Head of Integration & Trade Division

Organization Information

Reports to: Director of Economic Development, Integration and Trade
Directorate/Department/Organ: Economic Development, Integration and Trade
Division: Integration and Trade
Number of Direct Reports: 2
Number of Indirect Reports: 5
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 integration and Trade division of the AU.

Main Functions

• Supervises staff of the division with regard to organisation and performance evaluation;
• Leads the design of strategies and policies consistent with the Directorates goals in order to address the pertinent issues in the relevant area;
• Contributes to the development of the directorates business continuity plan and ensures the  implementation at division level;
• Ensures the appropriate risk management and mitigation strategies for the division;
• Leads the design and plans policy programs to achieve the required strategies;
• Develops new and expand on existing activities as components of the strategies and policies;
• Ensures the division makes inputs into policy formulation in line with integration and trade strategies of the AU.
• Ensures the preparation of the annual action plan and its corresponding resources for the division.
• Engages stakeholders within Members States and RECs in designing and implementing strategies;
• Represents the organisation and explain its position at conferences. Mobilise funding from all donors to use to execute strategies and activities;
• Contributes to the preparation of periodic financial and budget execution reports and monitors budget execution at division level.

Specific Responsibilities

• Coordinates the implementation of the African integration agenda including attending/organising technical Coordination Committee meetings of the AUC and RECs for the preparation of the Coordination Summit meeting of Heads of States and Government;
• Coordinates the initiation and formulation of policies, programmes and projects aimed at promoting African integration process as well as trade and market integration among African Member States;
• Coordinates and supervises the preparation of technical reports and research papers on current global issues and their potential implications on trade patterns and African integration process, in particular, working closely with AU Member States, RECs and other key partner institutions;
• Leads the formulation and management of key policies and programmes of economic analysis and those aimed at enhancing continental and regional integration in line with  ACFTA and AU Agenda 2063 in close collaboration with Member States and RECs;
• Coordinates the identification of new and emerging international trade issues,  regarding Member States, RECs, UNECA, WTO, UNCTAD, AfDB as well as other key stakeholders;
• Liaises with Research and Policy Division to organize 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;
• Leads the preparation and dissemination of the AU Flagship publications and policy papers on regional integration and trade, Status of Regional Integration, African Integration and Development Journal; Integration bulletin and continental Integration booklet;
• Supervises staff economists undertaking technical reports in areas of regional integration and trade;
• Supervises all economic studies and analyses on regional integration and trade matters;
• Coordinates the preparation of speeches and regular briefs for senior staff and makes presentations on economic issues for specialist or non-specialist audiences on regional integration and trade;
• Provides policy advice, strong intellectual guidance and direction on issues of sustainable structural economic transformation and  development;
• Coordinates programmes designed to  help accelerate the region’s integration with global value chains;
• Oversees the progress of implementation of activities of the Division;
• Performs any other related assignment as may be assigned by the Director.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• A Master’s degree in Economics, Finance,  International Business, Public Administration, Monetary Economics or any closely related  field with twelve (12) years of relevant  work experience of which a minimum of seven(7)  years at managerial and 5 years at supervisory level.

Required Skills

• Ability to initiate and promote collaborative approaches between geographically and culturally disparate partners.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations both internally and externally;
• Ability to Identify key strategic opportunities and risks
• 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.

Leadership Competencies

Core Competencies

• Building Relationship
• Effective Communication
• Fosters Accountability Culture
• .Learning Orientation

Functional Competencies

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

.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) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

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 INFORMATION

Applications must be submitted no later than September 19, 2025 11h59 p.m. EAT.

-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.