for the year. The jobholder is also responsible for the management and development of the businesses KPI infrastructure in order to facilitate the analysis and performance plans against strategic objectives and budgets.

The role holder will assist departments and individuals within the departments in driving and optimizing improvements of key value levers that will give the business a competitive advantage.

Duties and Responsibilities::          

• Responsible for the overall business performance monitoring, reporting and  analysis for the Bank; 
• Engage in the development of the Bank’s long term strategic plan and annual  business plan for approval by Senior Management and the Board of Directors within the given time frame;
• Work with  the departments for the development of departmental level (Tier 2) business objectives  and work with the heads of departments to develop individual objectives that align to the departmental plans for the year and  manage the objectives validation process;
• Working with Human Resources, ensure that the development of annual Tier 3 objectives and measures for staff in all departments is aligned to the departmental plans (Tier 2) for the year and  manage the objectives validation process at Tier 2 and Tier 3 level;
• The role holder will also manage the development of monthly/quarterly/annual performance reports for all Tier 2 owners as well as facilitating cross-functional performance review under the leadership of the Director Strategy and Innovation;
• The role holder also plays the role of a performance and reporting coach to the departmental staff within the business, providing support in the development or articulation of the individual’s strategic objectives;
• It will be the responsibility of the jobholder to review, manage and analyze existing business strategies in order to support departments to ensure alignment with the business’s overall performance goals for the year;
• The jobholder will be responsible for monitoring and performing standard analyses such as performance analysis, competitive analyses, market analysis etc;
• Draw reliable and timely financial and non-financial data and information together from a range of sources and provide analysis, insights and options;
• Design and deliver ad-hoc performance reporting and analytics for a range of business requirements focused on the key drivers of value in the enterprise;
• Design and deliver ad hoc performance reporting and analytics for a range of business requirements focused on the key drivers of value in the enterprise Conduct post-performance reviews of major business initiatives, projects and strategic objectives;
• Contribute broadly to the strategic and operational priorities, discussions and decision as a Member of the Strategy and Innovation team and drive collaboration and sharing of best practice;
• Actively participate in business unit and/or enterprise-wide programmes, initiatives and projects as required;
• Participate  in the creation and implementation of a customer feedback loop to ensure that the Bank is able to capture customer comments and concerns about its business processes and that such concerns are adequately responded to in order to ensure a customer-centric focus to the Bank’s lending activities;
• Supporting the Bank’s business development initiatives by undertaking market research and feasibility studies for the various new business projects and ventures for the Bank;
• Providing integrated analytical support to Senior Management to enable effective strategy formulation and implementation;    
• Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the plans, pointing out material negative deviations and recommending prompt corrective actions;
• Monitoring and proactively analyzing, on an ongoing basis, internal and external events that affect the Bank, so as to provide ideas and intellectual leadership for both short-term tactics and long-term positioning and vision;
• Provide professional input into the Bank wide annual business planning and budgeting process through distilling the Bank’s strategic goals into annual activity plans and advising senior management on the most efficient allocation of the tasks for respective departments and units;
• Assist to communicate the Bank’s long term and annual business plan as approved by the Board of Directors to all staff and put in place monitoring and reporting  mechanisms for the benefit of Senior Management and staff members;
• Analyse and propose required changes to internal business processes by leveraging industry knowledge, management consulting skills and analytical abilities in identifying key drivers, assessing process capabilities and developing a business case for internal business process enhancement;
• Participate in the preparation of the Bank’s Annual, Half Year and End of Year reports. Also Work together with the Risk Management department to define the Bank’s annual risk appetite; and
• Any other duties as may be assigned by Senior Management.

Skills, Knowledge and Attitude

• Good first degree in the relevant field such as; Finance, Accounting, Economics, Commerce, Business;
• Post graduate degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Commerce, Business or related field from a recognized University is required;
•  Sound business analysis and business performance reporting skills of at least 8 years within the Banking or financial services industry and demonstrable knowledge of business analysis tools;
• Demonstrate exceptionally good analytical skills, an ability to translate raw information into actionable strategies and initiatives;
• Proven excellent written, editorial, and oral communication skills as well as report preparation and report presentation skills  are crucial in this role;
• Ability to interact with senior officials of Banks, rating agencies and other related corporates;
• Proven experience in ERP systems;
• Willingness to travel extensively and to work long hours where required in order to achieve the Bank’s objectives;
• Strong interpersonal skills  and to function in a culturally diverse and change oriented setting with good knowledge of business planning best practices;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of the Bank’s other working languages is an added advantage (French, Arabic and Portuguese); and
• High level of energy, initiative, drive for results and ability to work under pressure, with multiple competing tasks and deal with rapidly shifting priorities, while maintaining attention to detail.