Programme Officer, Trade Facilitation at 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: Programme Officer, Trade Facilitation

Job Code: 20003587
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade: P3/P4
Status: Permanent
Department: Economic Affairs & Agriculture
Directorate: Trade
Division: Trade Facilitation And Development
Line Supervisor: Principal Programme Officer – Trade Facilitation And Development
Supervising: Programme Assistant

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Principal Programme Officer, Trade Facilitation & Development, the incumbent shall be responsible for supporting the management and implementation of trade facilitation measures.

Role And Responsibilities

• Support the coordination of ECOWAS Trade initiatives.
• Support the implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement and Trade Facilitation related provisions of Agreement of AfCFTA.
• Contribute to the development of policy recommendations that enhance trade efficiency, reduce costs, and promote economic growth.
• Collaborate with relevant departments and partners to ensure coordinated and effective program implementation.
• Collect and analyze trade-related data to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities in cross-border trade and prepare reports and presentations to communicate findings and recommendations to stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Support the development and implementation of trade facilitation tools and instruments.
• Support the operationalization of Trade Facilitation Committees.
• Support the formulation of Trade Facilitation related strategies, policies, and measures.
• Research and prepare analytical and policy reports and studies.
• Perform any other task assigned by the supervisor.

 Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent) in the Social Sciences, Economics, Business Administration, International Relations, International Diplomacy, Public Administration, Law, or Social Sciences or in a similar field from a university of recognized standing.
• Five (5) years of practical experience in the area of Trade Facilitation.
• Knowledge of trade facilitation principles and international trade regulations
• Knowledge of border procedures.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret and analyze trade-related data.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effective stakeholder engagement

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to persuade/influence others to consider a certain point of view, adopt a new idea or implement new methods and practices.
• Ability to lead a small team of trainees/junior staff and instill a spirit of teamwork to engage employees and achieve a well-defined set of activities.
• Ability to resolve issues that occur with minimal direction and/or to recommend and explain solutions or alternatives for approval.
• Ability to utilize the ECOWAS Code of Ethics to manage self, others, information, and resources.
• Ability to mentor others and create feedback loops with supervisors, colleagues as well as temporary or contract employees to build strong working relationships and improve performance.
• Superior interpersonal skills with ability to keep a client informed of progress or setbacks in projects of relevance to timeline, quality, and quantity.
• Demonstrated ability to proactively interact with clients and build strong trusting relationships based on mutual respect and regular discussions.
• Ability to establish and sustain professional credibility with clients/stakeholders in a manner that anticipates their need, mitigates issues and that carefully balances professional obligations with the need to be sensitive and responsive to their needs.
• Ability to counsel, advise, consult, and guide others on matters pertaining to assigned client service responsibilities and established ECOWAS client service standards.
• Contribute to maintaining organizational unit’s performance goals and standards.
• Demonstrated respect, fairness, and ability to relate well with people from varied backgrounds, nationality, gender, ethnicity, race, and religion.
• Advanced understanding of diverse cultural views especially within west Africa, with sensitivity to group differences; ability to challenges bias and to practice tolerance and empathy.
• Ability to listen actively, consider people’s concerns and apply sound judgement, tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to work in a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths.
• Ability to encourage, empower, and advocate for people in an unbias and transparent manner.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS institutions and sectors (e.g. location, mandate, inter-relationships, programs, services, and occupations).
• Knowledge of ECOWAS internal operational requirements of programs, projects, services, and systems required to achieve work assignments and meet performance goals.
• Excellent knowledge of rules and procedures of ECOWAS associated assigned responsibilities and ability to explain these clearly to others.
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS culture, structures and performance issues and priorities impacting assigned responsibilities.
• Ability to study data/information from a variety of sources, identify anomalies, trends and issues, present findings, and make recommendations.
• Ability to break down problems or processes into key parts to identify and solve gaps in service, quality assurance, compliance, and performance targets.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply techniques to generate creative ideas and new approaches to meeting goals.
• Ability to use evidence and research to inform policies and programs and identify relevant and appropriate sources of information, including stakeholders, regional institutions and/or internal committees
• Demonstrated operational proficiency in the use of computer in communicating using tools like email, word processing, excel, power point, and social media sites; ability to produce complex spreadsheets, graphics, and charts to communicate trends, conclusions, observations, etc.
• Ability to makes sound use of graphics and tables to effectively present numerical data to write semi-complex technical reports/proposals and edit/check templates, letters, etc.
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely and in a succinct and organized manner through both writing and verbal means, either with electronic or print media.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to develop rapport, to make presentations, express opinions, and debate ideas with others in a constructive manner.
• Fluency in one of the three ECOWAS official languages (English, French & Portuguese)
• Ability to develop and implement an individual action plan for achieving specific work goals and identify, organize, and monitor tasks throughout to facilitate execution.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute and/or lead on projects as per accepted project management standards and techniques, to co-ordinate contributions by others and to set and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to organize work, set priorities, and work within timelines, giving attention to details, stakeholders, indicators, and risks.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, collect and assess indicators to monitor performance and to take proactive remedial action as required.

Salary
UA49,106.81 / USD77,480.72 - UA56,591.37 / USD 89,289.87 Annually.

Application Closing Date
6th March, 2024.