Director of Finance – AFCFTA Secretariat at the African Union (AU)

The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).  We are an Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.

Applications are invited for the position below:

Job Title: Director of Finance – AFCFTA Secretariat

Reference Code: AFCFTA/D1/03/003
Location: Accra, Ghana
Organ / Department: The AfCFTA Secretariat
Post level: D1
Reporting to: Secretary General – AfCFTA
Contract Type: Regular (Long Duration)
Employment Fraction: Full-time
Branch: The AfCFTA Secretariat

The Organization

• The African Union, established as a unique Pan African continental body, is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States as well as developing a New Partnership worldwide.
• The African Union Heads of State and Government decided through Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.394 (XVIII) of January 2012 to fast-track the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area. Negotiations were launched in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa and all 55 African countries have been participating in the process. The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was concluded on 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda and came into force on 30 May 2019.
• Article 3 of the AfCFTA Agreement provides that the general objectives of the Agreement are to create a single market for goods and services facilitated by movement of persons to deepen economic integration of the African continent in accordance with the vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa” enshrined in Agenda 2063. The AfCFTA will deliver an integrated continental market of 1.3 billion consumers with aggregate GDP of USD 3.4 trillion. The specific objectives of the AfCFTA are outlined in Article 4 of the Agreement. The operational phase of the AfCFTA was launched on 07th July 2019 during the 12th Extraordinary Summit of AU Heads of State and Government in Niamey, Niger. During that same Summit, AU Heads of State and Government agreed that the headquarters of the AfCFTA shall be in Accra, Ghana and also set the date of 1 July 2020 as the start of trading under the AfCFTA. The Heads of State and Government also agreed that the Secretariat shall be established by March 2020.
• In view of the above background, the AfCFTA Secretariat through the African Union commission invites qualified and competent applicants who are citizens of Member States of the African Union with relevant skills, competencies and experiences to submit their applications for the position of the Director of Finance based at its headquarters in Accra, Ghana.

Job Purpose

• Reporting to the Secretary-General, the Director of Finance shall be responsible for all matters related to financial management, accounting planning and budgeting affairs of the AfCFTA to facilitate the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.
• Providing technical leadership in development and implementation of Financial Accounting Policies, Procedures, Rules and Regulations to ensure efficient functioning of the directorate, responsible for the overall management of directorate’s human resources, budget, performance, quality and training in conformity with relevant AU rules and regulations.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities
General management responsibilities:

• Determine and execute the directorate’s strategy and align to the AfCFTA Secretariat’s overall strategy;
• Promote sound financial management practices by ensuring adherence and compliance with International Public Sector accounting standards (IPSAS), the AU Financial Rules and Regulations, Systems and Procedures;
• Build staff capacity and continually improve the cost effectiveness in the delivery of the directorate’s mandate; – Develop and oversee policy development guidelines;
• Build and maintain a strategic plan to form good working relations with other directorate/department;
• Develop and maintain regular working relations with top level stakeholders in appropriate agencies of Member States and partners; and
• Prepare periodic financial and budget execution reports and annual financial statements and other reports.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Establish funding structures and mobilize funds from State Parties and partners in accordance with the African Union Regulations and Rules to support the implementation of the AfCFTA;
• Prepare the Annual Budget of the Secretariat for the approval of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade;
• Propose draft decisions relating to financial and budgetary matters for the AfCFTA Secretariat;
• Make representations to the States Parties with respect to the functioning of the budget;
• Coordinate and take lead on the annual audit processes both internal and external;
• Oversee the annual budgeting and planning process in conjunction with the senior management team, administer and review all financial plans and budgets, monitor progress and changes and regularly update the Secretary-General on the AfCFTA Secretariat’s financial status;
• Advise the Secretary-General on financial strategy matters and provide the Secretariat with financial policy, programming guidelines, accounting system, budgeting guidelines and assets safeguard systems;
• Ensure effective implementation and compliance with Financial Rules and Regulations;
• Ensure annual “bulk” approvals e.g. procurement plan, meetings and conference calendars for Secretariat’s Directorates are up to date and in line with approved budget;
• Develop processes for identifying intra-departmental overlaps and provide advice to the Secretary-General on handling of inter-departmental overlaps;
• Initiate and take necessary actions to collect funds of and for the AfCFTA Secretariat;
• Invest excess liquidity as authorized and guided by the Financial Rules and Regulations;
• Ensure safe custody of all liquid Assets of the AfCFTA Secretariat;
• Ensure prompt recovery of all receivables owed to the AfCFTA Secretariat;
• Produce periodic financial and budget execution reports and annual financial statements and other specific mission reports, in accordance with Financial Rules and Regulations;
• Responsible and accountable for managing the human resources component of the Directorate of Finance of the AfCFTA Secretariat;
• Propose training programmes relating to integrated budget-programme design, collaborative implementation, monitoring and reporting;
• Promote awareness of best practices in financial management and internal financial control systems; – Provide technical guidance and ensure efficient functioning of supervised Divisions;
• Build and maintain good working relations with other Directorates and Organs of the African Union including the AU Commission;
• Effectively Organize coordination meetings on programming and budgeting;
• Ensure overall management of the Directorate: personnel, budget, performance, quality, discipline and training in conformity with relevant rules and procedures in force;
• Perform any other related functions as may be determined from time to time by the Secretary-General.

