Team Leader for the EU-funded African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGA-SP)

Position: Team Leader/Political Dialogue Expert

Duration of the mission: 38 months from December 2020

Nature of expertise: Long term, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Technical Assistance (TA) to the African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGA-SP) will focus on the strengthening of the following AGA members: the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights**, the** African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights**, the** Pan-African Parliament**, the** African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child**.**

Other members such as the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption, the African Union Commission, ECOSOCC & CIDO etc., are also involved in the project in order to enhance coordination and efficiency.

The project’s 4 specific objectives are:

1. To support the members in implementing norms, standards, decisions and recommendations of AGA Platform members and complied with by AU Member States: promotion and dissemination, ratification, domestication and implementation of AU Shared Values instruments

2. To enhance engagement of African citizens with AGA Platform members : access to national, regional and continental human rights institutions, African citizens’ awareness about AGA organs mandate and activities

3. To enhance synergy, coordination and complementarity amongst AGA Platform members and with other relevant actors (CSO, Regional institutions)

4. To strengthen effective and efficient management of AGA organs: improve human resource management, financial resources management, monitoring, evaluation, etc.

As TA provider Expertise France is recruiting a Core Team of two (2) long-term experts to be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Job description

Under the responsibility of Expertise France, the role of the Long-Term Expert will be as follows:

• Responsible for the TA project and successful implementation of its activities;
• Responsible for overall coordination and quality control of work provided by Key & non-Key Experts;
• Responsible for support given to AU organs in terms of high-level institutional dialogue, strategic coordination, information/communication and interaction with other stakeholders (CSOs, national institutions, Member States, etc.);
• Represent EF/project to internal (EUD, beneficiaries etc.) and external partners (CSOs, media, other stakeholders etc.);
• Contribute with information/ideas the political dialogue between EUD and AGA
• Provide expertise in the following fields:

Project Steering:

• Monitor developments of the African governance sector and feed project implementation strategy with lessons learned;
• Steer project activities from the perspective of the implementer (EF);
• Supervise periodic (re)assessment of beneficiary needs in order to adjust work-plan accordingly within project governance rules (TOC, Steering Committee);
• Prepare/compile all contractual reports to EUD & steering partners, with support from Core Team and HQ Project Director;
• Supervise and ensure smooth implementation of activities;
• Guide STE missions and support ownership of outputs by stakeholders;
• Manage/represent the Core Team (incl. Key Experts) and facilitate its dialogue with EF HQ Backstopping Team and external stakeholders.

Political Dialogue:

• Contribute technically to the dialogue between AGA organs, AGA Secretariat and other relevant AU institutions;
• Steer and facilitate quality technical dialogue with stakeholders such as CSOs, National Institutions, EUD or other concerned donors/operators (GIZ notably);
• Advise AGA Secretariat and AGA organs on information/communication strategies for CSOs, national/regional media outlets and social media;
• Contribute to citizen engagement through the design of regional/continental events joining governments (relevant ministries), AGA organs, CSOs & media;
• Establish relations with appointed partner/beneficiary representatives, foster their commitment to project objectives and facilitate their involvement and feedback on activities;
• Supervise overall information/communication and visibility of the project.

Requested Profile

Qualifications and skills

• Post-graduate Degree or equivalent (relevant professional experience) in law, economics, public administration, political science, international relations or other domains relevant to the Project
• Excellent fluency in written & spoken English and French
• Knowledge of other AU languages welcome (Swahili, Arabic etc.)
• Proactive approach and outgoing personality, results-driven task execution;
• Capacity to establish effective working/cooperation relations with authorities/stakeholders and donors at senior level;
• Excellent writing, presentation & computer skills;
• Excellent information/communication/media-relations skills;
• Good interpersonal skills, ability to work in multi-cultural environments;
• Proven organisational/HR & project management skills;
• Good management and negotiation skills;
• Good knowledge of history/foundation of Pan-Africanism in general, and OAU/AU institutions in particular.

General professional experience

• Minimum 15 years of general professional experience, with at least 8 years related to governance in Africa and/or the AU;
• Experience of team management.

Specific professional experience

• Extensive (> 10 years) domestic/international work experience in managerial and administrative positions, preferably with African international organizations or institutions;
• Experience as project manager (> 5 years) in international projects providing technical assistance;
• Good knowledge/understanding of governance-related AU institutions;
• Experience in high-level political dialogue and advocacy, preferably in AU Member States and/or at regional and/or AU level;
• Experience of evaluation and capacity building of public/NGO/private organisations, preferably in AU Member States and/or at regional and/or AU level;
• Experience of Civil Society organisations and State/CSO dialogue in Africa;
• Proven understanding of media environments, preferably in Africa.

Documents requested: CV in EU-format and Cover letter

Deadline for application: 15.11.2020

Applications have to be submitted to:

Beata Suszterova, Project Directo: beata.suszterova@expertisefrance.fr

Olivier Lechien, Head of Unit, Democratic Governance & Human Rights Department: olivier.lechien@expertisefrance.fr