African Union Commission Trade-Related Communications Assistant

 TRADE-RELATED COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

1. Post

Job Title: Trade-Related Communications Assistant
Grade: GSA5
Department: Department of Trade and Industry
Supervisor: Heads of Divisions
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. Purpose

The January 2012 African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government focused on “Boosting Intra-Africa Trade” and endorsed the recommendation of the 6th Ordinary Session of the AU Ministers of Trade held in Kigali from 29 October – 2 November 2010 to fast-track the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area. The African Union Commission (AUC) supports its Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), amongst others, to undertake programmes and policies that boostintra-African trade, strengthen RECs, and improve market access. The Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for establishing the Architecture for the African Trade Observatory, the Industry Observatory and a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for all the activities of the Department.

The African Union Commission is mandated by:

I. The Declaration on Boosting Intra-African Trade and the Establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) at the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at the 18thOrdinarySession of the Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 29 to 30 January, 2012;and

II. The recommendations of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Conference of the African Union (AU) Ministers of Trade on the need to fast track the establishment of CFTA;
Both of which:

• Endorsed the Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade (APBIT) and requested the AU Commission, in collaboration with RECs, Member States, and development partners, to develop an implementation strategy for the Action Plan;
• Called on Member States, RECS, the AU Commission and development partners to adopt the necessary measures towards the effective implementation of APBIT;
• Decided that the CFTA should be operationalized by the indicative date of 2017, based on the framework, roadmap and architecture; and
• Requested the Commission, in collaboration with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank(AfDB) and other relevant agencies, to take appropriate measures including studies, technical support to RECs and sensitization of Member States and partners, for the effective implementation of the CFTA Road Map; and
• Requested the Ministers responsible for the CFTA to report as appropriate to the Assembly, through the Executive Council on progress.

III. The July 2009 Summit of African Heads of States, which called for a robust system for monitoring and evaluation of regional integration, including intra-African trade (Doc.EX.CL/517 (XV), AU 2009).

Pursuant to the above mandates including the previous decisions on Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa as well as the Plan of Action for the Africa Mining Vision, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the AUC is recruiting a specialist in trade-related communications to support the Department in the implementation on a short-term basis of its communications program.

3. Major duties and responsibilities:

Trade and industrial policy making and implementation requires the involvement of many stakeholders at the national, regional and continental levels. Key to stakeholder involvement is the development of an effective communication strategy that keeps all sections of the society informed and provides an opportunity to receive some feedback.
The implementation of such an advocacy program is a responsibility of the department. Its implementation has to be anchored on a Communications specialist with the requisite skills and enthusiasm for the function, who will be positioned in the Department of Trade and Industry.

The main roles and responsibilities for the Communications Specialist are as follows;

• Support the implementation of a communication and advocacy strategy for the Department.
• Implement effective communication between the Department of Trade and Industry and key stakeholders as identified in the departmental communications strategy
• Liaise closely and maintain effective working relations with the Directorate of Information and Communication in AUC to make optimal use of available systems and resources
• Establish effective working relations with the Regional Economic Communities and other collaborating institutions and organizations
• Make use of a variety of communication channels and tools (press releases, special reports, articles, radio, audio-visual, web, social media) to actively engage stakeholders on the programmes of the department
• Support the organisation of effective media coverage events for Ministerial Conferences, meetings, workshops, training programs and seminars organised by the Department of Trade and Industry. 
• Identify possible actions for facilitating coordinated inter-REC and continental communication on trade and industrial policy issues.
• Update the Departmental website with relevant information and ensure its accuracy and quality, while ensuring monitoring of feedback and timely responses to requests
• Summarise technical documents and reports produced by the department of Trade and Industry in user-friendly format for stakeholders and general public. 
• Participate in regional and inter-regional events organised by the Department and coordinate media coverage as necessary.
• Undertake any other duties as assigned by the Commissioner/Director

4. Outputs:

I. A work plan for the contract duration (due two weeks after assumption of duty)
II. A final report on activities due at the end of the period

5. QUALIFICATIONAND WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• A university degree in Business Administration and Information system or communication studies from a recognized university;
• Two years of professional working experience in international organizations, including some experience in communications, preferably in the area of trade-related communications would be an advantage;
• Work experience in Africa is a plus.
• Excellent writing skills and command of key software (word processing, Power point);
• Be willing to undertake extensive work and meet tight deadlines.
• Proficiency in English is a must. Working knowledge of at least one of the other African Union working languages (Arabic, French and Portuguese) is an advantage. 
• Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity
• Analytical thinking
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to work under pressure and manage responsibilities

6. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:

Proficiency in one of the African Union working languages. Knowledge of one or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

7. AGE REQUIREMENT:

Candidates must preferably be between 25 and 35years old.

8. TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

The appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of Six (6) months, of which the first three months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract will before a annually subject to satisfactory performance and fund availability.

9. GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

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

10. REMUNERATION: The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$ 50,148.39 inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$21,354.35 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff.

Applications must be made through the AUC E-recruitment Website http://www.aucareers.org not later than 7th June 2013.