Project Officer, Legal 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: Project Officer, Legal

Reference: ECW-COMM/REC/DUG-P/004/2014
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Department: Social Affairs and Gender
Directorate: Gender, Youth, CSO, Employment, Drug Control
Grade: P3
Supervisor: Law Enforcement Officer (Project Coordinator)
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 report through the Law Enforcement Officer (Project Coordinator) to the Director of Gender, Youth, Sports, Employment, Civil Society and Drug Control). While accomplishing his/her duties, the incumbent will contribute to 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 technical expertise in the areas of criminal law to support 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

• Provide advice to the ECOWAS Drug Unit in the areas of criminal justice application, and the establishment of a legal framework for the harmonization of all drug laws and related legislations with the view to developing common prosecution standards in the region.
• Provide policy and technical advice to the inter-ministerial drug control committees (IMDCC’s) or equivalent, and advocacy to ratify and transpose UN and ECOWAS conventions;
• Provide technical guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties involved with the review and assessment of existing national drug laws and related legislations and institutional structures to identify areas of convergence, differences, gaps/shortcomings and updating them in line with relevant international conventions on drugs and crime;
• Support ECOWAS to harmonize its legal instruments into a single and up to date regional protocol on drug control and prevention of organized crime;
• Coaching and support to networks and direct support to organize regional workshops for practitioners, national and regional training for prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement operatives as required
• Support the organisation of annual meetings of IMDCC's or equivalent Focal Points and Ministerial Conference on the implementation of the Regional Action Plan.
• Provide legal guidance to Coordinators of ECOWAS Inter – Ministerial Drug Control Committees, NGO’s, and Civil Society Organizations on strengthening of legal framework for effective justice administration in the region.
• Support the design and establishment of the Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) in line with the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan;
• Support the set-up, implementation and deployment of a Monitoring Mission Team (MMT) to monitor the progress, if need be;
• Contribute in the preparation of progress reports including narrative and financial reports related to the implementation of the activities related to crime and justice
• Participate in the ECOWAS-EU Project Steering and Coordinating Committee’s (PSCC) meetings
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications/Experience/Skills

• A Bachelor of Law degree with specialization in legal matters.
• Possession of a Master’s degree in Law with specialization in criminal justice will be a definite advantage.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in legal affairs at the national and international level is required. A higher degree will substitute for two-years of work experience.
• Experience in developing and managing projects is required.
• Demonstrated experience in working with project management tools is a strong advantage.
• Knowledge of UN programmes, policies, guidelines and procedures in international law and criminal justice system.

Competencies:

• Professionalism: Knowledge of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to Drug Law Enforcement/Criminology /Criminal Justice. Knows and understand theories, concepts and approaches relevant to organized crime, illicit trafficking, drug demand reduction etc. Able to identify issues, analyze and participate in resolution of issues/problems. Strong analytical skills and experienced in legal research.
• 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.
• Other Skills: Familiarity with the ECOWAS mandate and other activities within the global fight against Illicit Drug Trafficking, Drug Abuse and Organized Crime.

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 36,901 - USD 44,469

Application Closing Date
2nd June, 2014

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