Principal Programme Officer - Veterinary Governance at the Economic Community of West African States (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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Programme Officer - Veterinary Governance - P5

Location: Bamako, Mali
Institution: ECOWAS Commission
Agency: Regional Animal Health Center (RAHC) - Bamako
Department: Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources
Directorate: Regional Animal Health Center (RAHC) - Bamako
Division: Veterinary Governance
Line Supervisor: Executive Director; Regional Animal Health Center (RAHC) – Bamako
Grade: P5
Supervising: 2 Programme Officers

Role Overview

• Under the guidance and supervision of the Executive Director, the Principal Program Officer on Veterinary Regulations will ensure the formulation and implementation of regional and international regulations for good veterinary governance on animal disease control, improved public health and animal welfare that will support the effective and efficient delivery of veterinary services to support food security and nutrition, livelihoods, wealth creation and poverty reduction through the efficient management of animal health in the ECOWAS region in line with the goal of the ECOWAP/CAADP.

Role and Responsibilities

• Support ECOWAS Member States to strengthen veterinary governance;
• Formulate and ensure implementation of regional and international veterinary regulations and guidelines
• Support increased investments in national and regional veterinary governance infrastructure to close the gaps in the OIE Gap Analysis in the ECOWAS region.
• Formulate, align and implement regional and international veterinary education and training guidelines in the ECOWAS region.
• Support capacity building and veterinary continuing education and particularly explore online education and training delivery.
• Formulate and implement regional and international regulatory frameworks and guidelines on veterinary information management and risk communication to populations.
• Facilitate networking with veterinary regulatory agencies in ECOWAS Member States and other relevant regional and international partners.
• Facilitate networking with regional and international academic and scientific community.
• Facilitate regular regional publications on veterinary regulation issues.
• Support the establishment and/or strengthening of regional socio-economic and risk communication networks.
• Support the strengthening of regional animal producer/professional network.
• Ensure the alignment of activities with the implementation of ECOWAP/CAADP and related projects.
• Experience in project planning, formulation and implementation, as well as funding requirements of major multilateral and bilateral funding partners
• Undertake other duties that may be assigned by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources.

Academic Qualification and Experience

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Epidemiology, Veterinary Public Health, Animal Health Economics or a related field from a recognized university;
• 10 years’ experience with multilateral negotiations and advice to governments with programme fund resource mobilization, 3 years at a supervisory level;
• Knowledge of relevant veterinary policies and regulations governing livestock sector development;
• Experience of project formulation and funding requirements of major multilateral and bilateral funding partners;
• Technical capacity to develop a vision, mission and strategies and to focus on the needs of member countries and to adjust strategies to take account of changing circumstances;

Age Limit:

• Be below 50 years old. This provision does not apply to internal candidates.

Key Ecowas Competences

• Knowledge of the ECOWAS mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political and social state/trends of member states, as pertains to own scope of work;
• Exihibit consistency on actions, values, methods, confidentiality, ethics, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes which connotes a deep commitment to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the circumstances;
• Ability to promote a culture where people hold themselves personally accountable for results;
• Ability to provide leadership, management, and technical oversight for all project activities and program deliverables in accordance with ECOWAS legal and administrative practices and standards;
• Ability to conduct periodic reviews of staff performance in keeping with the ECOWAS performance management system and to mentor staff to ensure high levels of motivation, commitment, capacity, and teamwork;
• Knowledge of program management at the level usually acquired from a certification in program management;
• Ability to oversee project management, internal controls and stewardship of financial resources and to address issues in a confident and capable manner whilst making decisions that exemplifies impartial and non-partisan decision-making.
• Ability to respect the chain of command in an appropriate manner
• Proficiency in information, communication and technologies (ICT);
• Fluency in oral and written expressions in one of the ECOWAS official languages of the Community (English, French & Portuguese). Knowledge of an additional one will be an added advantage.
• Ability to set effective goals/results and manage change in a manner that demonstrates resilience, composure and a positive outlook in an environment of uncertainty and ambiguity;
• Ability to use participatory approach in project planning and identifying gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired task;
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs;
• Competence in technical writing and editing skills;
• Ability to set effective goals and targets for self, others, and the work unit and adjusting work or project priorities in response to changing circumstances;
• Ability to analyze a situation by indicators to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success in making decisions;

Annual Salary
UA59373.81, USD93,680.00 per annum.

Application Closing Date
29th January, 2020.