Economic Advisor 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: Economic Advisor

Location: Brussels, Belgium
Grade: P5
Status: Permanent
Institution: Commission
Department: Office of the President
Line Supervisor Permanent Representative, Head of Bureau
Directorate: ECOWAS Permanent Representative’s Office in the Brussels

Role Overview

• Contribute to the realisation of the mandate of the ECOWAS Representative’s Office in Brussels through in particular, strengthening partnerships between ECOWAS and the different ACP-EU cooperation stakeholders – EU, ACP, Member States’ diplomatic missions, etc.
• He/She will also provide technical support for the Office’s mission and participate, under the supervision of the Representative, in activities for coordinating and monitoring commitments.

Role and Responsibilities

• Assist the Representative and represent him, as the need arises
• Participate in the coordination of activities of the Office and in daily administration
• Design and put in place strategies for enhancing cooperation and mechanisms for effective coordination with cooperation stakeholders
• Contribute to the meetings of the Group of Ambassadors of West Africa, by providing technical support for the formulation and consideration of the region’s interests and positions in the partnerships
• Monitor the implementation of the different EU financial commitments and instruments for West Africa including the monitoring of intra-ACP cooperation, institutional relations with the ACP Group
• Establish functional relations with Member States’ representations in Brussels, as well as stakeholders of the EU Commission and the ACP Secretariat
• Ensure functional relations and channels of information exchange between the Representation and the Commission’s technical departments
• Organise and implement, under the authority of the Representative, any activity aimed at promoting ECOWAS’s visibility in Brussels
• Contribute to the production of analysis and summary documents regarding issues under his/her purview
• Contribute to the preparation and organisation of the Commission’s working visits to Brussels
• Any other task that may be assigned by the Representative.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s in Economics, International Relations or any related field from a recognized University.
• 10 years’ progressive professional experience, in related areas of development cooperation/trade cooperation/multilateralism, of which two years in a supervisory and managerial position
• Good knowledge of institutional and functional environment of international organisations such as EU, the ACP, AU, WTO, etc.
• Knowledge of instruments of development cooperation and multilateral rules
• Good knowledge of diplomatic rules
• Proven professional technical expertise in monitoring, coordination, data collection and analysis
• Organisational and project/programme management skills, experience in programming would be an advantage
• A certification in International Trade & Developing Economy will be an advantage

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Ability to conduct activities by bringing necessary operational competences in use to properly accomplish the mandate of the Representation
• Good self-management skills, ethical conduct, integrity, confidentiality, transparency and compliance with rules and procedures
• Ability to respect to the chain of command
• Ability to represent ECOWAS before stakeholders
• Proactiveness, ability to respond to the expectations of stakeholders for continued and improved quality of cooperation relations
• Ability to network using well developed interpersonal relations, for the attainment of the goals of the Representative’s Office.
• Ability to manage and coordinate the initiatives of cooperation stakeholders and make recommendations
• Diplomatic skills and ability to work in a multicultural environment and transform vast opportunities, for achieving the goals of the Representative’s Office.
• Good understanding of ECOWAS organisational structure and functional relations, associated dynamics and expectations for effective collaboration, participation, contribution to the realisation of the Representation’s mandate
• Good knowledge of ECOWAS rules and procedures
• Good knowledge of the regional integration process, particularly ECOWAS strategic priority programmes as well as Member States’ socio-economic and development policy.
• Ability to gather, analyse and summarise information from different sources, logical dissemination thereof and making of appropriate recommendations to the stakeholders
• Proven analytical, drafting, summarising skills
• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and organised manner, to give credibility and inspire confidence with presentations, identification of expectations and explanation of complex problems
• Good oral and written skills in one of the official languages of ECOWAS (English, French, and Portuguese).
• Proven technical skills in drafting and editing
• Knowledge of computer software and information technology and communication tools.
• Ability to define goals and targets for the attainment of the objectives of the Representation and adjust priorities in the light of the changing circumstances
• Ability to use monitoring and evaluation instruments and produce regular monitoring reports of Representation’s activities.

Annual Salary
UA58, 475.23, USD92, 262.23

Application Closing Date
16th August, 2020.