Senior Planning and Forecasting Officer at the African Union (AU)

Job Title: Senior Planning and Forecasting Officer

Purpose of Job

• Africa CDC plays a pivotal role in strengthening the continent’s health security, particularly through effective preparedness and response to public health emergencies.
• Timely and efficient delivery of medical and emergency supplies is critical to this mandate.
• The Senior Planning and Forecasting Officer will provide strategic and operational leadership to Africa CDC’s Planning and Forecasting functions, ensuring that health commodities are stored, managed, and delivered to Member States and partners with speed, accuracy, and compliance.
• This role is instrumental in enhancing Africa CDC’s supply chain capabilities, especially in the context of emergency response, pandemic preparedness, and cross-border coordination

Main Functions

• The Senior Planning and Forecasting Officer is responsible for leading the planning and forecasting processes to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of supplies and services to support Africa CDC’s operation including the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism.
• This role involves analyzing supply chain data, developing forecasting models, and collaborating with various stakeholders to optimize supply chain operations.

Specific Responsibilities

• Develop and implement supply chain planning and forecasting strategies.
• Utilize advanced forecasting models and tools to predict demand for supplies and services.
• Analyze historical data and trends to improve accuracy of forecasts
• Collect and analyze supply chain data to identify patterns and trends.
• Prepare detailed reports and dashboards to monitor supply chain performance.
• Use data-driven insights to inform decision-making and optimize supply chain operations.
• Work closely with program and operations teams to understand supply needs and priorities
• Coordinate with suppliers, logistics partners, and other stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of supplies.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to enhance supply chain efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements within the supply chain.
• Develop and implement initiatives to enhance planning and forecasting processes.
• Stay updated on industry’s best practices and incorporate them into Africa CDC’s supply chain operations.
• Provide training and support team members on forecasting tools and methodologies.
• Mentor and guide junior staff in planning and forecasting activities.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team.
• Prepare regular reports on supply chain performance and forecasting accuracy.
• Document planning and forecasting processes and methodologies.
• Ensure compliance with AU’s policies and standards in all planning and forecasting activities.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, or a related field with a minimum of 7 years of experience in supply chain planning and forecasting

Or

• Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain management, Logistics, Business Administration, or a related field with a minimum of 10 years of experience in supply chain planning and forecasting.
• Proven track record of managing complex supply chain operations in an international context
• Experience working with humanitarian organizations or in the public sector is an asset

Required Skills:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in any of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Kiswahili and Spanish) and working knowledge in other AU Languages will be an added advantage.
• Proficiency in forecasting software and tools.
• Ability to initiate and identify key strategic opportunities and risks.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills
• Excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Capacity to work under pressure and multi-tasking within tight time constraints.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and relate well with a broad array of individuals both within and outside of the AU.
• Creative and Strategic thinking structured towards an efficient approach to project implementation with a proven track record of leading cross-functional projects teams as well as the ability to guide the team on journey for continual improvement of performance and knowledge and rational decision-making capabilities.
• Problem solving aptitudes with an excellent analytical, solution orientation and risk management with ability to draw on experiences for providing evidence-based decision making.
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build good working relationships and to work flexibly and collaboratively with colleagues of different divisions, departments and institutions to achieve organizational goals.
• Excellent drafting, reporting and presentation skills
• Excellent diplomatic, representational, interpersonal and communication skills, including experience with successfully interacting with stakeholders and decision makers in technical and other professional settings
• Demonstrated project planning and management skills for organizing, planning and executing projects from conception through implementation
• Excellent technical writing skills, in addition to narrative and financial reporting skills
• Skills in translating highly technical information into presentations, briefings and report and funding proposals for both technical and lay audiences
• Excellent computer skills, including word-processing capabilities, proficiency with email and internet applications, experience in using office software applications such as MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word
• Competence in the use of standard software such as Microsoft Office Application, ArchiFM, and others

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Insight
• Developing Others
• Change Management
• Managing Risk

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationship
• Foster Accountability Culture
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with Influence

Functional Competencies:

• Continuous Improvement Orientation
• Drive for result
• Job Knowledge and information sharing
• Conceptual thinking

Tenure of Appointment:

• The Appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed for a similar period subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables. 

Gender Mainstreaming:

• Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Language:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage.

Remuneration
The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$  96,921.34  (P3 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$ 78,461.08 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union.

Application Instructions:

The application deadline is on 18th August, 2025;11h59 p.m. EAT. Therefore, qualified and interested candidates can “CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION” It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply successfully for this vacancy.

Official Job Website: https://au.int/

Note

• Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted.
• Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas (Bac+2), Bachelor’s degrees (Bac+3), Master’s degrees (Bac+5) and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.
• The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles. These countries include Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.