This position is located in the Division of Country Programmes (DCP). The incumbent reports directly to the Director DCP, under the overall guidance of ITC’s Deputy Executive Director. DCP is responsible for ITC's relations with member states and plays a central role for interaction and collaboration with traditional and non-traditional donors. DCP ensures the coherence and impact of ITC’s programmes at the regional and country levels and supports the implementation of complex projects. The purpose of this role is to lead ITC’s contribution towards building SME competitiveness, developing trade capacity and inclusive sustainable economic growth in Eastern Africa in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The incumbent will lead DCP’s Office for Africa’s operations in Eastern Africa and assume a representation role vis-à-vis the African Union, from ITC’s Office in Nairobi, Kenya, working closely with the other parts of the Office for Africa (DCP/OA) at ITC HQ. As part of its mandate, OA coordinates ITC’s technical assistance at country, (sub) regional and continental levels including in the context of the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The work of OA includes coordination, and representation of ITC in various fora, resource mobilization, collection and analysis of country/region intelligence, project / programme design, management and coordination. The performance of the role is measured in terms of its contribution to ITC’s deeper country/regional engagement in Eastern Africa. This includes progress on four objectives: increased impact and visibility of ITC’s work in the region; increased operational efficiency; enhanced cooperation/coordination with development partners, and a larger and more diversified funding base for ITC’s work. Additionally, as a UNCT member, under the Management and Accountability Framework (MAF) of the UN development and resident coordinator (RC) system, the ITC Representative has mutual accountability with the Resident Coordinator in the member states of the East African Community (EAC) and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. for periodically reporting on contributions and support for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). The Director of ITC’s Division of Country Programmes conducts the performance review of the Regional Representative, whilst seeking inputs from the RCs on the ITC Representative’s contributions as a UNCT member.