The Association of African Universities (AAU), an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with headquarters in Accra, Ghana was set up in November 1967 by universities in Africa to promote cooperation among themselves and between them and the international academic community.

Secretary General’s Office
Accra, Ghana
P4/P5

Purpose of Post:
West and Central African countries with support from the World Bank and Association of African Universities are launching the Regional Higher Education Project-Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project. The ACE project will cover at least 7 West and Central African countries.

The ACE project aims at promoting regional specialisation among participating universities within areas that address particular common regional development challenges and strengthen the capacities of these universities to deliver high quality training and applied research. The higher order objective of the project is to meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development, such as the extractive industries and agriculture productivity. Further, the project would contribute to the strengthening of the best African universities within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Agricultural Sciences; and Health Sciences.

The AAU will host the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) for the project. The responsibilities of the RFU will include the coordination and facilitation of regional activities, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building for the selected centers of excellence and sharing of good practices across the countries.

As such the AAU is recruiting a Project Coordinator to be based in Accra. The Coordinator will be a member of the AAU project management team and report to the Secretary General of the AAU. He/She will be responsible for the management and coordination of RFU activities under ACE project.

The main duties of the ACE Coordinator will include to:

•   Coordinate and manage processes for the call and receipt of ACE proposals;
•   Manage proposal screening for accuracy; process for recruitment of IEC evaluators and organise proposal improvement workshops;
•   Coordinate, facilitate and convene evaluation committee meetings and site visits of evaluation teams;
•   Coordinate meetings with national and regional higher education agencies;
•   Act as the focal point for all the ACEs and interface with Wood Bank office as well as AAU.
•   Monitor the implementation of all the projects activities and prepare periodic reports;
•   Coordinate the preparations of the annual budget, reports and long term financial projections for review and approval by the Project Steering Committee and AAU Executive Board;
•   Supervise baseline studies for ACE project results framework and data collection for the design of the ACE M & E system;
•   Manage ACE website for publishing all national level selections and other ACE-related information;
•   Manage all recurrent operating activities that are required to effectively implement the ACE project;
•   Work closely with AAU Senior Management and other members of the AAU Professional staff including Finance, Procurement, and M&E; and
•   Any other duties or project management assignments that the Secretary-General may assign.

Qualification Required & Experience

•   At least a Master’s Degree or equivalent academic qualification in a relevant discipline; a PhD degree will be preferable;
•   Having held academic and/or project management position with experience in project appraisal, report writing and financial management;
•   Familiarity with the African higher education environment and higher education regional and sub-regional bodies;
•   Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
•   Ability to prepare and manage project budgets and produce project reports;
•   Have demonstrable experience in programme development and implementation;
•   Have good management, presentation and interpersonal skills;
•   Proficiency in spoken and written English and French;

Requirements

•   Must be bilingual-English and French.
•   At least 5 years’ experience working in Africa with extended period outside home country; successful completion of project management fund by inter- national donor;
•   Knowledge and exposure of higher education with particular focus Africa higher education environment
•   Good computer and Internet skills and familiarity with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, MS Project.

Term

•   The contract will be for a period of two (2) years subject to a probationary period of one (1) year.
•   The appointment may be extended subject to availability of funds.
•   The position requires extensive travel outside Ghana.

Conditions of Employment

•   The MU offers an attractive remuneration package calculated and paid in US dollars;
•   As a member of the AAU project management team, the Coordinator of the ACE project will enjoy diplomatic privileges accorded to non-Ghanaian senior professional staff
•   Annual leave of twenty-one (21) working days
•   Other attractive benefits include a monthly post-adjustment allowance and rent subsidy.

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

The AAU is an equal opportunity employer. As part of a conscious effort of the Association always to reflect the diversity of the African academy, women and non-Anglophone candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Applications should comprise:

•   A statement of interest and fitness for the position
•   An indication of the date of availability to assume duty
•   A detailed curriculum vitae describing applicant's professional experience and qualification for the position
•   Three (3) reference letters, one of which should be outside the candidate's home country.

The application letters and supporting documents of candidates should be submitted by (i) e-mail, and (ii) hard copy in a sealed envelope marked "Application Documents".
Each of the three reference letters should be sent direct from the referee, by (i) email and (ii) in a sealed envelope and marked "Confidential Reference".

Both sets of documents should be addressed to:

The Secretary General
Association of African Universities,
African Universities House,
Aviation Road Extension,
P. O. Box AN 5744,
Accra-North, GHANA

Tel: (233) 21774495/761588
Fax: (233) 21 774821
Email: secgen@aau.org  
Website: www.aau.org

Closing Date: 30 September, 2013

•   The Association reserves the right to extend the closing date if deemed necessary, and the right to make no appointment.
•   The MU will respond to short-listed candidates