The successful candidate will coordinate the geographically dispersed ACE-AJ membership, translate strategic priorities into implementation plans, mobilise resources, coordinate multi-country programmes, strengthen governance systems, develop strategic partnerships, generate and communicate evidence, and position ACE-AJ as a credible African platform on access to justice, legal empowerment, and people-centred justice.
Key Responsibilities
1. Continental Network Coordination and Membership
- Coordinate ACE-AJ as a Pan-African network and maintain engagement with members across countries, regions, legal traditions, and languages.
- Develop annual member-engagement activities, including consultations, peer exchanges, working groups, institutional visits, and regional or continental meetings.
- Maintain effective communication between the Secretariat, Board, General Assembly, founding members, and strategic partners.
- Map and update member expertise, innovations, research, institutional capacities, and support needs.
- Strengthen member ownership by creating opportunities for members to lead research, training, advocacy, and cross-country initiatives.
- Lead strategic membership growth, particularly in underrepresented parts of Africa.
- Coordinate membership admission, onboarding, orientation, retention, and membership records.
- Identify common challenges and convert them into collective learning, research, advocacy, and programme initiatives.
2. Strategy Implementation and Institutional Performance
- Translate the ACE-AJ Strategic Framework 2024–2030 into annual work plans, implementation matrices, calendars, and measurable performance commitments.
- Coordinate implementation across ACE-AJ’s five strategic priorities.
- Develop performance dashboards covering strategic outcomes, programmes, membership, partnerships, fundraising, visibility, and governance.
- Conduct quarterly implementation reviews and prepare performance briefs for the Board.
- Identify implementation challenges, risks, and opportunities and recommend corrective measures.
- Coordinate periodic strategy reviews and contribute to future strategic planning.
3. Holistic and People-Centred Justice
- Advance ACE-AJ’s agenda on holistic justice delivery.
- Connect formal, informal, and community-based justice actors and approaches.
- Promote recognition and contribution of community-based justice practitioners.
- Support legal empowerment, mediation, community justice, legal aid, and other people-centred approaches.
- Facilitate cross-country learning on policies and regulatory environments for community-based justice and paralegal practice.
- Ensure the perspectives of poor, vulnerable, and marginalised communities remain central to ACE-AJ’s work.
4. Capacity Building and Peer Learning
- Develop and coordinate a continental capacity-building programme.
- Organise peer-to-peer learning, mentorship, technical exchanges, and cross-country exposure.
- Develop partnerships with universities, legal aid clinics, professional bodies, judiciaries, and specialist institutions.
- Promote learning based on the experience of ACE-AJ members.
- Support scalable training resources and longer-term learning programmes where feasible.
5. Research, Evidence and Knowledge Management
- Lead ACE-AJ’s research and knowledge-generation agenda.
- Coordinate documentation of best practices, innovations, impact cases, and lessons.
- Develop and maintain an accessible knowledge-sharing platform or e-repository.
- Promote compatible data-collection approaches among members.
- Coordinate research partnerships and ensure appropriate ethical, data-protection, and quality standards.
- Translate research into policy briefs, position papers, learning products, advocacy messages, and practical tools.
6. Advocacy, Policy Influence and Representation
- Develop and coordinate ACE-AJ’s continental advocacy agenda.
- Support coherent African positions on legal empowerment, community justice, legal aid, and people-centred justice.
- Engage with the African Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, regional economic communities, UN mechanisms, and other relevant institutions.
- Identify opportunities to contribute to justice-sector reforms and policy processes.
- Represent ACE-AJ at authorised regional, continental, and international engagements.
- Prepare high-quality briefs, statements, and speaking points.
7. Communication and Visibility
- Implement an institutional communication and visibility plan.
- Oversee newsletters, website content, social media, publications, and member communications.
- Develop an evidence-based continental narrative demonstrating ACE-AJ’s added value.
- Increase dissemination and citation of ACE-AJ research and policy products.
- Coordinate media engagement and ensure consistent institutional messaging.
8. Resource Mobilisation and Financial Sustainability
- Develop and drive a diversified resource-mobilisation strategy and funding pipeline.
- Identify foundations, bilateral and multilateral partners, international organisations, corporate and philanthropic actors, and other potential supporters.
- Lead or coordinate concept notes, proposals, budgets, partnership submissions, and donor presentations.
