Project Officer Expert - Data Ecosystems (AU-IBAR) at 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: Project Officer Expert - Data Ecosystems (AU-IBAR)

Req Id: 2767
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Reports to: Project Coordinator / Officer
Directorate/Department: Darbe
Division: AU-IBAR
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Job Grade: P2
Number of Positions: 1

Purpose of Job

• The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical office of the Department Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) of the African Union Commission (AUC).
• The vision of AU-IBAR is: “An Africa in which animal resources contribute significantly to integration, prosperity and peace”.
• Its Mission is: to provide leadership and integrated support services for the development of animal resources in Africa. 
• AU-IBAR’s mandate is to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources (livestock, fisheries and wildlife) to enhance nutrition and food security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the Member States of the AU. 
• AU-IBAR is the main vehicle for the AU to develop appropriate and independent expertise to support and coordinate the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources to enhance food and nutrition security and contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people in the AU Member States. 
• Under this mandate, AU-IBAR is implementing the Africa Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Platform, a pan-African initiative for market-enabled, adaptive transformation for pastoralism. 
• AU-IBAR recognizes that pastoralists are critical for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa: 
  • Pastoralists account for 2 – 7% of national GDP and contribute 60 - 80% of meat across Africa (up to 50% of meat exports in many geographies).
  • Demand for meat and milk in SSA expected to increase by more than 250% by 2050.
  • Pastoralists provide valuable ecosystem services, using indigenous climate adaptive practices on marginal lands, sequestering carbon, and managing water in ASAL regions.
  • Despite potential benefits, pastoral programs have focused on humanitarian activities instead of integrating pastoralists with livestock markets.
• However, pastoralists are severely marginalized and disproportionately impacted by climate change.
• Historic investments, though significant, have had limited impact. Given the increasing demand for livestock products, pressure on natural resources, and climate shocks, AU-IBAR is committed to promoting the adoption of a long-term systems lens and coordinated actions within and across countries and sectors/stakeholders to tailor approaches to pastoral communities and archetypes.
• AU-IBAR will host the APMD Platform, which will build on prior programs and strengthen the pastoral sector enabling environment to:
  • Integrate pastoralists with livestock markets, create positive cycles for investment in the value chain, strengthen business continuity, and provide more affordable livestock-sourced products for more consumers. 
  • Unlock the full potential of planned pastoral investments over the next 3-5 years across up to 20 geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa and committed funding for drought relief.
  • Progress pastoralist learning agenda and;
  • Identify potential areas to shift long-term funding and investments.
• The APMD, Platform will strategically influence, coordinate, and provide visibility across key investments and stakeholders, so that market-focused interventions can scale and succeed.
• It will do so by focusing on convening and coordinating actions of the Africa’s premier multi-stakeholder forum to advance the pastoral agenda, as well as three critical pillars of action: 
  • Policy strengthening and strategic implementation,
  • Strengthening private sector engagement, and 
  • Strengthening and diffusing functional data ecosystems
• For the implementation of this project, AU-IBAR seeks the services of a Pastoral Sector Market Expert (Project Expert - Grade P2), for a four-year period, to lead the implementation of APMD Platform activities focused on “Strengthening and diffusing functional data Ecosystems”.

Main Functions

• Under the direct supervision of the APMD Platform Coordinator at AU-IBAR, and the overall oversight of the Director of AU-IBAR.
• The Project Expert for “Strengthening and diffusing functional data Ecosystems” will lead the design and implementation of activities aimed at supporting the accurate collection, organization, and utilization of data to inform and optimize pastoral sector policies, investments, and interventions.
• He/she shall perform the following tasks:
  • Support strategic planning and project implementation
  • Support planning, implementation and reporting on monthly, quarterly and annual project progress
  • Lead market research data collection, analysis, and reporting in target geographies
  • Lead data assessment and management of the Pastoral Livestock Marketing Chain in the targeted geographies.
  • Support capacity assessment and developing and delivery of Training and capacity building activities / products
  • Promote availability, accessibility and utilization of data on investment in pastoral livestock marketing chain
  • Assist project coordinator to Prepare Annual work plans, and budgets 
  • Assist the project coordinator to collect, collate and disseminate data / information on all aspects of promoting pastoral livestock marketing chain.
  • Promote Pan-Africa pastoral livestock data stakeholders’ engagement and coordination
  • Support Monitoring and Evaluation, resource management and reporting on status of project implementation on the data pillar.
  • Assist in preparation of AU-IBAR APMD Annual project / Programme action plans, budget and implementation progress reports 
  • Assist in co-ordination and liaison with Member States Data National authorities, Regional Economic Communities, Inter-Governmental and International Organizations/partners on matters of pastoral livestock data
  • Assist in strengthening the networking and management of pastoral livestock data stakeholders 
  • Perform any other relevant duties that may be assigned by the project coordinator and AU-IBAR Director.

