Principal Officer, Training and Capacity Building 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: Principal Officer, Training and Capacity Building

Requisition ID: 821
Location: Rabat, Morocco
Reports to: Deputy Director
Directorate / Department: African Migration Observatory / HHS
Number of Direct Reports: 5
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Job Grade: P4
Contract Type: Regular

Purpose of Job

• Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Principal Officer, Training & Capacity Building oversees and provides advice and guidance to senior management on the strategic direction of the training and capacity building functions of the Observatory.
• S/he also supervises and coordinates the day-to-day activities of staff in the Training & Capacity Building Unit.
• The incumbent also monitors the activities of the unit and resolves issues affecting quality and timeliness.

Main Functions

• Provide overall leadership to the training and capacity building functions of the Observatory.
• Coordinate the development of strategic and annual activity work-plans of the Training & Capacity Building Unit in line with the Observatory’s strategic goals, objectives and priorities.
• Present and defend resource requirements needed to carry out the annual work-plans of the Training & Capacity Building Unit.
• Assist management in mobilizing resources for the training and capacity building activities of the Observatory.
• Represent the Observatory at relevant regional/continental/international seminars and conferences.

Specific Responsibilities

• Coordinate training / capacity building needs assessments of Member States / RECs on migration data collection/management.
• Develop syllabi/curricula on data collection based on identified training/capacity building needs of Member States / RECs.
• Coordinate the development of technical proposals and budgets for the training and capacity building activities in accordance with the Observatory’s strategic priorities.
• Monitor performance and prepares progress reports on the training and capacity building activities of the Observatory.
• Coordinate the design of monitoring and evaluation systems for programmes under the Training & Capacity Building Unit.
• Compile briefing notes, strategy documents, regular regional/continental reports and white papers on migration.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Deputy Director.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• A Master’s Degree in a numerate discipline such as Statistics, Demography, Mathematics, Computer Science or Survey Methodology or other related disciplines with a total of ten (10) years of continuous and combined relevant experience with six (6) and three (3) expert and supervisory level. Areas of experience should be in:
• Working with survey data and secondary data.
• Planning and implementing large-scale statistical surveys.
• Documented experience in teaching statistics or a related field at certificate or diploma level.
• A professional qualification or certificate in training/capacity building will be highly desirable.
• Demonstrable experience in supervising and leading teams of consultants, and delegating tasks and authority.
• Demonstrable experience in drafting technical documents for executive level consumption and/or peer review.
• Experience with statistical applications and methods for social research.
• Knowledge and advanced use of at least two of the following tools: R, Sawtooth CBC/HB, Stata, SAS, SPSS, Matlab, Python, XLStat
• Advanced Excel skills and/or VBA experience.
• An understanding of the African migration landscape.
• Proven experience interacting with international and regional public partner agencies.
• Proven track-record of working and liaising with high-level government and donor officials.
• An understanding of the African Union way of working and managing associated relationships with Member States / RECs and partners is preferred.

Required Skills:

• Excellent project planning and management skills for organizing, planning and executing projects from conception through implementation.
• Excellent analytical skills to respond to trends in emerging issues, and to develop, apply and adjust programme strategies to further the Observatory’s mission, goals and objectives.
• Excellent organisation, interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to motivate staff, work under pressure, stay on track and meet deadlines
• Excellent diplomatic, representational, inter-personal skills, including experience in interacting with stakeholders and decision-makers in order to build strong collaborative relationships with governments and partners.
• Excellent problem solving abilities Strong written and oral communication skills, in particular proven ability to write clear and concise reports;
• Personal commitment, goal oriented and drive for results, flexibility and respect for diversity.    
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Ability to operate in a multicultural environment.
• High level of autonomy at work, yet with profound team-spirit
• Adaptive, patient, resourceful, resilient and flexible
• Pro-active and solutions oriented
• Demonstrated ability with regard to computer skills, including excellent word-processing capabilities, proficiency with e-mail and internet applications and experience in using office software applications such as MS Excel, Power Point and Word.
• Proficiency in at least one of the African Union working languages. Knowledge of one more or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Insight...
• Developing others...
• Change Management..
• Managing Risk...

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationships...
• Foster Accountability Culture...
• Learning Orientation...
• Communicating with Influence...

Functional Competencies:

• Conceptual thinking...
• Job Knowledge and information sharing...
• Drive for Results...
• Continuous improvement orientation...

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.

Gender Mainstreaming:

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

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.

Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of US$42,879.00  (P4 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (48% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 23,544.00  (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
21st February, 2022.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online