Documentalist (ACHPR) at the 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: Documentalist (ACHPR)

Requisition ID: 2384
Location: Banjul, The Gambia
Job Grade: P01
Contract Type: Regular
Division: N/A
Number of Direct Reports: 1
Job Grade: P1
Contract Type: Regular

Purpose of Job

• Responsible for the archiving and storing of ACHPR’s meetings’ original and translated reference documents and ensuring their timely and continuous accessibility by stakeholders.

Main Functions

• Provides technical support in the preparation and implementation of programmes developed out of the ACHPR’s Strategic plan
• Prepares draft reports and work programmes related to the functioning of the Unit 
• Generates reports in a timely manner for the Unit 
• Liaises with the various Departments/Units of the Commission for coordination and alignment purposes
• Prepares budgets for the Unit in accordance with relevant frameworks. 
• Suggest new and expand on existing policy areas for planned research. 
• Provide service in setting the overall research direction of a relevant policy area. 
• Responsible for the delegation and execution of defined research areas. 
• Coordinate documentation services for meetings, congresses and conferences with stakeholders.
• Maintain and update a document database or library, ensuring that all documents are appropriately archived and indexed 
• Ensure that all documents are properly classified, filed, and stored in accordance with policies and regulations.
• Provide technical support to internal and external stakeholders

Specific Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Executive Secretary, the Documentalist shall perform the following duties:

• Keep custody of all hardcopies and softcopies of official documents of the ACHPR, including conference working documents, reports, and other official documents of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• Ensure backup of all documents processed by ACHPR and provide off-line access of ordinary sessions’ documents for stakeholders. 
• Ensure assignment of unique code to all documents processed by the ACHPR for storage and retrieval from the ACHPR server or any other server assigned for that purpose. 
• Develop and maintain, in liaison with MIS, a database of all meetings/conferences documents, in all AU official working languages, which have either been translated or processed by Language Unit
• Document, store and avail to translators and other authorized users, in hard or soft copies, all official ACHPR documents, including working documents, reports, reference material, etc. 
• Liaise with Language Unit to collect the final versions of documents processed by ACHPR and centralize on the server in all official AU working languages. 
• Ensure smooth and timely transmission of meeting documents to and communication with ACHPR Officials’, Member States Representative Missions’ and Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ focal persons. 
• Ensure user–friendly access to server based documents from translators’ work stations and subsequently to all ACHPR users; 
• Liaise with the printing unit for the collection, classification and efficient duplication of documents in accordance with requirements the organized meeting; 
• Provide training to new ACHPR staff on the use of ACHPR Systems; 
• To identify, select and order reference materials, other books and resources for the Documentation Centre;
• Source required information and documentation, ensure all public information are shared through ACHPR website
• Ensure all obsolete and damaged materials from the library collection are cleared 
• Manage the preparation of statistical and other reports regarding library operations;
• Ensure the maintenance of a system of coding and keep custody of all official documents of the AU, including conference working documents, reports, departmental reports, studies, official correspondence and other official documents of the AU;
• Check and ensure that all Conference Documents and other official documents of the AU related to the Human Rights are compiled and made available in all official working languages of the AU;
• Responsible with drafting periodic reports and participate in the preparation of budget and work programmes related to the functioning of the Unit
• Ensure document processing and distribution during ACHPR meetings

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Bachelor’s degree Library science, Information technology, Computer Science, Record Management, Archiving, Document Management with 2 years of progressively responsible experience in documentation or related fields out of which 1 year at supervisory level. 
• Any other qualification in the area of Library or a member of the professional body would be an advantage.

Required Skills:

• Good computer skills, including excellent word processing, proficiency with e-mail and internet applications experience in using programmes such as MS Word, Excel and Power Point
• Sound planning and organisational skills 
• Good interpersonal skills
• Strong communication ability both orally and in writing
• Proficiency in one of the AU official working languages (French or English) and  fluency in another AU language(s) is an added advantage

Leadership Competencies:

• Learning Orientation
• Flexibility
• Risk Awareness and Compliance.

Core Competencies:

• Teamwork and Collaboration.
• Accountability awareness and Compliance.
• Learning Orientation.
• Communication skills.

Functional Competencies:

• Trouble shooting.
• Job Knowledge Sharing.
• Task Focused.
• Continuous Improvement Awareness.

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.

Language:

• 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$ 25,523.00 (P1 Step1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment (46% of basic salary), Housing allowance US$ 15,897.60 (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 Closing Date
11th November, 2024; 11h59 p.m. EAT.

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

Click Here to Download CV Template (MS Word)

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, 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 less 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, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisi.