Requisition ID 1323 - Posted  - Barbados

INTRODUCTION

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB/the Bank) has an exciting opportunity for a Director, Strategy and Development Effectiveness (DSDE), who will be the lead architect of the Bank’s strategy. The DSDE will also be a champion for improving the Bank’s development effectiveness, leading on the reforms to ensure that the Bank’s work delivers meaningful and measurable impact. The successful candidate will be based at CDB’s headquarters in St. Michael, Barbados.

THE STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT EFFECTIVENESS DEPARTMENT

The Strategy and Development Effectiveness Department is the focal point for driving corporate strategy, results-based management and partnerships.  The successful candidate will be a decisive and forward-thinking leader capable of operationalising the strategy and strengthening the development effectiveness functions while fostering strong engagement across the Bank. The Department supports the Bank's leaders to achieve its development mandate through well-designed frameworks for corporate performance reporting framework and managing for development results.   The DSDE requires strategic agility and collaboration competencies, to work with the Bank’s senior management team to develop, monitor and achieve the Bank’s Strategic Objectives. 

THE ROLE

DSDE will provide effective leadership toward the attainment of CDB’s Strategic Objectives by further crystalising the organisation’s role as a changemaker and provoker in the development space, while strengthening the Bank’s development effectiveness and results culture to ensure that strategy translates into measurable impact. This role will be highly visible within the Bank and requires a collaborative high-functioning professional with a solid track-record of delivery to lead with initiative and tenacity. The DSDE must be a multi- disciplinary thinker who can serve as the connective tissue between departments, providing a framework for their respective strategies and the resources to deliver on the Bank’s collective objectives. The role reports to the Vice President, Operations and is a member of the Bank’s senior management team.  As the principal futurist of the Bank, the DSDE will:

  1. Reimagine the future of the business and scout the horizon for opportunities where the Bank is uniquely positioned to lead and partner.
  2. Provide strategic insights to inform partnerships and membership opportunities, and maintain strong relationships with peer organisations, stakeholders and potential partners in the broader financial services industry to maximise partnership opportunities for increased impact.
  3. Be a 'truth teller', helping the Bank understand progress on its commitments and recognising early warnings of inflection points.
  4. Lead on the mainstreaming of RBM across the Bank and spearhead change initiatives to strengthen the impact and measurement of development outcomes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The DSDE will be required to:

1. Strategic Planning, Alignment & Policy Coherence

Lead the Bank’s strategic planning, ensuring clear priorities, measurable indicators, and alignment across business units; coordinate Bank-wide policies to ensure consistency, relevance, and strategic fit, and; ensure effective socialisation of the strategy across staff, senior management, and the Board to foster ownership, alignment, and accountability.

2. Strategy Execution, Performance Management & Adaptive Response

Translate strategic choices into actionable, accountable commitments; oversee annual work programme and budget formulation; and ensure ongoing strategy evolution through monitoring external and internal drivers and coordinating institutional responses, including identifying emerging risks, performance gaps, and inflection points requiring executive attention.

3. Development Effectiveness, Results-Based Management (RBM) & Portfolio Insights

Strengthen the Bank’s development effectiveness framework and mainstream RBM; provide insights from portfolio analysis to enhance project performance and facilitate lesson-learning through oversight of corporate, development effectiveness, and portfolio reporting systems.

4. Data, Insights, Monitoring & Enterprise Systems

Advance a culture of strategic planning and data-driven decision-making by building analytics capabilities and leading the development of transparent, automated systems for monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on institutional priorities. Engage leaders to resolve bottlenecks and ensure accountability.

5. Partnerships, Resource Mobilization & Strategic Communications

Lead Special Development Funds (SDF) negotiations and replenishments; oversee onboarding and alignment of new funds; manage partnership and Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) development; and coordinate high-impact, strengths-based strategic communications that position CDB as the partner of choice in advancing regional development.

6. Leadership, Advisory Support & Team Development

Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, fostering innovation and ideation, while mentoring and developing team members to ensure high engagement, shared vision, and accountability. Provide oversight for tracking and reporting actions arising from internal evaluations and management responses.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

This role requires a seasoned executive with a strong strategy and development effectiveness orientation. The DSDE shall be able to articulate the organisation’s vision and translate it into an executable strategy, lead with data and insights, and have a passion for results. They are required to be collaborative and experienced in leading a successful strategy function within a complex organisation.

The successful candidate must have the following:

  • A Master's degree in Business/Public Administration, Development Finance, Social Development, Political Science or a related field.

