Executive Director (STATAFRIC) 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: Executive Director (STATAFRIC)

Requisition ID: 1974
Location: Tunis, Tunisia
Job Grade: P6
Contract Type: Regular
Reports to: Commissioner of Economic Affairs  
Directorate/Department/Organ: African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC)

Purpose of Job

• The African Union (AU), established as a unique Pan African continental body, is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States as well as developing a new partnership worldwide Its Headquarters is located in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia
• During their Ordinary Session in January 2013, the Assembly of Head of States and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted the decision (Assembly/AU/Dec462 (XX)) for the creation of the African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC) that will be based in Tunis, Republic of Tunisia Its main purpose is to promote the production of official statistics of the African Union mainly by collecting, harmonizing and aggregating data published by the National Statistics Offices/Institutes of African Union member states in order to shed light on the decisions of African institutions and educate African citizens accordingly
• The mandate of STATAFRIC is to lead in the provision and promotion of harmonized quality statistical information and good practice in support and monitoring of the implementation of the African Integration and Development Agenda
• In seeking to achieve these objectives, the African Union intends to strengthen its capacity to deliver by, among others, the implementation of a new organizational structure and the filling of regular vacant posts  
• The Commission of the African Union invites applicants who are citizens of AU Member States to apply for the post of Executive Director of STATAFRIC in Tunis, Tunisia Department.

Main Functions

• To lead the formulation and implementation of policies, strategies, and programmes for statistics development to capacitate Member States of the African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in their efforts to modernize their statistics systems to generate quality, harmonized and reliable data for the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their development vision and plans with a view to achieving harmonious and integrated development of the continent

Specific Responsibilities
Under the general guidance of the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, the incumbent shall:

• Lead and provide strategic vision for the development and the implementation of statistics policies, strategies and programmes to assist Member States to produce quality and harmonized statistical data that meet the needs of all users in general and continental integration in general and economic development, in particular
• Lead the development of quality assurance framework for the collection, verification and validation of data produced by Member States in all areas of development and integration of the continent and provide advisory and technical assistance to member States for implementation;
• Lead and coordinate the implementation of the revised Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA 2) and the African Charter on Statistics to generate quality and harmonized statistics for evidencebased decisions in support of the African Integration and Development Agenda; iv)     Lead and provide strategic direction to ensure that STATAFRIC becomes a centre of reference to coordinate the African Statistics System for the production and dissemination of quality official statistics on Africa;
• Lead the consolidation of the data collected by member states and ensure that they are comparable by using common statistical language that embraces concepts, methods, structures, classifications, norms and standards
• Support the work of the Executive Director of PANSTAT in building the capacity of Member States with regular updating of theoretical and practical knowledge in statistics
• Mobilize technical and financial support of development partners to support Member States for the implementation of statistical strategies and programmes on the continent;
• Act as the Secretariat for the organization of the Committee of Directors’ General Sessions, Executive Committee of SHaSA 2 and its Specialized Technical Groups (STGs)
• Advise the AU Commission and the regional offices on statistical issues
• Represent STATAFRIC at highlevel meetings and other relevant events
• Perform any other special assignments as directed by the Commissioner

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience
The candidate must:

• Hold, at least a  Master's Degree in Statistics Engineering, Economics, Statistics Demography and Econometrics.
• Have in addition a minimum of twelve (12) years relevant working experience in the design, development and implementation of policies, strategies and projects in statistics development;
• International experience will be an added advantage;
• Have at least seven (7) years working experience at managerial level;
• Have published at least three (3) scientific articles in recognized international journals over the last ten
• (10) years and produced at least three (3) official technical documents on statistics over the last five (5) years  

Required Skills:

• Expert knowledge of the substantive field of statistics, in general, and statistics development and harmonization in particular
• Professional competence and mastery in statistics;
• Proven ability to produce statistical reports and documents, and to review and edit the work of others Must be able to manage a team of experts requiring an indepth understanding of its strategic direction and able to integrate STATAFRIC into the work programme of AU
• Must be able to provide expertise on substantive issues and to defend and explain complex issues with respect to key decisions and positions to staff, senior officials and members of intergovernmental bodies
• Shows pride in work and achievements
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, deadlines and producing results
• Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns
• Shows persistence in the face of difficult problems and challenges
• Remains calm under stress

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Perspective
• Developing Others:
• Change Management:
• Managing Risk

Core Competencies:

• Foster Accountability Culture
• Communicating with impact
• Learning Orientation
• Change Management

Functional Competencies:

• Drive for Results
• Conceptual Thinking
• Job Knowledge Sharing
• Fosters Innovation.

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, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.

Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of USD61,02300 (P6 Step 1) per annum plus other related entitlements eg Post adjustment ( 48% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 23,54400 (per annum), and education allowance (100% of tuition and other educationrelated expenses for every eligible dependent up to a maximum of US$ 10,00000 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
13th October, 2023; 11h59 p.m. EAT