Executive Director 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: Executive Director

Location: Bamako, Mali
Commission: ECOWAS Commission
Grade: DI
Department: Economics Affairs and Agriculture
Line Supervisor: Economics Affairs and Agriculture (3 Head of Division: Administration & Finance; Veterinary Regulation; Animal Health & Epidemio-surveillance)
Supervising: Office of the Executive Director: Communication and Public Relations; Legal; Monitoring & Evaluation; Office Manager
Status: Permanent

Role Overview

• Under the guidance and supervision of the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the incumbent will provide strategic leadership for the prevention and control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) in terrestrial and aquatic animals, and emerging and re-emerging zoonoses through the delivery of good and sustainable regional veterinary governance as well as public health support for food safety in the ECOWAS region to contribute to the overall vision of poverty reduction, improved livelihoods, wealth creation, and food and nutrition security as envisioned in the ECOWAS agriculture policy (ECOWAP).

Role and Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership at the RAHC for the prevention and control of TADs and emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, and regional Food Safety through Public Health support.Promote the achievement of high-quality results through effective management of multi-disciplinary teams and diverse partnerships.Initiate and supervise the implementation of projects/programs in the field of animal health and food safety while monitoring the stages of their implementation and the achievement of their objectives.Ensure the implementation of monitoring and evaluation for the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the results of projects/programs related to the objectives as well as the work plans.Supervise staff and the implementation of work plans, ensure the maintenance of a certain impartiality in the evaluation of their performance.Plan and manage finances and administration in general, especially the preparation of annual activities.Develop business plans, prepare budgets, manage expenditures in accordance with approved budgets, and prepare progress reports for activities.Identify opportunities for strategic partnership and steer towards the establishment and strengthening of collaborative projects with such partners.Work closely with the Heads of Unit in their area of ​​competence to provide them with a strategic direction for the implementation of their activities.Lead specific resource mobilization activities such as donor identification and relationship management as well as proposal development.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.
• Twelve (12) years extensive experience with multilateral negotiations and advice to governments with program fund resource mobilization, including five (5 ) years at a supervisory level.
• Knowledge and experience in project formulation for the prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases and zoonosis at the regional level.
• Knowledge of relevant veterinary policies and regulations governing livestock sector development.
• Experience in establishing strategic partnerships, working collaboratively, and building consensus with multiple internal and external stakeholders on complex issues in a multi-disciplinary governmental or international organization.
• Experience in project planning, formulation, and implementation, as well as funding requirements of major multilateral and bilateral funding partners.
• Technical capacity to develop a vision, mission and strategies and 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:

• Recent and progressive senior leadership experience in establishing strategic partnerships, working collaboratively, and building consensus with multiple internal and/or external stakeholders on complex issues in a multi-disciplinary governmental or international organization.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Heads of Institutions, elected officials and statutory employees to facilitate compliance, build engagement, resolve conflicts, and obtain support for change; develops 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. (e.g. Code of Ethics, Procurement Code, legal institutional framework).
• 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.
• 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 exercise the initiative and resourcefulness necessary for simultaneously addressing a variety of stakeholder needs, pursuing multiple tasks, and achieving positive outcomes.
• Ability to create synergies with client groups (e.g. ECOWAS institutions/specialized agencies, management cadre, member-state representatives, programme interest groups) and other to achieve objectives in setting and monitoring service standards and indicators.
• Ability to motivate and engage others in promoting or adopting best practices in client services (e.g. dashboards, incentive management, feedback mechanisms);
• Well-developed ability to identify and improve services and client interactions through appropriate networks and to create innovative ways of addressing these in an accountable and transparent manner. (e.g. public/private partnerships, service level agreement, feedback loops, surveys).
• Knowledge of anti-discriminatory/human rights regulatory environment and ability to advance strategies to foster an inclusive, healthy organization, respectful of the cultural diversity and gender of people and their skills and free from harassment and discrimination.
• Sound understanding of diverse cultural views especially within west Africa, being sensitive to group differences, gender issues and ability to contribute to, advocate for, and/or develop policies which are gender neutral and sensitive to various cultures.
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive interactive work environment that can effectively bring together a wide spectrum of ideas and experiences to solve problems, develop projects/programs and improve results.
• Ability to remain objective during appraisals, evaluations and when managing conflict regardless of cultural differences positions or opinions while encouraging staff to overcome cultural barriers and background differences.
• Practical understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, workplace culture and dynamics with a keen ability to identify/address strengths and weaknesses, stimulate creativity, reduce resistance to change and improve the achievement of strategic objectives.
• Ability to apply knowledge of ECOWAS legal framework, strategic priorities, and operational standards to develop/modernize policies and programs and/or to implement policies and programs in a sustainable and effective manner.
• Well-developed business, social and political acumen, demonstrating a strong commitment to the vision and mandate of ECOWAS coupled with a broad knowledge of the economic, political, and social state/trends of member states.
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills on matters relating to policy and strategy development important to the realization of the ECOWAS mandate and the improvement of outcomes for Western Africa and its member-states.
• Ability to analyze reports/dashboards as well as dynamics between people and between organizations and recognize areas of potential obstacle or challenge and develop solutions or alternatives to remove barriers and achieve strategic/operational priorities.
• Ability to anticipate the effects of environmental changes (e.g. economic trends, social crisis), interpret context and implications of key issues and develop and make sound recommendations.
• Ability to inform an analysis by way of a thorough understanding of the environment, of well thought out insights and meaningful dialogues.
• Ability to make prudent decisions relating to the management of human, financial and material resources, considering both quantitative and qualitative sources of information.
• Ability to actively listen to understand the impact of issues and perspectives of others before making assertions, decisions, or recommendations.
• Builds multiple external collaborative relationships to support strategic and operational objectives; identifies the key issues and accommodates the key players with well thought out communication and stakeholder management plans.
• Ability to communicate with clarity and conviction, make compelling presentations which promote new insights, ideas and perspectives and a better understanding of issues/challenges.
• Proficiency in oral and written French and English languages with the ability to give honest feedback, recognize performance and manage non-performance while creating opportunities for open and constructive dialogue.
• Excellent negotiation and conflict management skills focusing on building and nurturing effective and collaborative relationships.
• Fluency in one of the three ECOWAS official languages (English, French & Portuguese).
• Superior planning skills exemplified by setting clear expectations and conducting consistent and effective oversight of performance management practices to ensure goals and standards are met.
• 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 enable the development of organizational and individual talent throughout the implementation of strategic, operational, programme, project and individual plans.
• Ability to implement plans, mobilizing/engaging people, identifying critical success factors, mitigating risks, monitoring indicators and feedback, initiating course corrections and building capacities for sustainability.
• Ability to institute rigorous monitoring, and evaluation practices and to learn from setbacks and mistakes to ensure continuous improvement.

Salary
USD111,765.86 annually.

Application Closing Date
2nd March, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their correctly filled Application Form, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation letter to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Click here to download the application form (Docx.)

Note

• Female applications are encouraged.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications initially submitted with only the CV remain acceptable.
• ECOWAS does not charge a fee for recruitment and will not request for your account details.