Cataloguer (PAP) at African Union

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: Cataloguer (PAP)

Requisition ID: 2881
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports to: Senior Library and Documentation Officer
Directorate / Department / Organ: Pan African Parliament (PAP)
Division: Committees, Research, Documentation and Library
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Job Grade: GSA5
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Regular

Purpose of Job

• To ensure timely, structured, and equitable access to high-quality information and knowledge resources that directly support the legislative, oversight, and representational functions of the Pan-African Parliament.
• The Cataloguer plays a central role in organizing and curating physical and digital collections, aligning them with the strategic priorities of the Parliament and the African Union.
• Through effective cataloguing, classification, indexing, and dissemination of resources, the role contributes to informed decision-making by Members of Parliament and enhances institutional memory, research capacity, and knowledge sharing across the PAP Secretariat and AU stakeholders.

Main Functions

• Develops the workplan to guide in implementation of the agreed upon activities.
• Searches, identifies, evaluates, and analyses the content and selects the information and knowledge resources.
• Compiles and prepares lists of selected resources.
• Liaises with Finance and Procurement on the acquisition selected resources
• Processes the resources by accessioning, registration, cataloguing, classification, indexing, and storage of the information resources.
• Reference and Circulation Services, circulates the resources by lending.
• Information and Knowledge Sharing through Current Awareness Service (CAS), Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) and information repackaging for the Members.
• Develops Research Library policies.
• Ensures quality library work.

Specific Responsibilities
Collection Development and Acquisitions:

• Support the identification and selection of information resources aligned with the themes of PAP Committees and AU priorities.
• Assist in compiling acquisition lists based on internal consultations and catalogues.
• Liaise with Procurement and Finance units for quotations and processing of purchase requests.
• Receive and check incoming materials (purchased, subscribed, or donated), ensuring accuracy and basic quality.
• Coordinate with internal teams to collect PAP documents and relevant reports for library integration.

Processing of Library Materials:

• Perform preliminary processing of resources, including stamping, registering, and assigning accession numbers.
• Assist in cataloguing and classifying resources using established library standards and tools.
• Upload internal documents to the institutional repository and AU Knowledge Base.
• Support indexing and abstracting of internal publications and non-commercial resources.

Reference and Circulation Services:

• Facilitate the lending and return of library materials to Members and staff.
• Maintain records of borrowed materials and usage statistics.
• Organize and shelve resources for easy access.
• Provide basic assistance to users and refer complex inquiries when necessary.
• Participate in induction sessions for new staff and Members.

Information and Knowledge Sharing:

• Share relevant updates through Current Awareness Services (CAS) and Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI).
• Assist in preparing information summaries or packs upon user request.

Library Policies Support:

• Contribute to the implementation of existing library policies related to access, borrowing, and resource use.
• Provide input for updates to acquisition procedures under supervision

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• A minimum of College Diploma in Information Management, Library Science, Archiving, or related discipline with minimum of three (3) years relevant work experience
  Or
• Bachelor’s degree in information management, Library Science, Archiving, or related discipline with a minimum of two (2) years of relevant work experience.

Required Skills:

• Communication skills, both written and oral communication. communication skills.
• Planning and organizational skills.
• Analytical skills
• Research Skills
• Information Search Skills
• Knowledge of Integrated Library Management Systems and Databases.
• Good interpersonal skills
• User confidentiality (respect the privacy of users)
• Ability to work across business units / geographies and be cultural sensitive
• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (French, English, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish or Kiswahili), fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies:
Core Competencies:

• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Accountability awareness and Compliance
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating Clearly.

Functional Competencies:

• Trouble shooting
• Job Knowledge and information sharing
• Task Focused
• Continuous Improvement Awareness.

Languages:

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

Remuneration

• Indicative basic salary of US$ 15,758.00 (GSA5 Step 1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (57% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 16,813.44 (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.

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.

Application Closing Date
22nd December, 2025; 11:59 PM EAT.