The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, commonly known as the PTA Bank, is a development financial institution established as part of the common Market for Eastern and southern Africa ( COMESA ) economic arrangements. The Bank’s objective is to provide short and medium term finance to support viable projects and trade finance activities in member states.
Over the last five years, however, the institution has recorded strong growth and exceeded, by a wide margin, the growth targets set out in its 2008- 2012 Corporate Plan. As a result of this growth, and given the promise of the Bank, in 2011, the Bank’s existing shareholders participated in a general capital increase, raising the Bank’s level of shareholder equity and funds. This has set the stage for further growth, and a new five year corporate plan.
An initial internal review was carried out during the first quarter of 2012, and an outline of key strategic directions and initiatives, including internal capacity building, were discussed at the levels of management and the board of directors. The board considered and approved an initial set of key strategic directions and a roadmap for corporate strategy formulation, planning and capacity development, together with a special purpose budget for 2012.
The initial strategic directions and a budget was approved along with a new Partnership Agreement with Agence Francaise De Development (AFD), which is providing PTA Bank with a technical assistance and capacity building grant, part of which will co-fund an institutional review and study on options and scenarios for expanding and deepening the Bank’s value proposition in the next five year plan period.
2. Establishment of a Planning and Strategic Initiatives Coordination Unit (PSU)
PTA Bank is a lean organisation, with no dedicated capacity for corporate and strategic planning and the coordination and championing of strategic initiatives. Existing management and staff capacity is centred on delivering development finance products and services to customers and running core organisational functions, which has served the Bank very well.
The Bank’s historically high level of business fully consumes the Bank’s operational capacity. The rapid growth of operations have also heavily drawn the capacity of the core functional departments, especially where legal, finance and risk are concerned. Similarly, the capacity of the human resources and administration department is heavily consumed by the high demands of the two regional operational centres, particularly the
young and growing regional office in Zimbabwe; both offices do not have dedicated management capacity, and the workload is particularly high given the complexity and administrative pressure of purchasing new permanent physical premises in both regional offices, over and above the pressures of recruitment and bank-wide administration activities.
It is evident that the Bank’s leadership and management are heavily consumed by day-to-day management and operational activities, and have limited capacity to drive, coordinate and support strategy development, planning and the implementation of strategic initiatives. Accordingly, the Presidency, based on the budget approved for this purpose, is establishing a temporary Planning and Strategic Initiatives Coordination Unit (PSU) that will serve as a temporary corporate secretariat to drive and support strategy development and coordinate planning and cross-cutting special initiatives across all departments. Such dedicated capacity in this respect is a common feature of the organizational structures of all well-established development finance institutions in Africa and world-wide.
The unit/secretariat will coordinate, co-develop and support the implementation of strategic initiatives, working closely with the management team, among others, facilitating internal and external engagements with key stakeholders and partners. Examples of special initiatives will include the development of a strategic performance management system (linked to a balanced scorecard instrument); and strategic outreach and engagements with prospective state and institutional shareholders and funders from southern Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Toward this end, a dedicated strategic planning expert will be recruited for the PSU as part of the strategy and planning process in the Office of the President, working with and supporting the management team and coordinating the work of specialists working on studies and capacity building interventions.
3. Role, Responsibilities and Deliverables of the Strategic Planning Expert
The role of the strategic planning expert will be to anchor the temporary corporate secretariat and provide advisory and analytical assistance in the development of the corporate plan and support in the coordination, development and introduction of strategic initiatives. The responsibilities will be as follows:
a) provide technical leadership in the definition, development and communication of PTA Bank’s corporate strategy and plan, and in the alignment of strategy, structure, process, culture and technology; and coordinating the collection, analysis and synthesis of strategic information,
b) develop, review and edit strategic planning and corporate planning documents and presentations, taking into account inputs and comments from members of staff, management and stakeholders;
c) facilitate and enhance the process of strategic planning through frequent consultation and interaction with the management team, specialists and stakeholder groups;
Deliverables:
a) inputs and editorial revisions to draft corporate strategy and planning documents;
b) refined corporate strategy and plan presentations;
c) aide memoires, draft agendas and schedules for strategy review workshops and seminars;
d) advisory notes with expert analysis and inputs to strategic options for improvements to banking systems, controls and processes as part of renewing and strengthening the Bank’s capacity, with a focus on performance and risk
management and related management information systems, including the balanced score card;
e) advisory note on alignment of PTA Bank strategy and initiatives, with COMESA and COMESA-related tripartite strategic planning initiatives in the areas of trade and infrastructure;
f) periodic status reports on the strategic planning and capacity building processes.
g) detailed strategic planning activity and implementation schedule;
h) detailed capacity building activity and implementation schedule;
Qualification and Experiential Requirements:
• Master’s degree in banking/finance or MBA;
• 12 - 15 years working experience, mainly in banking, and with hands-on experience in consulting (internal or external) and in managing/implementing strategic initiatives and processes, particularly in the areas of performance and financial planning, including balanced score card methodologies and corporate performance metrics;
• Experience in risk management, financial control and governance in the context of a well-governed, well-rated and well-managed bank;
• International experience and demonstrated ability to work in a multi-national and multi-cultural environment, in successful collaboration with international development finance and management consulting institutions.
Competency Requirements :
• Strong financial and strategic planning skills;
• Program management and evaluation skills;
• Strong analytical skills and computer software (excel, powerpoint etc) skills;
• Strong writing and communication skills;
• Inter-personal and inter-cultural skills.
Reporting Lines and Working Arrangements
The expert will work closely with the Bank’s Management Team, and report directly to the President, or his designate.
Time Frame
The consultancy is for a 6 month period. The consultant must be available to start at the earliest possible time, no later than 1st June 2012.
Consultancy Fees
Consultancy fees will be negotiated taking into account the experience and background of the consultant, and internal PTA Bank policies/benchmarks. The fees will be structured on a lump sum basis, payable monthly, on a cost-to-company basis.
Applications should be sent to the following address by 20th May, 2012:
For inquiries, please contact : kifle.hamza@ptabank.org
Strategic Planning Expert: Planning & Strategic Initiatives Coordination Unit
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