Legal Advisor at Smart Africa Secretariat: (Deadline 2 July 2023)

Legal Advisor at Smart Africa Secretariat: (Deadline 2 July 2023)

Terms of Reference                                              

For the Recruitment of a Legal Advisor 

• Position: Legal Advisor
• Duration: Three (3) years, renewable
• Location: Kigali, Rwanda
• Deadline: 2^nd July 2023 at 11:00 PM Kigali time (GMT+2) 

1. About the Smart Africa Alliance

The Smart Africa Alliance is a legal entity, established as a multilateral organization. The Smart Africa Alliance is a partnership among African countries adhering to the Smart Africa Manifesto (herein after referred to as “the Manifesto”), the African Union (AU Commission, AUDA, specialized institutions and Regional Economic Communities), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Private Sector, Academic and Research Institutions. The Head office of the Smart Africa Alliance   is situated in Kigali. It may be relocated to any other Member State if necessary, by decision of Member States.

The Smart Africa Alliance (or Smart Africa) is a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through the usage of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

On 30th-31st January 2014, the Smart Africa Manifesto was endorsed by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa. This development places the Manifesto at the heart of the ICT agenda in Africa beyond just the 7 original signatories at the Summit to all African countries. The Smart Africa Alliance has since grown to include 37 African countries that represent more than 1.1 billion people.

The Smart Africa Manifesto aims to put ICT at the center of the continental and national socio-economic development of Member States. This means increasing access to ICT solutions, improving accountability, efficiency, and openness through ICT, promoting the introduction of advanced technologies in telecommunication, strengthening the private sector, leveraging ICT to promote sustainable development.

The Smart Africa Alliance as an organization is the vehicle for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Manifesto, executed through the actionable triennial strategies.  The Smart Africa Alliance is not a profit-oriented organization.

2. Responsibilities 

The Legal Advisor is responsible for providing accurate and timely legal advice to support Smart Africa’s leadership and management on variety of legal topics in the programs and administration of the organization. Details includes, but are not limited to:

• Providing legal advice, interpretation, development, implementation, and follow up on processes related to the organization’s agreements such as the Agreement Establishing the Smart Africa Alliance, host country agreements, membership and financing agreements, etc.
• Providing legal advice and support in the process of formation of Smart Africa’s special purpose vehicles, subsidiaries, agencies, branches, regional offices, etc.
• Assisting Smart Africa Secretariat (SAS) Leadership in implementing the mission, vision, strategic plans, and strategies.
• Drafting, reviewing, and updating legal binding and non-binding documents, such as agreements, employment or service contracts, procedures, etc.
• Providing guidance on intellectual property for the Alliance, trademark registration.

• Developing, implementing, and maintaining policies and procedures for internal operation, management, and organization. Interpreting and providing legal advice to management, staff, and service providers to ensure adherence to Smart Africa Secretariat policies and procedures, as well as business objectives.
• Conducting comparative legal analyses on a range of issues in a given area, identifying legal and policy issues, researching relevant precedents, and proposing appropriate solutions to colleagues, service providers and stakeholders.

• Preparing legal briefs on diverse topics, as required.
• Providing general legal advice and representing Smart Africa on cases involving claims, disputes, settlements, mediation, litigation, etc;
• Collaborating with external lawyers when legal services are outsourced, while protecting the organization’s interests and promoting its goals and values.
• Covering a broad portfolio within a functional area, providing risk-based advice to management and staff on legal and policy issues in one or more areas of concentration.
• Maintaining SAS legal files and ensuring that the working practices are in accordance with its policies and regulations.
• Identifying and assessing potential risks to Smart Africa. This includes legal risks such as non-compliance with laws or regulations.
• Performing other duties as may be assigned by the Supervisors and Smart Africa leadership.

3. Key qualifications

Education:

• A master’s degree in law (essential), or other postgraduate degree in a relevant field such as International Law or Information and Communication Technology Law.

Admission to Practice:

• Admission to practice law in at least in one jurisdiction, preferably a Member State of Smart Africa.

Professional Experience:     

• At least five (5) years working as a lawyer or legal advisor. This includes relevant managerial experience in Public international law, Corporate Law or company secretarial function preferably in international organizations.
• Stakeholder management experience.
• Demonstrated experience in drafting, negotiating and reviewing legal documents as well as handling dispute resolution.
• Experience in ratification of international treaties would be an asset.
• Experience working with or for multilateral organizations, governments, or international NGOs would be a strong asset.

General attributes and skills: 

• Commitment and understanding of the Smart Africa’s vision, mission, and goals ;
• High integrity standards and confidentiality
• Organization and project management skills, with an ability to prioritize work effectively.
• Strong analytical and research skills.
• Strong Negotiation and Investigative skills.
• Commercial awareness.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Deadline oriented with ability to manage large volume of data.
• Demonstrate Strong oral written, analytical, presentation, reporting, and computing skills and familiarity with modern communication systems (Microsoft Office, specifically Outlook, Word, and Excel, etc)
• High degree of flexibility to work independently and manage time and sensitive documents.
• Have exceptional organizational skills in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work well within a multicultural team and individually.

Languages: 

• Fluency in both French and English is a must, a good working knowledge of other languages will be an added advantage.

4. Duration of the assignment

The appointment will be Three (3) years renewable subject to availability of fund and performance.

5. Duty Station

The position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

6. Application Instructions and Deadline

Candidates should send the following documents to the following email address: hr@smartafrica.org, with mention of “Legal Advisor” in the subject line:

• A detailed CV with 3 contacts of professional referees.
• A one-page cover letter with a motivation statement in relation to the responsibilities and requirements for this position.
• Copies of academic degree, professional certificates, and other relevant training certificates

The deadline for submitting applications is 2^nd July 2023 at 11:00 PM Kigali (GMT+2) time.

Only selected candidates for interview will be contacted. 

Smart Africa reserves the right to reject late applications.