- Build and maintain donor and strategic-partner relationships.
- Explore sustainable non-grant income approaches consistent with ACE-AJ’s mandate.
- Work with LAF and governance structures to support sound grant management, financial controls, compliance, and transparent reporting.
- Demonstrate institutional impact as part of fundraising and partnership development.
9. Programme Development and Multi-Country Implementation
- Design and coordinate multi-country and network-wide initiatives.
- Establish clear roles, deliverables, budgets, timelines, reporting requirements, and decision-making arrangements.
- Track implementation across countries and intervene when delivery is delayed or quality is at risk.
- Coordinate reporting to the Board, members, partners, and donors.
- Ensure programmes provide clear value to participating members and contribute to ACE-AJ’s strategic outcomes.
10. Governance and Institutional Development
- Provide technical and administrative support to the Board and General Assembly.
- Coordinate AGMs, Board meetings, agendas, briefing papers, minutes, decision registers, and follow-up.
- Maintain governance, membership, programme, and institutional records.
- Support the development and implementation of institutional policies, manuals, procedures, and internal systems.
- Ensure Secretariat operations comply with the ACE-AJ Constitution, approved policies, governance decisions, and relevant legal and contractual obligations.
Qualifications and Experience
Applicants should meet the following requirements:
- Master’s degree in Law, Human Rights, Development Studies, Public Policy, International Relations, Governance, Programme Management, or a closely related field.
- A strong Bachelor’s degree combined with substantial relevant senior experience may be considered.
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in access to justice, legal empowerment, human rights, governance, civil society strengthening, international development, network leadership, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating a network, coalition, secretariat, regional platform, or multi-country partnership.
- Substantial experience working across several African countries is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into implementation plans, budgets, partnerships, programmes, and measurable results.
- Strong experience in programme design and management, monitoring and learning, budgeting, reporting, and institutional planning.
- Proven experience in resource mobilisation, proposal development, and donor or strategic-partner relationship management.
- Experience supporting governance bodies and organisational or institutional development.
- Experience in research, policy engagement, advocacy, knowledge management, or capacity development related to access to justice is highly desirable.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Working knowledge of French is a strong advantage.
- Knowledge of other widely used African languages is an asset.
Core Competencies
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Continental network leadership and movement building.
- Strategic execution and disciplined follow-through.
- Member engagement, coalition management, and cross-cultural diplomacy.
- Resource mobilisation, partnership development, and donor stewardship.
- Programme leadership and multi-country coordination.
- Governance, institutional development, and accountability.
- Research literacy, evidence use, and knowledge translation.
- Strong writing, communication, advocacy, and representation skills.
- Sound judgement, institutional sensitivity, integrity, and independence.
- Ability to work effectively across borders, time zones, institutions, and professional cultures.
Eligibility and Right to Work in Rwanda
The recruitment is primarily intended for Rwandan nationals and non-Rwandan nationals who are already legally resident in Rwanda and authorised to work in Rwanda.
ACE-AJ/LAF will not provide international relocation, expatriate benefits, or sponsorship for relocation to Rwanda. Applicants must therefore be able to take up the position in Kigali under an existing lawful right to reside and work in Rwanda.
Application Requirements
Applicants should submit:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Letter of motivation
- Copies of relevant degree(s) and certificate(s)
- Two professional references
The motivation letter should specifically demonstrate experience in:
- Coordinating networks, coalitions, or multi-country partnerships
- Continental or cross-country coordination
- Strategy implementation
- Convening diverse stakeholders
- Membership engagement
- Partnership development
- Resource mobilisation
How to Apply
Applications should be addressed to the Executive Director of Legal Aid Forum (LAF), as host of the ACE-AJ Secretariat.
Submit by email to:
legalaidrwanda@gmail.com
Application Deadline: 30 October 2026
Executive Director Job in Rwanda – ARCT-RUHUKA | Apply by 22 October 2026
Important notice
⚠️ All Jobs and Opportunities published on fdo.net.rw are completely free to apply.
Never pay any fee during the recruitment process!
Even if fdo.net.rw does its best to avoid scam job or opportunity offers, job seekers or opportunity seekers are 100% responsible for applying at their own risk.
Check carefully before applying. If you doubt the legitimacy of any offer, do not apply and contact us at
freedigopp54@gmail.com
Never pay to get a job or opportunity - if you do, you do so at your own risk.
