Dan Royal Job/Vacancies

With a population of 148 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for 47 percent of West Africa’s population. It is also the biggest oil exporter in Africa, with the largest natural gas reserves in the continent. With these large reserves of human and natural resources, Nigeria is poised to build a
prosperous economy, reduce poverty significantly, and provide the health, education and infrastructure services to its population needs.
Over the last five years, Nigeria has been carrying an ambitious reform agenda.  The most far reaching of those was to base the budget on a conservative reference price for oil, with excess saved in a special account. The economy responded with strong growth between 2003 and 2007 – averaging 7.6 percent. The government used part of its oil savings to conclude the debt relief agreement with the Paris Club. The country then obtained its first sovereign rating at BB. The Federal Government reallocated all of the US$750 million fiscal space created, through the completion of the debt deal with Paris Club creditors, towards expenditures related to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and towards reducing poverty with the Virtual Poverty Fund.

The World Bank Portfolio in Nigeria has continued to show an upward trend, growing from about US$1.5 billion in FY05, US$2.1 billion FY07, and currently (FY09) stands at about US$3.6 billion. This significant improvement in the efficiency of resource utilization followed the recent re-structuring of the portfolio, which increased simplification and flexibility in implementation processes. Currently, the Bank’s lending program in Nigeria comprises 26 projects covering activities in various sectors of the economy.

The World Bank has an active lending program and sector dialogue with the Government of Nigeria, covering Federal Highway Development, Rural Access and Mobility (RAMP) in Kaduna State, Lagos Urban Transport, Air Transport Safety and Security. The World Bank and the Government of Nigeria are also under discussion to expand the lending program in all major transport sub-sectors, including a second phase Federal Highway Development, Public Private Partnership in transport, expanding RAMP to other states, scaling up the Lagos Urban Transport project in Lagos and in other cities, modernization of the Nigeria Railway system, and deepening the sector dialogue in the port and civil aviation sectors.  

The Africa Transport Unit of the World Bank wishes to recruit a Sr. Transport Specialist to be based in Abuja, Nigeria. The selected candidate will be assigned to the Transport Unit of the Africa Region (AFTTR) and report to the Sector Manager, Transport, Africa Region in Washington DC, and to the Country Director in Nigeria in a matrix management framework. The candidate will participate primarily in the Bank’s transport sector work and operations in the country where he/she is based, but also in other countries/regions as required.

The objectives of the assignment will be to:

1. lead or contribute to transport project preparation, negotiation and implementation with focus on achieving sector program results, project costs, addressing implementation issues, and obtaining results on the ground;
2. strengthen and ensure effective collaboration and partnership between the Government of Nigeria, the World Bank, and other donors in transport sector;
3. support the strategic development, management and monitoring of the specific Sector Development Program in projects;  
4. improve the Bank’s portfolio performance ensure its integration with national programs and priorities, and relevance to the wider development objectives.  

The primary duties of the assignment will be to manage the Bank’s transport portfolio in Nigeria and strengthen cooperation within the Bank for cross-sectoral linkages and synergies, and between the Bank and other partners in the transport sector; to support the responsible ministries; and develop capacity in the construction industry to manage the development, delivery and maintenance of the transport system.  The specific duties will include, but not be limited to leading transport operations the sector team based in Country Offices and DC, as well as other Bank units in project preparation, appraisal, and negotiation activities, as well as providing project implementation support, managing operational missions in the field, and contribute to economic and sector work, providing advisory services to government and other national stakeholders with particular focus on:

• leading and participating in regular reviews of project implementation, inclusive of site visits and review of progress reports, and making recommendations on remedial and follow-up actions to resolve emerging or outstanding problems;
• establishing and working with other sector units in the design, implementation and supervision of road civil works and related project components;
• leading and managing policy and institutional reform developments in the transport sector and high-level dialogue with all partners concerning the implementation of these reforms and any Bank interventions;
• managing the sector’s fiduciary responsibilities by reviewing as needed, reviewing and clearing procurement documents (and financial management reports) and giving Bank responses to the Borrower to ensure compliance with Bank guidelines and the provisions of credit agreements;
• contributing to professional development and knowledge sharing activities in the transport sector;
• providing technical support to project teams working in other countries in the region and on regional projects;
• keeping abreast of key developments in related sectors addressing cross-cutting issues affecting the performance of the transport sector, such as: environment, social impact, HIV/AIDS, road safety, gender, poverty reduction;
• leading the Bank’s sector dialogue for donor coordination activities in the country;
• participating and contributing to country team activities, including portfolio review, formulation of country assistance strategy, analytical and advisory services,  and response to priorities in the poverty reduction strategy paper; and
• leading and managing the development and active engagement of the private sector, including domestic construction industry, in all projects.
• mentoring local staff and contributing to activities aimed at capacity building in the client’s implementing agencies.

Critical Success Factors

• Ability to spot/identify, analyze and propose practical solutions to a broad range of technical, operational, financial and procurement problems during project implementation;
• Sound understanding of Bank operational and procurement procedures allied with the professional credibility and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with team members, clients and donor partners ;
• Strong organizational and project management skills to perform day-to-day in-country management of a large and complex portfolio; and
• Ability to manage and motivate the transport team in the country office, report in time to the supervisors in the country office and in Washington and to other TTLs, and organize frequent site visits of projects under implementation.
Selection Criteria:

Candidates for the position will be selected based on the following preferred criteria:
• At least Masters level degree in civil engineering, economics or finance.  Equivalent professional accreditation in engineering will be considered.
• A minimum of 8 years experience working in the infrastructure operations or the management of infrastructure projects, including experience in contract management and administration, planning and programming of capital and maintenance works and institutional reforms.
• Comprehension of the typical sectoral issues in transport, including sector policy reform and management and financing of transport infrastructure.
• Strength in communications (written and oral) and interpersonal relations with ability to mentor staff.
• Computer literacy I basic software for word processing, spreadsheet and database.

The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background.  Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.  All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.









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Job #	101121
Job Title	Sr Transport. Engr.
Job Family	Transportation
Location	Abuja, Nigeria
Appointment	International Hire
Closing Date	14-Jun-2010
Language Requirements	English [Essential]