Requirements
Required Qualifications And Experience – Applicants must have:

Education Qualification:

• A minimum of a Master’s university degree in the fields of Accounting; Finance or related discipline and membership of an internationally recognized professional accounting body (CA, CPA, ACCA, CIMA, Exper- Comptables and so on)

Professional Work Experience:

• A minimum of 12 years extensive and relevant work experience in positions dealing with financial planning, budgeting, accounting and management in an international organization; This experience should include at least 7-years work at managerial level position.

Required Skills, Knowledge And Competences
Functional:

• Strong leadership, managerial, analytical, people and team skills;
• Strong financial management, planning, budgeting, accounting and organizing skills;
• A strong commitment to the values of impartiality, honesty, integrity and objectivity;
• International experience, with a personal reputation of the highest order among global and/or African finance professionals;
• Experience in working in a multicultural environment;
• Conceptual Thinking: Creates new concepts that are not obvious to others and are not learned from previous education or experience, to think through issues and/or resolve problems.
• Job Knowledge Sharing: Fosters and enables knowledge and information-rich culture through engaging with thought leaders within and outside the organization.
• Drive for Result: Commits significant resources and/or time (in the face of uncertainty) to improve performance, reach a challenging goal and implements innovative solutions.
• Fosters Innovation: Encourages creativity on the part of others by highlighting the benefits of innovation and change on the overall performance of the organization and/or the performance department/ directorate.

Leadership and Personal Abilities:

• Strategic Focus: Creates a compelling vision for the future state of the department / directorate and or organization. Establishes a comprehensive course of action to achieve the vision;
• Developing Organizational Capability: – Promotes organizational learning and development to ensure that the department is well-positioned to meet future leadership needs and mentor others to enhance their development;
• Change Leadership: – Leads and champions organizational change initiatives – consistently looks for ways to improve the Department / directorate or organization;
• Strategic Risk Management: – Uses sound judgement to make risky decisions in highly complex situations based on an assessment of the risks and benefits, impacts, etc;
• Ability to use strong managerial delegation, political tact and supervisory skills to achieve documented objectives;
• Evidence of ability to lead, motivate and guide a team of professionals;
• Ability to work effectively with people from various backgrounds and create an environment where diversity is respected;
• Ability to identify key strategic opportunities and risks;
• Ability to delegate the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority with regard to performance management and professional development;
• Ability to initiate and cultivate strategic internal and external networking relationships, builds alliances and collaborates across boundaries to foster organizational goals through proactive engagement with key stakeholders;
• Develops longer-term goals and proactively influences how resources, services, etc. are re-organized to achieve goals and offering recommendations on issues of accountability for improvement;
• Promotes ongoing learning and development across the organization, develops personal and professional goals and makes insightful career planning decisions to achieve (or alter) these goals; and
• Ability to communicate with impact, uses personal rather than positional power to influence and motivate others to achieve results.

Knowledge and Understanding:

• Demonstrable in-depth knowledge of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA, its Protocols and its subsidiary legal instruments; and
• Demonstrable extensive knowledge of the functioning and decision making processes of the African regional trade and economic integration and/or multilateral trading system.

Language Requirement:

• Applicants must be proficient in one of the following African Union working languages; Arabic, English, French or Portuguese. Knowledge of one more or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

Tenure of Appointment And Assumption of Duty:

• The appointment will be made on regular term contract for a period of three (3) years, of which the first twelve months shall be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract will be for a period of two-years renewable, subject to satisfactory performance and deliverables.

Least Representative Countries:

• Angola, Algeria, Cape Verde, Central African Rep., Egypt, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Namibia, Saharawi Arab D.R. , Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa

Gender Mainstreaming:

• The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified candidates, including women, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Remuneration and Benefits

• Indicative basic salary of US$78,138 (D1 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (57% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 27,290.88.00 (per annum), education allowance (100% of tuition and other education related expenses for every eligible dependent up to a maximum of US$ 10, 000.00 per child per annum), etc. for internationally recruited staff of the Commission.

Application Closing Date
26th July, 2020.