This vacancy is being re-advertised. Applicants who have previously submitted applications will be automatically considered.
Position: Great Lakes Programme Director
Location: Partnership Africa Canada, Ottawa
Deadline for applications: Monday January 11, 2016
Interviews: Friday January 22, 2016 in Ottawa
Starting date: As soon as possible
Salary: $81,267 (This figure includes fringe benefits)
Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) has been working on the question of responsible natural resource governance in Africa for over 15 years, combining a search for innovative solutions with their successful implementation. PAC has taken a multistakeholder approach, working with governments, the private sector, civil society partners and international and regional bodies to promote responsible natural resource governance and sustainable development. This has led to the creation of strong legislative and regulatory frameworks to prevent conflict and support economic growth and development. In undertaking this work, PAC has collaborated closely with civil society organizations across Africa, and several national and regional coalitions have developed as a direct result of PAC’s support.
Building Responsible Mineral Supply Chains: from mine to market
The violent exploitation of natural resources has been a persistent problem in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. From rubber in the colonial period to tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold today, resource extraction has fueled or sustained conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in neighbouring states. The electronic, aerospace, automotive and jewelry industries and many others rely on minerals mined in the Great Lakes Region in the making of their products. In 2010, PAC drew on its expertise with conflict diamonds and proposed a regional certification mechanism for conflict minerals to the states of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which was rapidly adopted. PAC was also involved in the drafting of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High Risk Areas. PAC continues today to engage with the governments of the region to assist them with the implementation of due diligence and certification.
Gold is considered the most persistent and high value ‘conflict mineral’ today, with more than half of the artisanal gold mines in eastern DRC having been under illegal rebel or army control. Almost the entire gold production of these mines - 98% according to the United Nations - is smuggled out of the country, implying enormous tax losses to the Congolese government. Efforts to include the artisanal and small-scale gold sector in responsible sourcing mechanisms are therefore critical to preventing further marginalization of artisanal miners and heightened risks of conflict financing and illegal smuggling. Via its Just Gold programme, PAC is piloting the creation of fully traceable conflict-free mineral supply chains for artisanal gold from mine site to refiner. Miners agree to sell their gold through identified legal sales chains and to have their production and sales tracked in exchange for access to technical assistance. Formalization of the artisanal sector and community beneficiation including women’s economic empowerment, environmental considerations and sustainability are central to these efforts. Lessons learned from the pilots are also being used at local, national, regional and international levels to address drivers of transnational smuggling including illegal or excessive taxation and weak customs procedures in importing countries.
Supporting Civil Society in the Great Lakes Region
PAC has worked closely with the regional civil society platform, COSOC-GL, since its creation in 2011. Its membership spans several provinces in eastern DRC, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. The platform is dedicated to curbing the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes Region. It does this by advocating for the full adoption and implementation of mineral certification and due diligence by the region’s governments and private sector. Since 2011, it has developed the capacity of its members to monitor mineral supply chain due diligence, and provides a forum where organizations can share knowledge, experiences and lessons learned.
In order to bring the concerns of local mining communities directly to decision-makers and to more influential civil society actors (including to COSOC-GL), community-based organizations (CBOs) in PAC’s Just Gold project sites will be provided with rights-based leadership training to identify and better promote their needs and interests. A stronger and broader regional civil society platform, as well as the increased capacity of CBOs in Just Gold project sites, will lead to improved monitoring and reporting on certification and due diligence efforts, which in turn will lead to more responsibly-sourced minerals.
Understanding gender and artisanal and small scale-mining (ASM)
The volume of mining activity globally and on the African continent is increasing while mining-related regulations are undergoing significant change as a result of government and donor interest, and consumer demand for ‘conflict-free’ minerals and electronics. Women are present in high numbers in artisanal mining zones, yet little is known about their livelihood practices and the impacts of increased mining activity and heightened regulation. PAC and several partners have begun studying women’s economic roles and livelihood practices in artisanal and small-scale mining of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold; four minerals that are in high demand and subject to an increasing range of international and national regulation. The research focuses on three countries at the heart of mineral production in central Africa, and which are at different stages of implementing sweeping reforms targeting ASM and gender equality: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. The next phase of PAC’s work on gender will include the development and implementation of a range of strategies to promote women’s security and economic empowerment in the artisanal sector at Just Gold project sites and throughout the region.
Great Lakes Programme Director
This is a senior position and PAC is looking for a person with considerable experience who can assume from the outset a wide range of responsibilities. The Great Lakes Programme Director will carry out the following tasks in close collaboration with other PAC staff and technical experts in Canada and internationally:
- Manage PAC’s Great Lakes programme – its projects, staff and contractors, and budgets.
- Liaise with representatives of civil society, governments and the private sector to ensure support for PAC's Great Lakes programme and its objectives.
- Work closely with the ICGLR, its member states and other international organizations.
- Lead PAC's policy and advocacy efforts to break the links between armed conflict and the trade in high-value minerals from the Great Lakes region.
- Lead PAC’s policy and advocacy efforts to integrate gender across all aspects of PAC’s Great Lakes programme.
- Develop research and project activities related to the Great Lakes programme.
- Undertake media relations and public speaking activities.
- Maintain donor relations, including preparing funding proposals and narrative reports.
Candidates are asked to demonstrate clearly in their applications how they meet the requirements of the position. The successful candidate should ideally have the following qualifications, experience and skills:
- A university degree (masters or equivalent work experience) in a relevant field.
- A minimum of five years of relevant work experience including project management, preferably in Africa.
- A good understanding of issues surrounding human rights and conflict in Africa, transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, and corporate social responsibility.
- Experience working in a policy and campaigning capacity at a national and/or an international level.
- Experience in monitoring and evaluation (e.g. baseline studies; identification of indicators, etc.).
- Experience in public representation, including with the media.
- Written and spoken English and French: fluency preferred.
- Ability to manage a complex workload and respect deadlines with minimal supervision.
- Ability to work in a team.
- Ability to travel internationally, possibly frequently, including in difficult environments.
PAC’s headquarters is located in Ottawa. Applicants must either be Canadian citizens, or have permanent residency in Canada.
HOW TO APPLY:
Send the following information by email to jobs@pacweb.org :
- A cover letter explaining your interest in the position addressed to Partnership Africa Canada
- The completed Supplementary Information Form(www.pacweb.org/en/about-us/job-opportunities)
- Your curriculum vitae
The deadline for applications is Monday January 11, 2016. Interviews will take place on Friday January 22, 2016. The successful candidate will be asked to begin work as soon as possible.