Specific Responsibilities
Strategic planning :

• Develop and lead the implementation of a comprehensive strategy for enabling functional data ecosystems and data diffusion in the pastoral sector in Africa 
• Support planning for sustainable data infrastructures and systems at targeted geographies unscalable to the Pan-Africa level
• Provide input and feedback on country strategic planning related to strengthening data ecosystems and data diffusion
• Contribute to high-level Platform strategic planning, governance, and project management as key member of the Platform Management Committee (PMC)

Project implementation and management for data ecosystem development :   

• Facilitate research to identify key data ecosystem gaps in pastoral sector 
• Build Platform expertise on frameworks, methodologies, tools, etc. that enable data ecosystems and diffusion (e.g., Livestock Marketing Information System, LMIS, Resource Management Information System, livestock identification and traceability system, LITS, etc.) 
• Support the identification and adoption of effective Knowledge Sharing Hub(s) / platform(s), KSH for pastoral livestock data collection, analysis, diffusion and utilization among policy makers, value chain actors, and other key stakeholders 
• Enhance continental awareness of pastoral sector data gaps and promote the implementation of solutions to minimize gaps and advance data informed pastoral sector policy and investment decision-making

Stakeholder engagement and coordination :

• Coordinate and support the Data Pillar Working Group, ensuring the working group operates cohesively and effectively towards informing and executing pillar goals
• Foster a conducive working group environment that encourages continuous engagement, creative thinking, and a bias for action

Stakeholders capacity building :

• Oversee the development of training curriculum for pastoral sector data ecosystems (frameworks, methodologies, tools, etc.) 
• Support training and adoption of pastoral data ecosystem tools and best practices among member states experts and other stakeholders

M&E, reporting, resource management :

• Collaborate with AU-IBAR M&E officers to support Platform M&E requirements 
• Support data collection, management, and analysis related to data pillar activities for Platform M&E
• Report on pillar performance against established KPIs regularly
• Support preparation of M&E reports for internal and external stakeholders (donors, Platform Steering Committee, etc.) 
• Utilize pillar resources in line with defined activities and related budget 
• Monitor pillar budget utilization and provide regular updates on financial status
• Identify potential risks to activity implementation and resource management and develop mitigation strategies
• •    Other relevant duties as may be assigned by the Project Coordinator and/or AU-IBAR Director.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Data Science, Information Technology, Statistics or a related field in data management, analysis and utilization.
• Degree holder to have a minimum of five (5) years of progressive work experience in agriculture / livestock and/or pastoral sector in Africa, and Master’s Degree holder to have two (2) years experience.
• Demonstrated experience in livestock and/or pastoral sector, with a strong understanding and knowledge of sector data ecosystem, methodologies, tools, etc.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection, data analysis and demonstration, database management tools and approach, ideally in the context of the pastoral or livestock sector 
• Experience in project management, including budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting
• Demonstrated experience in data stakeholder convenings and coordination of collective activities 
• Demonstrated experience in project management, including budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting
• Proven experience in livestock data collection, management, and analysis
• Certification in project management applications like PMP or Prince2 or certification in a related field, will be an added advantage.
• Supervisor experience not mandatory, but an added advantage.
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages is required, fluency in another AU language and or English in particular is an added advantage.

Required Skills:

• Effective interpersonal and communication, from project kick offs to stakeholder meetings
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with cross-functional teams is required.
• Possess leadership skills
• Self-starter with the ability to plan work and follow-up on implementation
• Self-motivated, creative, and a reliable team player
• Ability to work in a multicultural setting
• Sound project management skills
• Professional ability to use Information / Data Management Technology tools and approaches to enhance assigned tasks
• Sound communication, networking, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to maintain positive and constructive dialogue and relationships with key institutions and partners operating in the sector/ targeted geographies.

Leadership Competencies:

• Change Management
• Managing Risk.

Core Competencies:

• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Accountability awareness and Compliance
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with Influence.

Functional Competencies:

• Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Job Knowledge and Information Sharing
• Drive for Results
• Continuous Improvement Focus.

Tenure Of Appointment

• The Appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period.
• Thereafter, the contract may be renewed for a similar period subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables.

Remuneration

• The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$ 78,600.96 (P2 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$  63,640.03  inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union Commission.

Application Closing Date
22nd October 2025; 11: 59 P.M. EAT.

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

Note

• Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted.
• Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas (Bac+2), Bachelor's degrees (Bac+3), Master's degrees (Bac+5) and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.
• The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Candidates from least represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles. These countries include: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, and Somalia
• The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.