Parliamentary Research Officer 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: Parliamentary Research Officer

Location: Abuja
Institution: ECOWAS Parliament
Grade: P2 / P3 / P4
Directorate: Parliamentary Affairs And Research
Division: Library, Documentation & Research
Line Supervisor: Principal Officer, Library, Documentation & Research

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Principal Officer, Library, Documentation & Research, the incumbent shall assist Members of Parliament  by providing them relevant well researched information for their work.

Role And Responsibilities

• Respond in a timely manner to requests for information or enquiries from Committee members and other Members of Parliament;
• Undertake research, usually from readily available sources, on clearly defined subjects;
• Analyse and evaluate research and interpret data in order to identify the key issues;
• Prepare and present, in both written and oral forms, the results of research in a manner appropriate for answering parliamentary questions, providing briefings to Committee members, or for providing content for newspaper articles and press releases ;
• Prepare and provide briefings for Committee Clerks to be tabled at meetings of the Committee;
• Monitor motions, petitions, legislations, Hansard, and other parliamentary activity as appropriate;
• Monitor coverage in the media issues before the Committees;
• Advise and guide the Committees, Members of Parliament, the Secretary-General and Committee Clerks on relevant policy matters;
• Progress casework through liaison with local and national bodies, government agencies, lobby groups and other associated bodies;
• Develop knowledge of relevant legislation and ensure that knowledge is maintained and updated;
• Maintain precise, detailed records of each issue and ensure the confidentiality of data at all times;
• Develop knowledge in specialist areas as required by the Committees;
• Performs other tasks as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Academic Qualifications And Experience
Education:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in International Relations, Political Science, Public Administration or a related field from a recognized University.

Experience:

• 2 years of progressively responsible professional working experience in political science, political affairs, international relations, law, mediation, conflict resolution, or related area is required;
• Knowledge and understanding of ECOWAS agency or institutional mandate, international non-proliferation theories, concepts and developments and ECOWAS strategies, including cooperation with Member-States and international organizations;
• Knowledge and understanding of ECOWAS agency/institution’s relations with national and regional agencies, International organizations and other international and diplomatic institutions;
• Ability to liaise between ECOWAS members and Staff with the government of the country of residence, in focus areas;
• Classification of information of relevance to the human resources management functional areas.

Age Limit:

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

ECOWAS Key Competencies
Leadership:

• Ability to motivate self and/or others to engage in and successfully complete tasks at hand;
• Demonstrated experience leading conversations that will either provide participants with new information, ideas or awareness or elicit feedback;
• Ability to positively influence co-workers when faced with challenges and work problems to help trigger solutions and build confidence;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner;
• Ability to lead in the management of own career and performance and to seek assistance/coaching when required.

Client Service Orientation:

• Well-developed client service skills including a positive  attitude, creative thinking skills, good work ethic, teamwork experience, time management skills, flexibility;
• Ability to take initiative to resolve problems and improve quality and/or quantity of work by identifying alternative solutions and discussing appropriateness/approach with supervisor;
• Strong desire to help others and capacity to empathize to generate mutual understanding;
• Ability to work as part of a team in supporting and addressing the needs of clients and stakeholders;
• Ability to multitask and to meet client service/stakeholder management standards and objectives of pertinence to assigned responsibilities.

Multicultural Sensitivity & Advocacy:

• Ability to perceive the moods and feelings of others from various cultural backgrounds, and to understand interests, needs, and perspectives so as to prevent/address misunderstandings and complaints;
• Well-developed ability to relate well with people from varied backgrounds and sound understanding of diverse cultural differences especially within west Africa;
• Ability to listen attentively to people’s ideas, requests and concerns and to understand and internalize the need for diversity management in every day workplace practices;
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Ability to factor in diversity when providing services, responding to requests, recognizing and releasing preconceived notions and stereotypical views of certain groups and individuals.

Knowledge of ECOWAS:

• Basic understanding of the ECOWAS organization mandate and its functions;  
• Ability to explain the ECOWAS programs and projects relevant to tasks and demonstrated understanding of data used by the department/institution/agency, including knowing where data resides in the system, the ability to see how the data in the system interrelates and how data entries and changes may impact data in other parts of the system.  
• Knowledge of ECOWAS routine procedures and practices as it relates to assigned responsibilities;
• Ability to apply ECOWAS standards in emailing, reporting, correspondence, etc. and to accept and implement changes as directed.

Analytical & Critical Thinking:

• Excellent numeracy skills with the ability to collect, collate, classify and summarize data systematically.
• Demonstrated ability to assist in conducting primary and secondary research activities in accordance with instructions and/or best practices in research techniques (e.g. interviews, tests, desk research);
• Ability to identify inconsistencies in reasoning and to articulate findings clearly;
• Ability to use creativity and initiative in the generation of alternative solutions to a problem;
• Ability to gather, analyze and arrange information in a logical sequence.

Communication:

• Ability to provide useful feedback when asked and to use feedback constructively when given;
• Demonstrated ability to use computers with superior word-processing skills and proficiency in the use of data base (e.g. access), spreadsheets (e.g. excel), inter/intranet, email and social media;
• Tact, diplomacy and well-developed interpersonal skills;
• Ability to write accurate, clear and well-organized text;
• Proficiency in  information communication 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.

Planning & Implementation:

• Well established time management skills with the ability to make well considered/reasoned decisions regarding own work and to follow them through;
• Ability to use action planning skills, set priorities, develop work goals and identify the steps needed to achieve goals of relevance to own work area;
• Ability to work well and meet objectives of tasks when under pressure or when exposed to uncertainties, challenges and/or changing work environments;
• Ability to understand and contribute to team/work unit goals and plans as well as to collective decision-making.

Annual Salary
The position is on Grade P2-1 with an Annual Salary of UA19,769, equivalent to US$31,191.

Application Closing Date
19th December, 2020.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should download the Application Form below, fill it out correctly; attach a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation Letter and send to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Click here to download Application Form (Ms Word)

Click here for more information