The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a Regional Economic Community comprising of 21African states’ which have agreed to promote regional integration through trade development and transport facilitation as well as development of their natural and human resources for the mutual benefit of all their people. Its vision is to be a fully integrated economic community that is prosperous, internationally competitive, and ready to merge into the African Economic Community. In order to realize its vision and objectives, COMESA has also established several semi-autonomous institutions based in different Member States to support integration agenda.
One of such semi-autonomous institutions is The COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) which is based in Lilongwe, Malawi. More information can be obtained from the COMFWB website www.comfwb.org and the COMESA website www.comesa.int.
The COMESA Federation of National Associations of Women in Business (COMFWB) was established by the COMESA Heads of States and Government in 1993 in pursuant of articles 154 and155 of the COMESA treaty, which recognize the role which women play in the economic and social transformation efforts of the region. The treaty also recognizes the role of women in business especially their participation in Agriculture, Industry and Trade.
COMFWB is implementing its2021-2025 Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP) which aims to achieve the following strategic goals: To Strengthen the Institutional Capacity; To Strengthen the Resource Mobilization Capacity; To Strengthen Development Programs for Women in Business; and to Enhance the Advocacy, Public Image, and Branding of COMFWB.
Pursuant to the Article 17 of COMFWB Charter, the COMFWB Board of Directors would like to recruit its EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR, and hereby requests for applications for the position, from suitable candidates, from COMESA Member States.
1.0 THE POSITION
JOB TITLE: Executive Director
GRADE: Professional, Level 5 (P5)
SALARY SCALE: COM$ 70,654 - COM$ 83,375 per annum plus other benefits
REPORTING TO: BOARD
2.0 KEY TASKS
- The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer of COMFWB; Article 9.1 of COMFWB provides that: “The Secretariat of the Federation is hereby established and shall be headed by an Executive Director” and shall be assisted by other staff of the Secretariat.
- The Executive Director shall be appointed by the General Assembly on recommendation of COMFWB Board. The General Assembly shall comprise and is the supreme organ of COMFWB.
- The Secretariat of COMFWB is located in Lilongwe, Malawi, and is hosted by the government of the Republic of Malawi. The Duty Station for the Executive Director is, therefore, Lilongwe, Malawi.
3.0. JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
The Executive Director as the Chief Executive Officer of COMFWB shall be responsible for the following:
- Leading COMFWB’s its corporate development, strategic planning, as well as managing and implementation of the Articles in the Charter and resolutions of COMFWB subject to the vision and general direction of COMFWB Board;
- Providing guidance on policy, programmes, procedures and any other related matters for COMFWB with assistance from Member States, donor community and private sector;
- Overseeing the overall programme development and implementation, resource mobilization initiatives, monitoring and evaluation; and shall ensure the timely dissemination of information and implementation of resolutions of COMFWB Board and Technical Committees;
- Leading advocacy and public awareness of interventions in policies, laws and regulations to promote effective participation of women in economic and entrepreneurial programmes;
- Managing and growing cooperation of COMFWB with COMESA institutions and other organisations that recognize vital aspect of women participation in the economies of Member States;
- Promoting Member States participation in the programmes of COMFWB;
- Ensuring effective day to day operations, protecting the integrity of the Secretariat and managing the staff. In this context, the Executive Director is expected to provide effective professional and managerial leadership in the development and implementation of internal corporate obligations, financial, administrative and human resources management strategies, policies and plans in keeping with COMFWB and COMESA guidelines;
- Facilitating for strategic collaboration or linkages with different market players in the Member States to enhance business opportunities, assistance and efficiency;
- Championing eventual establishment of purpose-built office complex for the Secretariat under the guidance of COMFWB Board;
- Promoting COMFWB’s aims and objectives through public representation at different for a; and,
- Performing any other related duties as may be assigned by COMFWB Board.
4.0 QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
- The post holder shall be a citizen of a COMESA Member;
- Be a holder of at least a minimum of a Masters degree in Social Science or Business Administration or Finance, including first degree from reputable universities;
- Must have a minimum of 15 years proven relevant experience in top managerial positions in reputable organization(s);
- COMFWB is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified women, with the requisite experience, are strongly encouraged to apply.
5.0 REQUIRED TRAITS, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
- Must display and prove creativity in institutional strategic visioning; an appreciation of the vision, mission and objectives of COMFWB, and the role of COMFWB in promoting good entrepreneurial and business linkages will be a definite advantage;
- Must possess demonstrated qualities of success in leadership and management and must be able to manage and embrace change, proactively manages risks and lead operational improvements;
- Must have proven abilities to mobilise and manage resources to achieve stated goals;
- Must possess entrepreneurial acumen;
- Must possess demonstrated experience in advocacy;
- Must possess excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with persons from diverse disciplines, perspectives and cultures;
- Must be of unblemished character and have a high degree of personal integrity, and must be of mature and sober judgement;
- Must have excellent oral and written communication skills;
- Must be a team player who can inspire, direct and motivate staff;
- Must have proficiency in any of the COMESA languages of English and/or French and/or Arabic;
- Must have good computer skills; and,
- Candidates will be required to provide security clearance before appointment.
6.0 TERM OF CONTRACT OF SERVICE
The contract of service for the Executive Director shall be for a maximum of four years, renewable only once for a maximum of four years, subject to satisfactory performance and approval by the General Assembly.
7.0 WORKING LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT:
Must be fluent in English and /or French and /or Arabic (speaking and writing). A combination of any two or all of these languages will be an added advantage.
8.0 ELIGIBILITY FOR APPLICATION:
Applicants must be members of COMESA Member States.
Candidates should not be more than fifty-six (56) years of age at the time of submitting their application. This will ensure that the successful candidate should be able to serve the initial 4 year term of appointment.
9.0 FINAL DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS:
Applications MUST be submitted through the Coordinating Ministries of the respective Member States on the prescribed COMESA APPLICATION FORM which can be accessed on the COMESA website: http:www.comesa.int.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Accordingly shortlisting reports from the Coordinating Ministries, attaching all the relevant documents of the successful candidates should reach the address below electronically by 1st October 2023:
The Director of Human Resources and Administration, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA Centre, Ben Bella Road, P.O Box 30051, Lusaka, Zambia
Email: recruitment@comesa.int
