Purpose of the job:

Advice for Small Businesses (ASB) helps small and medium-sized businesses to grow and become genuine catalysts for their local economies by providing access to local and international experts. It is a core offering of the EBRD, enabling clients to grow and develop within their economies and beyond.

Each ASB project is funded by donors, including around 20 countries, the European Union and the EBRD itself. ASB clients also make a contribution to the cost, ensuring their full commitment. ASB rigorously monitors and evaluates the impact of its work. Active projects with clients are monitored at regular intervals, and one year after every project, ASB returns to the client to measure impact.

• The Analyst connects clients to local consultants and international advisers depending on their business needs.
• He/she is responsible for managing resulting advisory projects, ranging from strategy and marketing, organisation and operations, technology and engineering, quality and financial management to energy efficiency and environment, through the stages of conception, implementation, completion and impact evaluation.
• The Analyst directly contributes to developing and managing the ASB country portfolio of projects and managing relationships with the clients benefitting from the projects.
• The Analyst will interact with clients, consultants and ASB staff in the country and in HQ as well as with EBRD banking colleagues.

Accountabilities & Responsibilities:

• Identify and pursue potential clients who meet the qualifying criteria, contributing to ASB and banking business development.
• Proactively diagnose clients’ business needs on site, identify priority areas for business advice and help them to identify suitably qualified consultants or international industry experts.
• Together with the client and selected consultant, develop the terms of reference and project proposal in line with ASB best practices.
• Apply the grant guidelines in finalising Grant Agreements with clients and assist them in negotiating underlying consultancy contracts with selected consultants or experts.
• Manage project implementation to ensure consultants deliver in accordance with the terms of reference and ensure continued client engagement to the project and prepare relevant reports in line with the project cycle, ensuring necessary supporting documentation is collected.
• Recommend project completion and subsequent disbursement of the grant to the client to the Principal Manager.
• Evaluate completed projects in accordance with established methodology in order to assess impact and provide analytical input for further analysis.
• Identify new local consultants to recommend to the Principal Manager for qualification and manage relations with existing consultants and organisations, ensuring a broad pool of expertise is available for ASB projects; Implement annual consultant review and regularly monitor developments in local consultancy market.
• Implement marketing and visibility activities to promote ASB and the funding donor/s in the country. Under the guidance of the Principal Manager, support the implementation of market development activities aimed to develop local consultancy market or disseminate best practices within sectors.
• Contribute to the development of internal and donor reports in partnership with the ASB HQ team to inform donors on the progress of activities and utilisation of funding.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree (Business, Economics, Finance etc.) and/or equivalent business experience
• Relevant professional experience, preferably from commercial management consultancy, corporates or bank, donor organisation, or international support programme.
• Knowledge of local business environment and consultancy market.
• Knowledge of business advisory services.
• Knowledge of donor funded work, donor organisations and national stakeholders such as regional development agencies, chambers of commerce & industry and other SME support organisations desirable.
• Strong business diagnostics skills.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills, understanding of enterprise financials desirable.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Effective communication, presentation and negotiation skills and ability to manage relations with clients and consultants.
• Strong writing skills; experience in writing project proposals, terms of references or reports desirable.
• Fluency in English and Arabic, both written and verbal.
• Computer literate: excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office including Excel and Power Point, ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Business / financial analytical skills, with the ability to interpret accounts, understanding of local accounting principles and practice of company financial analysis.
• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the EBRD mandate, passionate about private sector development.
• Ability to work in multi-cultural environment.
• Multi-tasking, self initiative.
• Ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively within the country and international

What is it like to work at the EBRD?

Our agile and innovative approach is what makes life at the EBRD a unique experience! You will be part of a pioneering and diverse international organisation, and use your talents to make a real difference to people’s lives and help shape the future of the regions we invest in.

The EBRD environment provides you with:

• Varied, stimulating and engaging work that gives you an opportunity to interact with a wide range of experts in the financial, political, public and private sectors across the regions we invest in;
• A working culture that embraces inclusion and celebrates diversity;
• An environment that places sustainability, equality and digital transformation at the heart of what we do.

Diversity is one of the Bank’s core values which are at the heart of everything it does. A diverse workforce with the right knowledge and skills enables connection with our clients, brings pioneering ideas, energy and innovation. The EBRD staff is characterised by its rich diversity of nationalities, cultures and opinions and we aim to sustain and build on this strength. As such, the EBRD seeks to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and given equal opportunities and works in an inclusive environment. The EBRD encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of the EBRD member countries to apply regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities. As an inclusive employer, we promote flexible working and expecting our employee to attend the office 50% of their working time.