Head, Economic Policy & Sustainable Development 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 Organization 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: Head, Economic Policy & Sustainable Development

Requisition ID: 1821
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Reports to: Director of Economic Development, Integration and Trade
Directorate/Department/Organ: Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Minerals (ETIM)
Division: Economic Policy & Sustainable Development 
Number of Direct Reports: 2
Number of Indirect Reports: 6
Job Grade: P5
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Regular

Purpose of Job

• To provide technical leadership for the effective and efficient management of the Economic policy and sustainable development division.

Main Functions

• Supervises and manages staff of the Division to ensure their effectiveness and efficiency;   
• Designs strategies and policies in order to address the pertinent issues in the relevant area;
• Contributes to the development of  business continuity plans and ensures implementation at division level;
• Ensures risk management and mitigation;
• Leads the expansion and development of activities and the strategic plan of the Division.  
• Ensures the division makes inputs into policy formulation in line with economic policy and sustainable development.  
• Engages stakeholders within Members States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in designing and implementing strategies;  
• Represents the organisation and explain its position at conferences.  
• Ensures the preparation of the annual action plan and its corresponding resources for the division.
• Mobilises funds from  donors towards  the implementation of  strategies and activities of the Division;
• Prepares periodic financial and budget execution reports and monitors budget execution at division level.

Specific Responsibilities

• Leads the formulation and monitoring of economic policies and macroeconomic prospects in the context of the global environment and fragilities within the continent;
• Leads the development of policies and programmes to promote macroeconomic stability, monetary and fiscal harmonization and cooperation among member states;  
• Coordinates the establishment of the AU financial institutions (African Central Bank, African Investment Bank, African Monetary Fund and Pan African Stock Exchange) and promote innovative finance, Fintech and microfinance to accelerate financial inclusion;
• Leads the promotion and the coordination of activities on domestic resources mobilization and fight against illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) including monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of High Level Panel Report on IFFs and Africa initiative on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information for tax purposes and leads the production of revenue statistics report on Africa;
• Conducts policy research and debt sustainability analysis in order to improve macroeconomic surveillance and understanding of sovereign debt risk profile and the policy tools that Member States can deploy to contain debt distress; and research to improve capacities of Member States in analysing and managing policies to promote sustainable structural economic transformation and poverty reduction;
• Leads the production  and dissemination of the AU flagship publications and other knowledge products on Africa emerging macroeconomic and development issues including Africa’s Development Dynamics and the organization of Congress of African Economists, Fridays of the Commission; among others.;
• Liaises with the Integration Division to organise meetings for Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration as well as activities of the F-15 Ministers in close collaboration with the Director of Finance;
• Evaluates international economic conferences, such as the G20, the G8, F-15; and other economic forums;
• Collaborates with partner institutions; research think tanks and universities, both within and outside Africa, in order to deepen analytical capacity and broaden the scope and outreach of the AU research work;
• Oversees the progress of implementation of activities of the division and provide programmatic/substantive reviews of the drafts prepared by staff;
• Performs any other related assignment as may be assigned by the Director.  

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• A Master’s Degree in Economics, International Business or Public Administration, Statistics, Finance, Development Macroeconomics or any relevant field with a minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant work experience of which seven (7) must be at managerial level.

Required Skills:

• Ability to initiate and promote collaborative approaches between geographically and culturally dispersed 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 effectively lead, supervise, mentor, develop and evaluate staff
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (French, English, Portuguese Arabic), fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

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

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Risk Management
• Change Management
• Developing Organizational Capacity

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationship
• Foster Accountability Culture
• Effective Communication
• Learning Orientation

Functional Competencies:

• Conceptual Thinking
• Drive for Results

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.

Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of US$  50,746.00 (P5 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment ( 46% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$  26,208.00   (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
16th June, 2023.11:59pm (EAT)