Director – IBAR 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Director – IBAR

Requisition ID: 1085
Location: Nairobi – IBAR, Kenya
Job Grade: P6
Division: AU-IBAR
Contract Type: Regular
Number of Direct Reports: 9
Number of Indirect Reports: 16
Reports to: Commissioner ARBE
Directorate/Department: ARBE
Organization: African Union Commission – AUC

Purpose of Job

• 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. Its Headquarters are located in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.
• In seeking to achieve these objectives, the African Union intends to strengthen its capacity to deliver by, amongst others, the implementation of its organizational structure and the filling of all vacant posts by African Nationals from its Member States.
• The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical office of the Department Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) of the African Union Commission (AUC). The vision of AU-IBAR is: “An Africa in which animal resources contribute significantly to integration, prosperity and peace”. Its Mission is: to provide leadership and integrated support services for the development of animal resources in Africa.
• AU-IBAR’s mandate is to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources (livestock, fisheries and wildlife) to enhance nutrition and food security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the Member States of the AU.
• AU-IBAR is the main vehicle for the AU to develop appropriate and independent expertise to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources to enhance food and nutrition security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the AU Member States.
• The Commission of the African Union invites applicants who are citizens of Member States to compete for the position of Director, AU-IBAR, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Main Functions

• Provide leadership and vision to AU-IBAR in execution of its mandate;
• Coordinate AU-IBAR activities and ensure timely delivery of goals and objectives;
• Supervise and manage employees to ensure successful performance;
• Design strategies and policies consistent with AU-IBAR’s goals in order to address the pertinent issues in the relevant area;
• Lead and supervise the design and plan policy programs to achieve these strategies;
• Develop new programmes review activities as components of these strategies and policies;
• Represent the Department  and explain its position at conferences;
• Mobilize resources for execution of programmes and activities of AU-IBAR.

Specific Responsibilities
The Director’s duties and responsibilities shall include, among others, the following:

• Maintain the role of co-ordination and strategy development of the Animal Resources (livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, apiculture and wildlife) sector for the continent through a three level framework – continental, regional and national;
• Provide leadership on the coordination of sanitary and zoo sanitary issues as they relate to animal and public health, food safety, their application to the facilitation of intra-African trade in animals and animal products within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the international trade in animals and animal products;
• Provide leadership in coordinating and enhancing the capacity of AU Member States to manage food safety.
• Oversee programmes development and execution to ensure impact on livelihoods and economic development. Encourage and ensure coordination and alignment of goals, strategies and activities with overall strategic frameworks;
• Lead in planning and coordinating the implementation of overall programme activities;
• Promote the effective implementation of relevant global and continental instruments for sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture resources;
• Provide leadership in enhancing the capacity of AU Member States and regional institutions for transitioning to blue economy growth, including the effective participation in global and continental initiatives relating to fisheries and aquaculture sector;
• Initiate projects of regional or continental interest relating to the animal resources sector including projects relating to Fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, wildlife health and ecosystems management and the One Health Approach;
• Strengthen and diversify the institutional and technical partnerships with international organizations, donors/development partners, Regional Economic Communities, Member States, civil society and private sector organizations;
• Identify the strategic direction for resource mobilization efforts and lead in donor relations and proposal development as well as monitoring and evaluation of projects/programmes;
• Deal with high-ranking official from AU Member States, including ministries responsible for animal resources development and related issues and the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (STC-ARDWE)
• Administration of the AU-IBAR Mission, which entails budgeting, human resource management including performance assessment of staff, quality assurance of the work of heads of units, in-house training/induction of new staff, production of required documents, reports for participation in the PRC (Permanent Representatives’ Committee), the STC-ARDWE, Executive Council, Summit of Heads of State and Government;
• Manage relationships with the host country and ensure the representation of AU in Kenya;
• Other duties as may be directed by the Department of ARBE.
• Identify strategic direction for resource mobilization, play a lead role in donor relations and proposal development, as well as project/programme monitoring and evaluation;
• Work with senior officials in AU Member States, including ministries responsible for animal resources development and related issues and the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (STC- ADREE);
• Ensure the administration of the IBAR-AU mission, including budgeting, human resources management, which includes the evaluation of staff performance, quality assurance of the activities of heads of unit, internal training and taking on new staff, producing required documents, writing reports for presentation to COREP (Committee of Permanent Representatives), STC-ADREE, Executive Council and CEO Summit state and government;
• Manage relations with the host country and ensure the representation of the AU in Kenya;
• Perform any other task that may be entrusted to it by the ARBE Department.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Post-graduate University Degree (Master’s Degree) in Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science or any other related area.
• A minimum of fourteen (14) years of progressive relevant work experience with Member States or international organizations, out of which seven (7) years must be at a senior managerial level in a reputable organization and five (5) years at supervisory level.
• Preference shall be accorded to candidates with PhD in Veterinary Medicine or Animal Science with specialized post-graduate training in livestock or agricultural policy analysis.
• Further qualifications in projects/programme management and/or rural development will be an added advantage.
• Experience in formulating strategies, developing programmes, guiding preparation of work plans and budgets as well as management of human and financial resources and decision-making
• A deep understanding of aquatic and terrestrial animal health and welfare standards governing international trade in animals and animal products, food safety standards and institutions and processes for the development and review of the standards.

Required Skills:

• Diplomacy and good interactive  skills necessary for dealing with senior officials in Government, Regional Organizations, and donor/development organizations;
• Good networking skills and ability to maintain positive and constructive dialogue and relationships with key institutions operating in the regions;
• Self-starter with the ability to strategically plan own work and follow-up on implementation;
• Sector related project development, management and implementation skills at national, regional and continental levels;
• Very strong writing, analytical and communication skills are necessary;
• Demonstrated ability to provide strong leadership and foster team environment is required

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Perspective
• Developing Others
• Change Management
• Managing Risk

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationships
• Foster Accountability Culture
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with impact

Functional Competencies:

• Conceptual Thinking
• Job Knowledge and information sharing
• Drive for Results
• Fosters Innovation

Tenure of Appointment:

• The appointment will be made on a 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.

Gender Mainstreaming:

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

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of US$ 61,023.00 (P6 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (42% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 21,196.80 (per annum), and 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), for internationally recruited staff and a maximum of $3,300 per child per annum for locally recruited staff.

Application Closing Date
2nd May, 2022.