Catalog

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p. 23 of 25 BACK | NEXT Introduction Background The need for change Practices of other multilateral development banks Policy framework Organizational and resource issues Review of organizational implications Communication and information technology Staffing issues Assessment of budget implications Recommendation

Resident Mission Policy : Organizational and resource issues

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Staffing issues

Staff structure

In principle, the form (including staffing) of each RM will depend on the functions assigned to it. The staffing structure of an RM will be decided after assessing its functional requirements. The established RMs will be reviewed to ensure that they can fulfill their assessed functions, or to change the staff complement if necessary. The composition of staff will be driven by two broad criteria: (i) functional requirement, and (ii) portfolio size based upon an agreed number of projects per staff. Immediate action will be taken to ensure that critical gaps in key function areas are filled as early as possible.

Notwithstanding this general approach, to carry out the expanded range of functions, every RM must have sufficient minimum staff. RMs with only one headquarters staff have not proven credible or effective. All RMs will therefore have at least two headquarters staff plus one national officer each for

1. financial and administrative work;
2. project administration support; and
3. economic and sector work, and programming support. This minimum structure will be implemented immediately for RMs to address their present responsibilities.

A resident representative must be able to function effectively at the highest levels in the host DMC, and manage the expanded work proposed for the RM: thus, only senior and experienced staff will be posted as resident representatives.

Human resource issues

RMs must attract the best-qualified staff to fill vacant positions. The primary incentive will be in terms of career development and progression. Without an incentive structure that is perceived to be appropriate, RM expansion may not be matched by an expansion in qualified available staff. Therefore, ADB’s human resource policies will be reviewed to ensure that career opportunities for headquarters staff are appropriate for and aligned with an expanded role for RMs. Issues such as assured reentry will form part of such a review.

As the number of RMs increases and more staff are assigned to them, the distinction between a headquarters and an RM assignment will diminish. However, locational issues influence the attractiveness of an RM assignment. These include the relative hardship of the posting, cost-of-living considerations, and personal and family circumstances. ADB will also review its compensation and benefits pack-age for RM assignments.

Expanding RM activities will require a broader staff skills mix. However, it may not be possible to match all functions with the skill profile of headquarters staff. Accordingly, headquarters staff assigned to RMs will be provided training in areas where their skills may be deficient, for example, public relations, procurement, anticorruption, governance, project administration, private sector, poverty reduction, and local language. To date, training has been primarily ad hoc. In future, staff assigned to an RM will be trained and/or provided with short secondments to relevant headquarters departments to acquire the required knowledge and skills.

Locally recruited professional staff can provide valuable insights and linkages to the DMC. They are a cost-effective resource and can play a significant role in the expanded range of activities proposed for RMs. However, locally recruited staff have limited career opportunities given the relatively small size of each RM. Before signifi-cantly expanding the use of such staff, their career opportunities will be reviewed to ensure their jobs provide appropriate motivation and job satisfaction. There is also a need to expand the training provided to them. Given their high level of interaction outside the office and job requirements, they need to be conversant with all of ADB’s strategic and crosscutting priorities. Information technology-based distance training can be a cost-effective means of providing such training.

The expansion of the RM role will increase the range of skills needed to meet RM responsibilities. It will not be possible to provide RMs with all the skills required for their expanded role through regular staff recruitment. This limits the capacity to quickly adjust the skills mix. Also, certain types of expertise are sometimes needed only for specific assignments, or for limited periods of time. To address this issue, a more flexible and innovative approach is needed, for example, by hiring local staff for fixed-term assignments, outsourcing some functions, making greater use of domestic consultants, and where local expertise is not available, by locally recruiting third country nationals for RMs.

Expanding RM activities will require increased coordination of human resource issues. To provide appropriate focus and recognition for RMs, full-time staff will be provided to manage RM staff resource issues. This will facilitate the timely supply of resources, in particular, the appropriate sequencing of staff assignments (and training) to ensure that gaps are minimized between RM staff changeovers. Expanding RMs may also increase the workload of other headquarters support departments, and this will need to be addressed.

Facilities

Moving additional work to the RMs will mean more field-based staff, which in turn means increased office space requirements. Because most RMs do not have space available for expansion, some RMs will have to relocate. ADB has purchased offices in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and is constructing an office in India. A decision on purchase, building, or leasing will depend on the specific circumstances in each country, and no uniform recommendation is therefore being made.

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