Organization Information

Reports to: Executive Secretary
Directorate/Department/Organ: African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)
Number of Direct Reports: 4
Number of Indirect Reports: 3
Job Grade: P4
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Regular
Location: Maseru, Lesotho

Purpose of Job

The African Union, 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 of Ethiopia. In seeking to achieve these objectives, the African Union invites applicants who are citizens of Member States for the post of Principal Child Rights Promotion Officer at the Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC/the Committee).
The ACERWC is a human rights organ of the AU with the mandate to promote and protect the rights and welfare of children in Africa. The Committee was established by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), by virtue of Article 32 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (The African Children’s Charter) to monitor the implementation of the Charter.
In view of the above background, the AU invites qualified and competent applicants who are citizens of Member States of the African Union with relevant skills, competencies and experiences to submit their applications for the position of Principal Child Rights Promotion Officer at the Secretariat of the ACERWC based in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho.
The Principal Child Rights Promotion Officer shall coordinate the implementation of activities in line with the promotion mandate of the ACERWC

Main Functions

i.    Design strategies and policies consistent with the Unit’s goal in order to address the pertinent issues in the relevant area.
ii.    Contribute to the development of the Unit’s business continuity plan and ensure implementation at respective level
iii.    Devise mechanisms of managing risk within the unit’s area of operation and recommend mitigation strategies
iv.    Design and plan policy programs to achieve the strategies.
v.    Develop new and existing activities as components of the strategies and policies.
vi.    Address problems in arising to current approaches to relevant area.
vii.    Engage stakeholders within Members States and RECs in designing and implementing strategies.
viii.    Represent the respective unit and explain the position of the Organization in relation to the unit’s functions at conferences.
ix.    Mobilise funding from all donors to use to execute strategies and activities.
x.    Supervise the preparation of periodic financial and budget execution reports and monitor budget execution at unit’s level.
xi.    Manage and supervise employees within the unit with regard to the department goals objectives including performance evaluation.

Specific Responsibilities

i)    Supervise the work of the Senior Child Rights Promotion, Senior Social Worker, Gender Officer and Social Workers who will be responsible in promoting children’s rights and welfare at national, sub-regional and Pan-African levels;
ii)    Coordinate the activities of Special Mechanisms within the ACERWC
iii)    Supervise advocacy/lobbying missions regarding submissions State Party Reports on the implementation of the African Children’s Charter
iv)    Supervise the process of submission the relevant documents around the complementary reports and briefings submitted by Civil Society Organizations.
v)    Work towards enhancing the visibility and credibility of the work of the Committee
vi)    Assist ACERWC in improving the efficiency and timeliness of information sharing and documentation to foster the implementation of the Committee’s mandate particularly as it relates to the State party reporting procedures
vii)    Coordinate a network of national, sub-national and international partners to promote children’s rights and welfare.
viii)    Supervise and follow up on the consideration of applications of Observers Status;
ix)    Coordinate any child promotion related activities as may be assigned by the Secretariat or the ACERWC.
x)    Performs other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

•    A Master’s Degree in Human Rights Law, Social Work, Child Protection or any related Social Science fields.
•    At least ten (10) years of relevant professional experience of which six (6) years should be in a managerial role and three (3) years should be at supervisory level.
OR
•    A University Bachelor Degree in the above-mentioned areas of study, with at least twelve (12) years of relevant work experience out of which six (6) years of at a managerial and three (3) years at supervisory levels.
•    Working knowledge of legal research, policy analysis.
•    Previous experience with a human rights organization, especially a child rights organization, at a regional, continental or international level, will be an added advantage
•    Knowledge of the work of the ACERWC and the African Human Rights System will be a preferred advantage

Required Skills

•    Strong analytical and drafting skills;
•    Excellent drafting and report writing skills;
•    Excellent planning and organizing skills;
•    Ability to work under pressure
•    Experience working in a multicultural office environment and diverse groups
•    Good communication, planning and negotiating skills;
•    Excellent interpersonal skills,
•    Ability to work autonomously
•    Experience working with stakeholders;
•    Experience working for Human Rights Organization, especially Child Rights Organization, at a regional, continental or international level, will be a requirement
•    Good knowledge and use of computer applications; and MS-Office applications, including MS-Word, MS-Excel and MS-PowerPoint,
•    Applicants must be proficient in one of the African Union working languages (English, French, Arabic, Portuguese or Spanish). Knowledge of one more or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

Leadership Competencies

Core Competencies

Functional Competencies