Director – Peace Fund 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Director Peace Fund Secretariat

Requisition ID: 259
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Organization: African Union Commission – AUC
Reports to: Chairperson of the Commission
Department: Peace Fund Secretariat
Number of Direct Reports: 9
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Grade: D1

Purpose of Job

• To provide strategic direction and leadership in managing the operations of the Peace Fund Secretariat in order to achieve the AU strategic objectives and goals.

Main Functions

• Develops and executes the overall strategy for the Directorate and ensures alignment with overall organizational strategy.
• Manages and supervises employees within the directorate, ensures the timely delivery of the directorate’s goals and effective staff performance evaluation;
• Drives the implementation and monitoring of policies, strategies and programs to contribute to the effective implementation of relevant AU Policy Organs Decisions;
• Ensures the delivery of the directorate’s annual targets in line with the organization’s overall goals and maintains robust departmental monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Provides technical leadership and ensures efficient functioning of all Divisions within the directorate;
• Manages the work of the Directorate and supervises direct reports to ensure their effective performance in line with the organization’s performance management policy and system;
• Leads the directorate and ensures effective management of personnel, budget, performance, program quality, employee relations matters and training in conformity with relevant rules, policies and procedures.
• Builds and maintains good working relations and collaboration with other directorates/departments;
• Develops and maintains regular working relations with senior stakeholders in Member State and partner institution;
• Coordinates meetings between the organization and relevant partners;
• Ensures the preparation of periodic financial and budget execution reports and other reports;
• Ensures the effective management of funds contributed to the organization, attributed to the directorate;
• Implements and Maintains thematic partnerships in support of the mandate of the Directorate;
• Develops and oversees policy development and guidelines in line with the organization’s legal framework;
• Designs policies consistent with the AU’s strategic goals and mandate in order to address the pertinent issues in the relevant area;
• Prepares and oversees integrated programs, projects and overall activities of the organization.
• Maintains a positive work environment that facilitates collaboration and information sharing and is conducive to attracting, retaining, and motivating diverse talent.
• Develops and maintains standard operating procedures (SOP’s) for the Directorate.
• Manages risks, develops mitigation measures and ensures business continuity of the directorate.

Specific Responsibilities

• Sets the vision and priorities of the Peace Fund through translation of the aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063 into concrete implementable programmes;
• Determines annual performance targets for the Peace Fund and reports on progress to the Board of Trustees and the Executive Management Committee;
• Provides regular reports to the Executive Management Committee on portfolio delivery;
• Conducts regular engagement and collaboration with, and timely reporting to the PRC and respective subcommittees;
• Leads partnership negotiations and resource mobilisation with strategic partners to finance the Peace Fund’s programmes and priorities;
• Collaborates with other members of the senior leadership team to ensure strategic coherence and overall synergy in the Fund’s operations and the delivery of high impact results for the continent;
• Supervises Peace Fund staff and inspires high performance and delivery across the portfolio;
• Develops and implements strategies that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the Fund;
• Establishes and maintains effective relationships between the Secretariat and the Fund’s stakeholders, namely other departments and organs of the African Union, the Executive Management Committee, Advisory Panel, Board of Trustees, AU Member States, International Co-operating Partners and any other contributors to the Fund;
• Ensures that the Independent Evaluation Group receives the requisite support from the Peace Fund and its stakeholders to fulfil its mandate without undue hindrance;
• Promotes collaboration and co-operation between the Fund’s stakeholders and ensure that their interests, aims and expectations are embraced in decision-making processes.
• Leads the Secretariat’s efforts to support the governing structures of the Fund;
• Isolates and resolves administrative bottlenecks in progress reports from Managers and other governance structures of the Fund;
• Co-ordinates the Secretariat’s interactions with the Fund Manager and oversee implementation of accountability mechanisms for the Fund Manager;
• Recruits and retains professional staff for the Secretariat, ensuring that selection is open, transparent and based on merit, taking into account geographic and gender balance, in accordance with the organisational structure and administrative budget approved by the Board of Trustees;
• Manages the Secretariat’s team of professionals, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Fund to ensure effective and efficient financial management, sustainable resource mobilisation, and effective monitoring and evaluation;
• Manages and develops staff in order to maximise performance and promote an inclusive and healthy working environment by: (i) providing regular and structured performance feedback to Secretariat staff, (ii) identifying capacity development needs and supporting interventions for improving Secretariat staff’s capacity to deliver on the Fund’s objectives.
• Oversees the preparation of the Fund’s annual work plans and budgets;
• Any other related assignments as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s degree in International Development, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Law, Public Policy, Business Administration, Finance, Management, or related fields from a recognised institution with;
• Fifteen (15) years of experience in management of large multi-partner funds, working with governance and oversight bodies e with at least eight (8) years served at  managerial level  and five (5) years at supervisory level, preferably in global or regional multilateral/inter-governmental institutions, or within national governments.

Required Skills:

• Leadership and management skills
• Negotiation and interpersonal skills
• Planning and organizational skills
• Research and Analytical skills
• Communication, report writing and presentation skills
• Knowledge in the use of Microsoft office suite
• Knowledge and working understanding of AU policies, strategies and operations.
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies:

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

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationships
• Responsibility
• Learning Orientation.
• Communicating with impact

Functional Competencies:

• Conceptual Thinking and Problem Solving.
• Job Knowledge.
• Drive for Results.
• Innovation and taking initiative

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.

Remuneration

• Indicative basic salary of US$ 78,138.00 (D1 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (46% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 26,208.00 (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
31st May, 2021.