Director - African Legal Support Facility ( ALSF)
- Grade: NA
- Position N°: NA
- Reference: ADB/11/TA002
- Publication date: 08/04/2011
- Closing date: 06/05/2011
Objectives
The African Legal Support Facility ("ALSF" or the "Facility") is an international organization established by Treaty on December 15, 2008. The Facility is temporarily housed at the African Development Bank ("AfDB") in Tunis, Tunisia. Its membership is open to (a) all AfDB member states; (b) other states; (c) AfDB; and (d) other international organizations or institutions. ALSF's main objectives include: (i) assisting AfDB’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs) address litigation brought against them by vulture funds (and other such entities); (ii) creating an avenue for AfDB's RMCs to access technical advice when negotiating complex commercial transactions (especially in the area of infrastructure and natural resources); and (iii) investing in and organizing the training of legal counsel from participating RMCs to equip them with legal expertise necessary to better represent their countries.
The governance structure of the Facility consists of (i) the Governing Council; (ii) the Management Board; and (iii) a Director. The Director will be responsible for managing the ALSF and ensuring it achieves its objectives. Under the direct supervision of the Management Board, the Director will provide leadership, manage resources and coordinate support for activities designed to lead to the attainment of the objectives of the Facility. The incumbent will be an ex-officio member of the Management Board.
The Governing Council is made up of representatives of the Facility’s member states, the Bank, and other international organizations. Its functions include determining and approving policy, appointing the Management Board, authorizing replenishments of resources, and appointing external auditors. The Management Board comprises five (5) persons appointed by the Governing Council and is responsible inter alia for approving the annual budgets and annual work programs, issuing By-laws, rules and regulations, and making decisions necessary to ensure the efficient and effective operations of the Facility, and overseeing the management of the Facility’s Endowment Fund and exercising of such powers as shall be delegated to it by the Governing Council.
Duties and responsibilities
- Establishing and promoting the Facility’s vision and strategy towards the achievement of the Facility's objectives, in compliance with the Agreement establishing the Facility (its rules, regulations and general By-laws),
- Planning, developing and building up effective operations for the Facility and establishing performance and accountability systems that ensure consistency in decision-making,
- Preparing operational and administrative expenses budgets and efficiently managing and monitoring expenses relative to the budgets and resources allocated to ALSF thereby ensuring that the Facility's financial resources and funds entrusted to it are used for their intended purposes.
- Carrying out activities aimed at raising awareness and increasing membership of the Facility and ratification of the Facility's Agreement;
- Continuously carrying out resource mobilization and fund raising for the Facility amongst governments, international organizations, bilateral and multilateral bodies including building and maintaining collaboration with sister institutions.
- Directing outreach programs, organizing interactive workshops and conducting training to, inter alia, disseminate lessons learned amongst the Facility's members, international organizations, bar associations, judiciaries and other relevant external parties.
- Recruiting, training, mentoring, coaching and providing overall management of a multi-faceted team consistent with ALSF's business requirements.
- Ensuring prompt and appropriate review consistent with established standards of all requests for assistance received from the Facility's Members and determining the suitable response and course of action.
- Representing ALSF in national and international fora on debt relief, vulture fund litigation and other matters related to the Facility's objectives.
- Organizing meetings of the Management Board and the Governing Council and day-to-day administration of the Facility, including appointing the staff of the Facility and submitting independently-audited financial reports to the Management Board and the Governing Council.
- Preparing quarterly and annual reports to update the Management Board and the Governing Council on the progress of activities of the Facility.
- Ensure that the contractual and/or procedural obligations of stakeholders (members, law firms, donors etc) in the work of the Facility are followed and fulfilled in a timely manner; and
- Carrying out such other duties as may be reasonably requested by the Management Board and/ or the Governing Council.
Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience
- A Minimum of a Master’s degree or its university equivalent in Law, Economics, Management or relevant social sciences or related disciplines.
- A minimum of ten (10) years (or five (5) years of experience for PhD holders) demonstrated track record of extensive and progressive experience in international law with a particular focus on complex sovereign litigation, enforcement of judgments and sovereign natural resource contracting and related issues, five (5) years of which must be at a managerial level. Specific African experience dealing with (i) mining, oil and gas concessions; (ii) vulture fund litigation and, (iii) cross-border litigation, will be an added advantage.
- In-depth experience in high level resource mobilization and fund raising amongst governments, supranational organizations, bilateral and multilateral bodies amongst others.
- A good understanding of the legal practices in Africa.
- Demonstrable diplomatic skills and experience working in complex and politically-sensitive contexts with excellent political judgment.
- Demonstrated effective coordination, management and leadership skills and an ability to work under pressure in a multicultural environment to complete multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
- Excellent written and oral skills in English and/or French and working knowledge of the other. Fluency in one other language such as Arabic and Portuguese will be an added advantage.
In addition to the foregoing, the candidate should possess:
- A good understanding of the legal practices in Africa;
- Strong management skills;
- Strong analytical skills, strategic mindset, decisive decision making and an ability to conceive, formulate, and implement policies and programs;
- Strong capacity to analyse actions from the perspective of stakeholders and donors;
- Ability to build partnerships with a broad range of clients and deliver results that meet the needs and long-term interests of the Facility;
- A high level of integrity, moral values, discretion and confidentiality;
- Willingness to undertake extensive travel; and
- Competence in the use of standard IT software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Benefits
ALSF package includes tax free remuneration, diplomatic status; a rental subsidy; 6 weeks annual leave, comprehensive medical insurance coverage, attractive retirement benefits, relocation allowance for staff member and family including an installation allowance, education grant for dependent children and paid home leave to home country.
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Director - African Legal Support Facility ( ALSF) (58 KB)
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To apply for this position, you need to be national of one of AfDB member countries.
- Submitted by: Mohamed Mahdi YOUSSOUF, Division Manager, CHRM.1
- Approved by: Archer-Davies Gemina Oluremi, Director, CHRM
Only applicants who fully meet the Bank's requirements and are being considered for interview will be contacted. Applicants will only be considered if they submit an online application, and attach a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae (CV). The AfDB President reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level. The African Development Bank is an equal opportunities employer and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply: www.afdb.org/jobs
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