XIII.     Placement of Existing Staff and Analysis of Vacant Positions

13.1     After considering organisational and management issues, the next step is to assign existing staff to positions within the re-organised structure. This is designed to ensure that CRDB makes optimum use of the education, skills and experience of staff, while, taking into account individual staff members' aptitude and preferences.

13.2     After existing staff have been assigned to positions within the re-organised structure the implementation of the Capacity Development Strategy will enable CRDB to carry out an analysis of:

1. Education and skills endowments among staff assigned to positions within the new structure;

2. Skill gaps that must be filled by training or through other interventions;

3. Issues related to low salary/remuneration and motivation;

4. Securing permanent staff for CRDB and to move the existing seconded staff and staff employed on contract to positions in the new organisational structure of CRDB;

5. Filling positions for which no staff are available, for example through capacity substitution; and

6. The role of the Multi-Donor Support Program (MDSP) in providing support to CRDB to build sustainable capacity.

13.3      These next sections consider the placement of existing staff within the new organisational structure, the identification of vacant positions, approaches to filling these positions, and the issues of training and motivation. Not all positions will be filled in the short-to-medium term, requiring that CRDB, and its Departments, prioritise the use of staff time.

13.4     A significant number of positions, in particular at senior levels, are currently vacant. Wherever possible, CRDB staff members should be encouraged and supported in developing the necessary skills and gaining the necessary experience so that they might be promoted. As a second best option, CRDB will continue to seek project resources to fill vacant positions that are critical for performing its key functions. The following analysis identifies the vacant positions that are considered most critical for filling in the immediate term if CRDB is to have any realistic proposition of comprehensively fulfilling its mandate.

Aid Coordination Policy Department

13.5     Until now the functions of strategic policy formulation on aid effectiveness issues and preparation of RGC policy documents for external resource mobilisation have been performed by the Secretary General supported by the Senior Advisor and professional staff of the MDSP (and previous UNDP projects). This Department is therefore being operationalised to institutionalise these functions within the CRDB organisational structure.

13.6     In pursuing this important goal of internalising these functions two points will need to be recognised by all concerned:

(i)    To date, CRDB staff have been fully occupied with the day to day operations of their departments have had little time to be fully engaged in carrying out these functions. Also, opportunities for their placement in this department are severely constrained by the need to maintain the on-going operations of the departments which are currently functioning with a limited number of staff and a significant number of vacant positions in some departments. As a result, all positions in this department are being considered to be vacant and the issue of how to fill these positions must be dealt with together with the resolution of broader staffing issues.

(ii)   It is important to recognise that a complete internalisation of these functions will take an extended period of time given the realities of the local labour market where the number of national professionals with the required level of strategic policy formulation and analysis skills is extremely limited. Furthermore, they command a level of remuneration that is far beyond what the public sector can offer. In these circumstances the option of recruiting young high potential professionals and building their capacity through accelerated training and mentoring support is a viable option.

13.7      Vacancies: As a first step towards the operationalisation of the Aid Coordination Policy Department, CRDB will require MDSP funds to support the recruitment of qualified senior national professionals to perform the functions of the following three positions:

1. Director

2. Deputy Director: ODA Policy and Analysis

3. Deputy Director: Policy Coordination & Partnerships

Information Management Department

13.8      At present there are only two staff members in this Department, one seconded, and designated as Deputy Director, the other employed on a yearly contract. Much of the work of this Department is being carried out by the MDSP team. To effectively internalise the functions of this Department there is now an urgent need for infusion of new talent in this very important area of CRDB.

Table Nine.  Information Management Department: Placement of Existing Staff

13.9     Vacancies:  At present key functions of this department are being performed by a senior national ICT Expert and an ICT Technician recruited through the MDSP. In the short to medium term, CRDB would like this support to be continued.

Europe and North America Department

13.10   Of the eight current staff of the department (5 are seconded staff and 3 are on yearly contract) and two staff members (one Deputy Director and one staff member) are away on training. One of these eight staff members is currently responsible for the IFIs. The individual, a Deputy Director, has been assigned to the new Multilateral Organisations Department which will cover the IFIs. The placement of the remaining staff members is shown in Table Ten, along with the remaining vacant positions. It is noted that with the transfer of the Deputy Director who has been responsible for IFIs, one section is left with only two staff members at the Aid Coordination officer level to perform the needed functions of this section so two interns were recruited by the end of 2006 to support this section and will be retained on an annual contract basis.

