Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Coordinator - African Union

Purpose of Job

To lead and coordinate activities, supervise staff and design strategies and policies relevant to the Unit and engagement of relevant stakeholders.

Main Functions

• Coordinate activities, supervise and manage employees on the delivery of the Unit’s mandate and performance objectives;
• Supervise the design and plan policy programmes to achieve these strategies; lead, guide and supervise the implementation of planned activities;
• Contribute to the development of the AfCFTA Secretariat’s business continuity plan and ensure implementation at the RECs Coordination Unit level;
• Manage risk within the Unit and recommend mitigation strategies;
• Develop new and expand on existing activities as components of these strategies and policies.
• Address problems arising from current approaches to relevant areas;
• Supervise the engagement with stakeholders within Member States and RECs on designing and implementing AfCFTA strategies;
• Represent the organisation and explain its position at conferences and other relevant platforms;
• Contribute to the preparation of periodic financial and budget execution reports and monitor budget execution at the Unit level;
• Ensure creation of an inspiring work environment to enable staff development and professional progression; and
• Mobilize resources from donors to support the implementation of AfCFTA Secretariat strategy.

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Specific Responsibilities

• Contribute in mobilizing all relevant stakeholders and institutions of the Regional Economic Communities towards coordinated and harmonized continental integration through among others continental platforms, shared experiences, and common visions, goals and programs as appropriate;
• Oversee the due implementation of provisions and instruments on relations, between the regional economic communities, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Union, in line with the overall architecture of continental integration;
• Working with all relevant stakeholders, assist to actualise the role of regional economic communities as building blocks for the African Common Market and the African Continental Free Trade Area among others through common trade and customs programs and documentation, and coordination of interventions for promoting regional value chains, industrialization, digitalization and inclusiveness;
• Collaborate with knowledge generation and management institutions to continuously clarify and support progress towards a streamlined interface between the African Continental Free Trade Area, the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities in the day-to-day operations of the trade, customs, digitalization, investment, intellectual property and innovation programs;
• Support dialogue on key global and continental strategic issues in order to support active diplomatic agency of Africa throughout major forums relevant to and giving visibility to and a constructive role for the African Continental Free Trade Area;
• Set up organic institutional frameworks for dealing with structures of the regional economic communities at the managerial and technical levels as appropriate;
• Working with the Secretariats of the Regional Economic Communities and the Member States, promote the incorporation of the agenda of the African Continental Free Trade Area into the strategic plans and annual work programs of the regional economic communities;
• Monitor and report on the progress of the integration programs of the regional economic communities, making proposals for alignments towards continental integration and for best practices that could be considered for replication at the continental level;
• Brief the Secretariats and Meetings of the Regional Economic Communities of the Decisions and Outcomes of key meetings of the African Continental Free Area, with a view to continuously mainstreaming the Decisions and Outcomes into the Regional Economic Communities as appropriate;
• Promote good working relations between the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Regional Economic Communities, characterised by good will, understanding, and close collaboration across the various key areas of continental integration;
• Coordinate the missions of the Secretary-General to the regional economic communities covering the programmes, substantive matters and objectives of the missions as well as the logistics;
• Prepare relevant reports on activities undertaken including key next steps, follow up action and disseminate to the relevant stakeholders including the Secretariats of the Regional Economic Communities; and
• Ensure RECs are well informed on decisions undertaken to avoid any duplication.

Academic Requirements And Relevant Experience

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, International Business, Development studies or relevant studies with ten (10) years post qualification relevant work experience out of which 6 years must be at managerial level;. Proven experience in Policy Planning, formulation and programme management/coordination at regional or multilateral level.

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Required Skills

• Ability to initiate and promote collaborative approaches between various stakeholders and partners, as well as geographically and culturally disparate partners;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations both internally and externally;
• Ability to develop and delegate clear program goals, plans and actions, including budgets, that are consistent with agreed strategies;
• Ability to prepare Budget, Progress Report, Work Plan and present for its adoption;
• Ability to effectively lead, supervise, mentor, develop and evaluate staff;
• Ability to effectively use the African Monitoring and Evaluation Reporting Tools; and
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.