Closing date: Friday, 13 March 2015
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
DIRECTOR OF WOMEN, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
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 is located in Addis Ababa, 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.
The Commission of the African Union invites applications from nationals of its Member States for the position of DIRECTOR OF WOMEN, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT.
Post: Job Title: DIRECTOR OF WOMEN, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
Post Level: D1 Unit: Office of the Director
Supervisor: Chairperson, African Union Commission
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Job purpose
Reporting to the Chairperson of the Commission, the Director of Women, Gender and Development is the principal adviser to the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson and all the Commissioners on gender policy and strategy matters. The role shall be to support the work of the Commission by leading the development and implementation of effective, responsive and efficient integration of gender perspective into the policies, programmes, structures, activities of the Commission, of the other Organs of the African Union as well as that of the Country Members.
The Director is a member of the Senior Management Group, in the capacity of a strategic institutional partner, policy advisor, employee advocate and a supporter of change management and performance improvement. The Director also participates in the deliberations Policy Organs, the Commission and other governing bodies as required.
The Director is responsible for driving, on behalf of the Commission, the coordination, facilitation and monitoring of work to advance gender equality in the Commission, AU organs, RECs and Member states and to report on such work.
The mandate of the Directorate is to advance Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at continental and international levels, with the view to re-invigorate agreed global and regional commitments on the following themes:
- Fighting Poverty and Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women and Entrepreneurship
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Women' s Health, Maternal Mortality and HIV&AIDS
- Education, Science and Technology
- Environment and Climate Change
- Peace and Security and Violence Against Women
- Governance and Legal Protection
- Finance and Gender Budgets
- Women In Decision Making position
- Mentoring Youth (Men and Women) to be champions of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
Competencies
Professional and Management Capabilities
Leadership
- Uses strong managerial and supervisory skills to achieve documented objectives.
- Engages in effective delegation and follow up to ensure results.
- Uses tact and political savvy in negotiating.
- Makes informed decisions and communicates decisions effectively.
- Demonstrates flexibility and willingness to collaborate with others to achieve outcomes.
- Utilizes strong analytical and problem solving skills.
Respect for Diversity
- Works effectively with people from various backgrounds.
- Treats all people with dignity and respect. Treats men and women equally.
- Shows respect and understanding of diverse points of view and demonstrates it in decision-making.
- Examines own biases and behaviors to avoid stereotypical responses and does not discriminate against any individual or group.
- Creates an environment where respect for diversity is embedded in behaviors, systems and processes.
Working with Others
- Collaborates effectively with top level stakeholders i.e. the Commission and Senior Management Group. Able to persuade, guide and advise top level stakeholders.
- Able to effectively collaborate with stakeholders and partners.
- Leads discussions and negotiations on behalf of the Commission on financial and budgetary issues.
- Creates a culture where knowledge sharing and effective collaboration is encouraged.
Vision and Strategic Thinking
- Identifies key strategic issues, opportunities and risks.
- Clearly communicate links between the organization's strategy and the Directorate's goals.
- Establish/identify and communicate broad and compelling organizational direction.
- Identifies clients' needs and appropriate solutions.
- Establishes and maintains productive partnerships.
Communication
- Communicates verbally and in writing, with strong interpersonal skills;
- Manages both internal and external stakeholders relations by listening and value the inputs from others;
- Openness in sharing information and keeping others informed ;
- Expresses ideas and formulates plans by means of clear and effective writing and oral presentations;
- Drafts conceptual and detailed reports/papers and reviews/edits the work of others;
- Prepares rationale with respect to key financial, legal and administrative decisions; and
- Negotiates effectively.
Teamwork
- Leads and gains the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavor;
- Builds trust through integrity, transparency and creating an open and positive environment;
- Fosters harmonious and effective teamwork in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
- Trains, mentors and delegates;
Strategic
- Problem identification and solutions
- Assessing risks and decision making
- Think clearly and analytically Diversity Management
- Performs and relates effectively across organizational boundaries in a diverse multi-national and multicultural setting.
- Promotes Pan Africanism and integration in engagements with internal and external stakeholders
Technology awareness
- Keeps abreast of available technology and understands its applicability to the work of the Organization
- Actively seeks, identifies and applies appropriate technology to improve programme delivery.
Performance management
- Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority.
- Establishes clear roles and reporting lines for staff.
- Monitors progress against establish milestones
- Discusses performance and provide feedback and appraise performance fairly.
- Drives results and excellence; and
- Evaluates employees and performance as well as advising and disciplining.
Major duties and responsibilities
- To prepare and implement plans of action and programmes and activities of the Directorate;
- To provide technical guidance and to ensure efficient functioning of staff;
- To organise, coordinate and ensure the implementation of plans of action and programmes and activities of the Directorate;
- To build good working relations with other Directorates/Departments/Offices of the Commission;
- To develop and maintain appropriate working relations with partners of the African Union, in the field of gender equality and women empowerment;
- To promote best practices and appropriate working systems;
- To ensure overall management of the Directorate: personnel, budget, performance, quality, discipline and training in conformity with relevant rules and procedures in force;
- To produce and submit periodic reports of activities and specific missions;
- To perform any other duties as may be assigned.
Educational Qualifications
- Candidates must have at least a Master's Degree in Social Sciences, Law or Development Studies.
Work experience
- Candidates must have at least 15 years of progressively relevant working experience, of which at least 5 years should be in senior management position in the field of gender and development.
- Previous experience at national, regional and/or international level, and broad or in-depth knowledge of gender issues will be added advantages.
Other relevant skills
- Computer literacy;
- Working knowledge of policy analysis and development and programme/project management, implementation and monitoring;
- Management experience, excellent interpersonal skills and ability to organize and motivate others and to work in a multi-cultural environment;
- Excellent drafting and reporting skills;
- Good communication and negotiating skills;
- Good planning and organizational skills.
Language requirement
- Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (English, French, Arabic and Portuguese) is a must.
- Knowledge of second or all of the other working languages would be an added advantage.
Tenure of Appointment
The appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of three (3) years, of which the first twelve months will be considered as 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.
Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of US $70,139.00 per annum (D1 Step1) plus other related entitlements e.g. Post Adjustment (46% of basic salary), Housing allowance ($16,819.20 per annum), education allowance (75% of tuition and other education related expenses for every eligible dependent up to a maximum of US$7,800.00 per child per annum for internationally recruited staff and other allowances in accordance to the African Union Staff Regulations and Rules governing the employment of International Civil Servants of the Union.
Least Representative Countries
Candidates from the following least represented countries are encouraged to apply: Eritrea, Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Sahrawi Arab Republic, SaoTome and Principe, Seychelles and Somalia.
Application
Applications must be made through the AUC E-recruitment Website http://www.aucareers.org not later than 13 March 2015.
Directorate of Administration and Human Resources Management
African Union Commission
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
P.O. Box 3243
Fax: 00251-11-5525840/5510430
E-mail: au-recruits@africa-union.org
