The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

ACP/41/030/09                                                           Brussels , 1^st July 2009

AFHR/HR/LM/bae

The Secretariat of the ACP Group of States has a vacancy for the post of Secretary-General.

Below you will find:

-        The job description and required profile of the candidates.

-        Conditions of service and employment for the post.

Applications for this post should be sent to: ACP Secretariat, 451 Avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Brussels Belgium, or e-mail to: info@acp.int.

Applications must be accompanied by a complete curriculum vitae, copies of diplomas, certificates and any other documents testifying to the competence and professional experience of the candidates.

It is to be noted that the post is only for the West Africa Region of the ACP Group.

Appointment procedure

          The appointment procedure for the post of Secretary-General is as follows:

Ø                  The President of the ACP Council of Ministers shall notify all the States of the region to which the post has been allocated, through their Diplomatic Missions in Brussels, of the appointment criteria, modalities and timeline adopted by the ACP Group. The ACP Secretariat shall ensure that the call for candidates is advertised as widely as possible;

Ø                  The candidates’ dossiers shall be submitted to the ACP Secretariat, together with the endorsement of the relevant ACP State;

Ø                  The ACP Secretariat shall forward all the dossiers received to the region concerned;

Ø                  The region concerned shall submit the dossiers of three (3) candidates for the post, based on the criteria notified by the ACP Group and short-listed from the dossiers previously sent by the Secretariat;

Ø                  The candidates shall be convened to a hearing before the Bureau of the Council of Ministers, the purpose of the hearings would be to exchange views with the candidates, in particular on their vision of the ACP Group as well as their perception of the mandate of the post of Secretary-General.

Ø            Following the hearings, the Bureau will rank the three (3) candidates by merit;

Ø            Appointment of a Secretary-General by the Council of Ministers from among the shortlist of candidates.

Timetable for appointing the Secretary-General

Ø            15 June 2009, at the latest: The President of the Council of Ministers shall notify all the States in the West Africa region, to which the post of SG has been allocated for the period 2010 to 2015, through their Diplomatic Missions in Brussels, of the conditions, criteria, modalities and timetable for appointing the Secretary-General. The ACP Secretariat shall also advertise the post as widely as possible;

Ø            15 August 2009, at the latest: The dossiers of the candidates, together with endorsement from the relevant ACP States shall be submitted to the ACP Secretariat;

Ø            30 August 2009, at the latest: The ACP Secretariat shall forward all the dossiers received to the West Africa region, through its Coordinator in Brussels, for a shortlist to be established;

Ø            30 October 2009, at the latest: The West Africa region shall submit to the ACP Secretariat the dossiers of three (03) candidates, short-listed from among the dossiers previously forwarded to it by the Secretariat, and based on the criteria adopted by the ACP Group;

Ø            November 2009, during the 90^th session of the Council of Ministers:

a)     The three (03) candidates presented by the West Africa region shall be convened to hearings before the Bureau of the Council of Ministers;

b)     The Council of Ministers shall appoint the Secretary-General;

Ø            1 March 2010: The new Secretary-General shall take up his/her post.

ANNEX 1

A.      Job description

1.       Article 24 of the Georgetown Agreement defines the duties of the Secretary-General as follows: The Secretary-General:

Ø                  shall ensure that good quality technical and administrative support and services are provided by the Secretariat to the members and organs of the ACP Group;

Ø                  is the Authorising Officer for the Budget;

Ø                  manages the personnel, projects and programmes;

Ø                  is the designated representative of the ACP Secretariat.

2.       The Secretary-General shall, in that capacity, take appropriate action to ensure the fulfilment of all responsibilities and tasks entrusted to him/her by the Summit, the Council, as well as the Committee of Ambassadors, in the inter-sessional periods between Council meetings. In that context, the Secretary-General shall keep the Committee of Ambassadors regularly and fully informed of all developments which impinge on the interests of the ACP Group and its Members States and where appropriate, shall consult with the Committee on such matters. In the performance of his duties, the Secretary-General shall uphold the values, principles and moral authority of the organization, at all times. The Secretary-General shall adopt the Internal Auditor’s annual Work Programme and submit it to the Committee of Ambassadors for information. He/She shall also submit the Internal Auditor’s reports containing recommendations and the follow-up given to previous recommendations.

B.        Prerequisites qualifications

3.       Article 25.2 of the Georgetown Agreement stipulates that "the Council of Ministers shall appoint the Secretary-General of the ACP Group on the basis of merit, qualifications, professional competence and integrity." As such, the candidates for the post of Secretary-General must fulfil the following general conditions:

·                     be a national of one of the Member States of the ACP Group, and sponsored thereby;

·                     be of good character and without a criminal record;

·                     have a good command of English or French or Portuguese or Spanish;

·                     demonstrate a clear vision of the ACP Group as well as firm commitment and strong ability to promote and defend the interests of the ACP Group and promote its visibility.

 

C.        Other criteria        

4.       The candidate shall not be over 60 years of age as at the day he/she takes office.

          The region concerned shall ascertain the candidate’s physical fitness.

          Ability to work fluently in one of the other official languages of the ACP Group would be an asset.

D.      Profile 

Education     

5.                  The candidate must have at least a Master's degree or equivalent in either: 

·                      International relations;

·                      Political science;

·                      Law;

·                      Management;

·                     Issues relating to economics, social sciences, finance, trade, environment; or

·                     Any other relevant area of competence relating to the ACP Group's missions.

          Experience

6.       The candidate must have at least twenty (20) years of professional experience in either the private sector, public sector, an international or a regional organisation, with proven competence in managing a pluri-disclipinary team of professionals.

 

 ANNEX 2

                                      Conditions of Service

The conditions of service of the Secretary General are governed by the Staff Regulations of the Secretariat (ACP/41/017/03 Rev.6) and by any other decision that may be adopted by the competent ACP authorities regarding employment.

The net basic monthly salary for the post is 6.835,00 €.  No housing allowance is paid since the Secretary General is provided with an official residence.

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