Table Ten.   Europe and North America Department: Placement of Existing Staff

13.11    Vacancies: Four of 11 positions in this department are currently vacant. If promotions and/or redeployment is not feasible, CRDB would like MDSP support to recruit one senior national professional to perform the functions of the Deputy Director position that is responsible for coordination with Canada, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and US.

Asia, Pacific, and Oceania Countries Department.         

13.12   Although the Department has nine staff, regular training overseas results in 3 or 4 staff being frequently out of office for extended periods. Thus, a total of only six staff members are routinely available for the daily work of the Department. The placement of these nine staff members, six of whom are currently on duty, is shown in Table Eleven, along with the vacant positions.

13.13   A JICA Supported Program situated in the Department has been instrumental in providing support to fill the critical gaps in the Department. Under this program the support has included a resident JICA Advisor who supports both the Department as well as some of the broader CRDB aid coordination functions. The projects has also supported the department by providing the services of two entry level staff to perform some of the functions of the staff who are away on training.

Table Eleven. Asia, Pacific, and Oceania Countries Department Placement of Existing Staff

13.14    Vacancies: Three of the twelve positions in this Department are currently vacant. The JICA Project has been providing support to cover the functions of staff who are away on overseas training. Of the vacant positions, those of the two Bureau Chiefs are identified as the highest priority to be filled. If promotions or redeployment of staff is not feasible than CRDB would like the JICA Project to support the recruitment of national professionals to cover the functions of this position, in addition to its on-going support.

Multilateral Organisations Department

13.15   This Department will now cover all multilateral organisations, that is, the UN agencies and the IFIs. At present, four CRDB staff members are available to cover the functions of the combined department: three from the existing UN Department (one Deputy Director, one Bureau Chief and a staff) and one Deputy Director from the Europe, EU and ADB, WB and IMF Department. It should be noted that the Deputy Director responsible for IFIs is at present away on overseas training. The placement of the existing staff, including those on overseas training is shown in Table 12.

Table Twelve. Multilateral Organisations: Placement of Existing Staff

13.16    Vacancies:  The Director position in this Department is currently vacant. Promotion from within CRDB should be considered as a preferred option, otherwise CRDB would like MDSP to support the recruitment of a senior national professional to support the functions of this Department.

NGO Coordination Department

13.17    At present, the staff in this department includes a Director and a Bureau Chief (seconded) and three staff who are employed on a yearly contract. There is a slight miss match in the mix of staff available and the level of positions envisaged under the new organization structure. The issue of placing these personnel in this or other departments where there are vacancies need to be explored for decision by senior management of CRDB.

Table Thirteen. NGO Coordination Department: Placement of Existing Staff

Vacancies: The positions of the two Deputy Directors and Bureau Chiefs in this Department are currently vacant. CRDB will be required to carefully consider and prioritise the filling of these posts – and the Department structure - as it considers its role in NGO portfolio management and the appropriate staffing complement.

Administration Department

13.18    To fill the 11 planned positions in this Department, a total of five staff are currently available. These five include a Deputy Director (seconded) and four staff who are employed on a yearly contract. The placement of the five existing staff members is shown in Table Fourteen. In view of CRDB's recent initiative to internalise/institutionalise the management of ODA supported programs and projects for CRDB, and in view of the need to strengthen organisational administrative capacity as part of the managerial strengthening, boosting the capacity of this Department has become a very high priority of CRDB. In order for the department to satisfactorily perform its critical functions, urgent action is required to fill the large number of vacancies in this Department.

Table Fourteen. Administration Department: Placement of Existing Staff

13.19    Vacancies: The internalisation of the administrative and financial management functions of ODA supported programs and projects at CRDB is a high priority of CRDB. A new Finance section may be established. As a result, at present six of the proposed eleven positions in this Department are currently vacant. To ensure a smooth transition, in the short to medium term MDSP should continue to support the Senior Operations Officer and the Senior Admin/Finance Assistant positions to cover the administrative and financial management functions working in close collaboration with CRDB staff.

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