Salary Band: 4T Professional: Regional Advisor of Mano River Union Countries in Border Governance (Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia)
Project Name : Border Governance in Africa – Support to the African Union
Border Programme (AUBP)
Supervisor : Regional Coordinator West Africa
Duty Station : Freetown
Duration : One (1) Year
About GIZ
As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and
international education work, we are dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world. We
work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. In Sierra Leone, the GIZ has been working since 1963 in the following areas: Employment promotion and agriculture, strengthening the health care system, resource governance and sustainable energy access.
GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from individuals regardless of gender, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, age, or any other protected characteristic. We embrace
diversity and believe that inclusivity in the workplace is essential to our success and are committed to creating a work environment where all employees are valued and respected. Qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.
– Women’s perspectives are vital to our success.
– Enjoy flexible hours and part-time working opportunities to help balance professional and
personal commitments.
– Benefit from family-friendly policies
About the Programme
Border Governance in Africa – Support to the African Union Border Programme (AUBP)
The African Union (AU) considers ill-defined or unclear borders as potential sources of conflict and
commits to a progressive border agenda recognising the positive contribution of an integrated border governance approach to peace, security, integration, resource sharing, trade facilitation, as well as inclusive growth and sustainable development of borderlands. In 2007, the AU launched the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) as a direct response to these risks and as an expression of the strategic importance of continuous and sustainable measures at the borders. Clearly defined,
internationally recognised and locally accepted state borders are an important basis for conflict
prevention. Since 2008, the project has supported the continental, regional, national and local
implementation of the AU Border Programme.
The GIZ project support to the African Union Border Programme has initiated strong cooperation with the four Mano River Partner Countries. We would like to strengthen this cooperation by hiring a regional technical advisor stationed in Freetown.
We are advertising the position of “Regional Advisor of Mano River Union Countries in Border
Governance ‘’A. Area of Responsibility
The incumbent is responsible for the following activities: ▪ Work closely with partners from Cote d’Ivoire,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the areas of border delimitation/demarcation, cross-border
cooperation (CTF), peacebuilding and capacity building; ▪ Implement, coordinate and monitor activities
in the areas of intervention in accordance with the objectives and indicators of the project and in
consultation with the project’s senior technical advisor and his/her line manager; ▪ Develop and execute
the budgets of the programme for Mano River Union partner countries especially for Sierra Leone and
Liberia according to the GIZ rules (PuR) and according to the programme’s internal regulations; ▪
Represent the GIZ/AUBP programme vis-à-vis state authorities, partners and stakeholders in these
countries.
In this context, the incumbent has the following specific responsibilities:
B. Responsibilities
1. Management and coordination with partners
The incumbent ensures the capacity building of local and national institutions, border communities and
non-governmental organizations for ownership and sustainability of the project approaches in the 4 MRU
countries; ▪ Assists in determining the needs of partner institutions and the local population ; ▪ Supports
partners in the development and implementation of their work plans on border governance; ▪ Supports
local, national stakeholders in the development and implementation of Local Cross-Border initiatives; ▪
Supports cooperation with other partner structures, including universities, institutes and research
centres on border issues; ▪ Prepares contracts for service providers, ToRs as well as the monitoring and
evaluation of their activities and deliverables; ▪ Prepares the conclusion of financing contracts, local
subsidies with partners; ▪ Supports the organization of workshops on border issues; ▪ Facilitates
consultations between state actors on both sides; ▪ Supports cooperation, regular contact and dialogue
with partners; ▪ Gathers information relevant to joint activities and field missions.
2. Border Delimitation/Demarcation, Cross-Border Cooperation and Development of Border
regions
The incumbent ▪ supports the delimitation/demarcation activities in MRU region; ▪ facilitate the
establishment of a bilateral Joint Technical Commission between tasked with the reaffirmation of land
and maritime borders; ▪ Supports the improvement of cross-border cooperation between Guinea, Sierra
Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire; ▪ Supports the Organization development of national and local partners
on border definition, cross border cooperation; ▪ Supports conflict prevention measures through the
organization of awareness-raising and dialogue forums between local authorities, civil society and local
populations in border areas; ▪ Support the development and implementation of bilateral cross-border
cooperation agreement by establishing local dialog frameworks such as Joint Border Units at local level
for peace; ▪ Ensure the alignment of peace and cross border dialog frameworks with the national Early
Warning System (EWS) by serving as both a frontline observation mechanism and a local coordination
point for conflict prevention and response ▪ Supports the scaling up of lessons learned and
achievements from the local/cross-border level to the national level.
3. Management and coordination with GIZ and other non-governmental actors
The incumbent ▪, in consultation with the line manager, coordinates the project activities at the local,
national and regional levels in cooperation with the partners, both during the organizational
preparation and during the implementation of these activities in the MRU partner countries ; ▪ Assists
in the identification of inclusive measures; ▪ Participates in the formulation of project action plans and
assists in the harmonization between the planning system and the budgeting system; ▪ Performs
functions at the level of GIZ contract management and cooperation (e.g. preparation of tenders,
monitoring of results, monitoring of project progress, information procedure) Carries out any task
assigned to him/her in the implementation of the African Union Border Programme Support Project.
4. Other Responsibilities The incumbent ▪ Carries out other activities and tasks as instructed by
his/her superior; ▪ Ensures that GIZ’s quality standards, as well as Capaciy Works, Gender, Human
Rights, Conflict Sensitivity etc. will be respected, Engages regular exchange with other GIZ programmes
in Sierra Leone, and in Liberia and develop synergies; ▪ Follows the security instructions of the Risk
Management Officers (RMOs) of these countries under his/her responsibility; ▪ Actively participates inthe activities of the GIZ offices as well as the other countries of intervention of the program; ▪ Participates
as needed, in continuing education courses related to the position.
C. Qualifications, competencies and experience required Qualification
▪ University degree in survey and mapping, geography, land management and planning, project
management, law, economy or equivalent.
▪ Good working knowledge in the field of organizational development and/or advisory services to the
political process.
▪ Proficiency in decentralization process, Local government management and border management.
▪ Good communication skills and facilitation in a cross-border context.
▪ Ability to contribute to the management of projects in terms of capacity building of actors involved in
cross-border activities.
▪ Solid knowledge of local and regional development.
▪ Good knowledge of Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberia, their regions and borders.
▪ At least 7 years of experience in project execution/ implementation in the field described above, in a
bi- or multilateral cooperation environment.
▪ Experience working with government institutions at different levels.
▪ Experience working with NGOs, good personal network with other actors in the border field.
▪ Experience working in border areas is a strong asset.
Other knowledge/skills
▪ Ability to work independently under remote supervision and excellent management and organizational
skills.
▪ Good working knowledge of the use of information and communication technologies.
▪ Experience with conflict-sensitive approaches to development cooperation and project implementation
experience in fragile contexts.
▪ Availability for regular business trips within the countries of intervention, including border areas, as well
as outside the country (West Africa).
▪ Perfect command of English and local languages; Knowledge of German or French is an asset.
Mode of Application:
Please send ONLY a cover letter, CV and copies of education certificates to
recruitmentsl@giz.de by 15.07, 2025. No applications will be accepted after this deadline.
Applications will be reviewed when received. Early applications are strongly encouraged, your
application e-mail subject, please write: “Regional Advisor of Mano River Union Countries in Border
Governance ‘’
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacte
