Law Enforcement Officer (Project Coordinator) at ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region. Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, the organization was founded in order to achieve collective self-sufficiency for its member states by creating a single large trading bloc through an economic and trading union. It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region. The organization operates officially in three co-equal languages French, English, and Portuguese.

We are currently recruiting for the position below

Job Title: Law Enforcement Officer (Project Coordinator)

Reference: ECW-COMM/REC/DUG-P/001/2014
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Department: Social Affairs and Gender
Directorate: Gender, Youth, CSO, Employment, Drug Control
Grade: P5
Supervisor: Director, Gender, CSO and Drug Control
Duration: Twelve (12) months (extension subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds)

The position is located within the Drug Unit, of the ECOWAS Commission, Abuja Nigeria. The incumbent will work under the overall direct supervision of the Director, Gender, CSO and Drug Control, of the Department of Social Affairs and Gender. While accomplishing his/her duties, the incumbent will be responsible for implementing parts of the project, “Support to ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime related to it and Drug Abuse in West Africa”. The incumbent will bring to the Unit the overall leadership in all aspects of the implementation of the 2015-2019 “ECOWAS Action Plan to Address the Growing Problem of Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crimes and Drug Abuse in West Africa”.

Duties and Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Law Enforcement Expert (Project Coordinator) will carry out a range of tasks aimed at providing policy, programme, coordination and advocacy support in the areas of counter narcotics, drug use prevention and drug treatment. In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

• Design, implement, monitor and evaluate all assigned activities to be conducted within the framework of: Result 1 of the project “Support to ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on Illicit Drug Trafficking, related organized crime and drug abuse in West Africa”, which aims to “Improve ECOWAS Advocacy, Monitoring and Coordination Capacity” for the Regional Action Plan, and 2. The 2015-2019 “ECOWAS Action Plan to Address the Growing Problem of Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crimes and Drug Abuse in West Africa”;
• Plan, organize, coordinate, implement and evaluate project activities aimed at building capacity of West African States in the areas counter narcotics, drug use prevention and drug treatment;
• Review and validate all strategic and operational reports to be drafted within the framework of the project. This includes contribute to the preparation of all substantive and financial reports linked to the implementation of parts of the project assigned, in particular quarterly work plans and progress reports, annual reports ( Narrative and Financial);
• Coordinate, participate and carry out, in coordination with project team members, national authorities, and partners, periodic assessment of project performance, organize and participate in reviews and evaluations;
• Provide specialized substantive, operational and technical expertise to national authorities of ECOWAS and Member States, Civil Society Organizations on effective and appropriate law enforcement policies, tools and operating procedures including Joint Operations;
• Liaise effectively with GIABA, UNODC, INTERPOL , WCO, IMO and other relevant regional and international law enforcement bodies with a view to establishing a strong partnership with ECOWAS Drug Unit;
• Maintain dialogue with national law enforcement authorities, national coordinators of inter- ministerial drug coordination committees and the partners of ECOWAS, to define, plan, propose, negotiate, execute and administer relevant law enforcement activities of the Regional Action Plan;
• Prepare budget and work plan and supervising program staff and short term consultants;
• Participate in the planning, design, execution and reporting of MEM activities, especially on the law enforcement component;
• Contribute to prepare/review all correspondences linked to the implementation of the projects and drafting of various ECOWAS reports on drugs and crime;
• As required, supervise other professional and support staff members, mentor and guide consultants, interns and resource persons in their work;
• Participate in the ECOWAS-EU Project Steering and Coordinating Committee’s (PSCC) meetings;
• Contribute to the preparation of consolidated work plans and other Project Steering and Coordinating Committee’s (PSCC) documentation;
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications/Experience/Skills

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in international relations, law, political science or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in drug control activities, law enforcement, international relations or related field with at least two years in Managerial role. Previous filed experience in West Africa is desirable; A higher degree will substitute for two-years of work experience.

Competencies:

• Professionalism: knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to crime and drug related issues. Knowledge of policies and practices in international drug control and crime prevention as well as the mandates of the UNODC. Knowledge of specialization in substantive and functional areas. Ability to identify and contribute to solution of problems/issues. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter, Expertise in training curricula development, counter narcotics operations, as well as international cooperation mechanism, programme planning and implementation. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and meet deadlines.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively in a multi-cultural setting with colleagues and national authorities to achieve organizational goals; solicits input be genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise, is willing to learn from others, places team agenda before personal agenda, supports and acts in accordance with the final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position, shares credit for team accomplishment and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and meet deadlines.
• Managerial: Good leadership qualities, excellent inter-personal and communications skills and ability to operate at the very highest level of Government and lead a team in a multi-cultural environment.

Age

• Candidate should not be 50 years old or over at the point of recruitment and must be a citizen of one of the ECOWAS member states.

Language

• Must be fluent in one of the official languages of ECOWAS: English, French and Portuguese. A working knowledge of second official language would be an advantage.

Remuneration
Annual Salary: USD 52,273 - USD 59,100

Application Closing Date
2nd June, 2014

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online