  • At least fifteen (15) years’ relevant experience in an international organisation, preferably with a membership driven culture, including at least seven (7) years in a supervisory role.

  •      Demonstrated experience in strategy development and implementation and in advancing  Management For Development Results (MfDR), including the use of data and metrics to inform strategic decisions and measure results in support of an organisation’s mandate.

FUNCTION-SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

This role requires a seasoned executive with a strong strategy and Results Based Management orientation. The DSDE should be a storyteller, able to articulate a vision and translate it into an executable strategy, lead with data and insights, and have a passion for results. They should be collaborative and experienced in leading a successful strategy function within a complex organisation.

The DSDE should demonstrate strong proficiency in the following competencies:

  • Strategic Leadership and Integration- Significant experience in leading a collaborative strategy function in a medium to a large- sized complex organisation, preferably with a membership driven culture.
  • Business Development and Strategic Partnerships- Business development experience in identifying and securing strategic partnerships that support and amplify an organisation’s mandate.
  • Development Policy- A good understanding of global development policy debates and major development issues related to borrowing member countries and multilateral development banks.
  • Organisational and Business Acumen- A sound understanding of the complexity of business needs and organisational decision drivers.
  • Data-Driven Strategy and Results Orientation- Deep data orientation, particularly using data and metrics to make informed decisions around strategy and measuring results.
  • Relationship Building and Strategic Communication- Outstanding relationship-building and communication skills – adept at building productive relationships and delivering change through influence, collaboration, and vision.
  • Strategic Judgement and Learning Agility- The ability to develop a strong point of view combined with the openness to evolving that view based on new data.
  • Stakeholder Engagement and Change Management- A record of leading impactful stakeholder engagement, including complex consultations and change management.
  • Innovation, Ownership and Executive Agility- The ability to lead while thriving on the opportunity to own, innovate, create, and constantly re-evaluate.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

The DSDE should demonstrate a strong proficiency in the following organisational core competencies:

Acting as a Champion for Change

The ability to identify problems and opportunities for change, implement solutions where appropriate; maintain effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work tasks or the work environment; and support people in their efforts to try new things.

Acting Decisively

Moves quickly to make decisions and commits to a straightforward course of action; comfortable making decisions based on partial information; willing to take risks to maintain momentum; shows a strong bias toward action.

Championing Customer Needs

Calls attention to issues that impact customer satisfaction; views situations from customers' perspective; encourages people to think about customers when making decisions and develops and sustains productive customer relationships.

Developing Talent

Invests time and resources into building the capabilities of team members; helps people define career goals and establish development plans to achieve them; gives people constructive, developmental feedback and advice.

Driving for Results

Bottom-line oriented and pushes self and others to achieve results. Keeps current on project status; makes sure people are aware of project status and what they need to do to keep things moving; redirects project resources and activities to overcome setbacks; elevates project concerns to senior levels of leadership when appropriate.

Managing Performance

Clearly defines and communicates roles and responsibilities; holds people accountable for accomplishing objectives; recognises and rewards people who achieve results and deliver on performance expectations; provides effective feedback.

Managing Risk

Effectively balances risks and opportunities; thinks through potentially positive and negative outcomes; seeks ways to mitigate risks.

Setting a Strategic Vision

Identifies and articulates the strategic goals and direction of the company, Division, or group; establishes connections between short-term and long-term objectives and directions. Communicates the vision throughout the organisation through distinctive strategies, goals and action plans that maximise competitive advantage. Inspires and motivates entire Division (s) or department(s) to adopt the vision.     

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

This role is a full-time position with the successful candidate being contracted on a two-year basis in the first instance, with the possibility of renewal.  The salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.  The salary scale for this Grade 23 role starts at USD200,460 per annum net of taxes. The benefits package includes a pension plan, life and medical insurances.

Before you proceed to apply, please consider the following requirements: 

  • You must be a national of one of CDB’s member countries.
  • You will be required to produce evidence of any educational and professional qualifications to support your application if you are selected for an interview.
  • All appointments are subject to satisfactory background checks and references.

CDB fully respects the need for confidentiality of information supplied and assures you that we will not discuss your background and interest with anyone including references, without your prior consent.

The deadline for submission of applications is April 5, 2026 at 11:59 pm AST. 

The Caribbean Development Bank is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of their racial, ethnic, religious, cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, or disabilities. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Bank provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities who participate in the job application or interview process. Please contact us to request such accommodation.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.