Executive Coordinator, ACE-AJ Secretariat

TERMS OF REFERENCE

PositionHost institution

Legal Aid Forum (LAF), Rwanda

Scope

Pan-African / multi-country
Reporting
ACE-AJ Founding Members, through the governance and hosting arrangements of ACE-AJ and LAF

Duty stationKigali,Rwanda,withregularregionaland international engagement

ContractFull-time; terms to be specified in the employment contract

• Institutional Background and Rationale

The African Centre of Excellence for Access to Justice (ACE-AJ) is a Pan-African platform established to strengthen access to justice, legal empowerment, human rights and people-centred justice across Africa. Its origins lie in a continentally grounded feasibility process undertaken in 2016 through consultations with access-to-justice organisations in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Malawi and South Africa. The feasibility work examined the relevance, scope, sustainability, institutional form and operational requirements of a continental centre and identified the need for a stronger African voice, systematic knowledge exchange, research, learning, capacity development and collaboration among organisations working closest to communities.

The feasibility process envisaged the Centre as more than a conventional project or secretariat. It was conceived as a galvanising space for access-to-justice and legal-empowerment actors; a repository of African practice and evidence; a platform for peer learning and exchange; a mechanism for strengthening community-based justice; and a vehicle through which African organisations could develop collective positions and speak with greater coherence on continental and global justice questions.

ACE-AJ was officially launched in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2017. Since its establishment, it has evolved into a multi-country network bringing together civil society organisations and justice actors committed to expanding access to justice for poor, vulnerable and marginalised communities. The Legal Aid Forum (LAF), Rwanda, is a founding member and hosts the ACE-AJ Secretariat.

ACE-AJ’s Strategic Framework 2024–2030 provides the current institutional roadmap. It organises the Centre’s work around five mutually reinforcing priorities: promoting holistic justice delivery; strengthening capacity building; research and knowledge generation; advocacy and communication; and strengthening

the ACE-AJ Secretariat. The Strategy also places substantial emphasis on monitoring, learning, institutional visibility, membership growth, strategic partnerships and diversified resource mobilisation.

• Purpose and Strategic Character of the Position

The Executive Coordinator is the principal executive and operational lead of the ACE-AJ Secretariat. The purpose of the position is to provide disciplined continental coordination and executive leadership for the implementation of ACE-AJ’s Constitution, Strategic Framework 2024–2030, decisions of the General Assembly and Board, approved programmes and institutional commitments.

The Executive Coordinator will move ACE-AJ from strategy to implementation. The office holder will connect a geographically dispersed membership, translate strategic priorities into annual and multi-year plans, mobilise resources, coordinate multi-country programmes, strengthen governance and institutional systems, generate and communicate evidence, develop strategic partnerships and position ACE-AJ as a credible African platform on access to justice, legal empowerment and people-centred justice.

The position therefore requires a network builder and institutional entrepreneur, not only a programme administrator. The Executive Coordinator must combine continental vision with implementation discipline; diplomacy with accountability; strong member relations with external representation; and programme leadership with fundraising, knowledge generation and organisational development.

• Overall Accountability

• Serve as the principal executive focal point for implementation of ACE-AJ’s Strategic Framework 2024–2030 and approved annual priorities.

• Ensure that decisions of the General Assembly and Board are translated into clear workstreams, responsibilities, timelines, budgets, deliverables and measurable results.

• Lead the day-to-day work of the Secretariat and coordinate Secretariat personnel, consultants, technical advisers and designated support from member organisations.

• Maintain effective operational coordination with LAF as host institution while safeguarding ACE-AJ’s distinct continental identity, governance and member ownership.

• Provide timely, evidence-based advice to the Board on institutional development, programme performance, partnerships, funding, risks and emerging access-to-justice trends.

• Key Responsibilities

4.1 Continental Network Coordination, Membership and Movement Building

• Provide proactive day-to-day coordination of ACE-AJ as a Pan-African network and maintain substantive engagement with members across countries, regions, legal traditions and languages.

• Develop an annual member-engagement architecture covering consultations, focal-person meetings, peer exchanges, communities of practice, thematic working groups, institutional visits and regional or continental convenings.

• Maintain structured two-way communication between the Secretariat, Board, General Assembly, founding members, and strategic partners.