Senior Research Officer at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice

The Community Court of Justice was created pursuant to the provisions of Articles 6 and 15 of the 1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty as the principal legal organ of the Community. The Court’s main Mission is to “discharge and promote its judicial function of interpreting and applying Community texts as well as to ensure the protection of human rights in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner with the support of well-trained and motivated staff.” The Court imbibes Independence, Impartiality, Integrity and Accessibility as its core values.

To effectively carry out its mission, the Court seeks applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the underlisted position below:

Job Title: Senior Research Officer

Job Code: ECW/CCJ/SRO/006
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job type: Full-time
Grade: P4
Status: Permanent
Department: Research And Documentation
Institution: Court of Justice
Line Supervisor: Head of Division, Research Officer Legal Services and
Research

Role Overview

• Under the direct supervision of the Head of Division, Legal Services and Research, the incumbent shall, in accordance with the prevailing regulations and professional standards, undertake legal research, analyse and write legal opinions and reports on various issues pertaining to the judicial work of the Court and its day-to-day functioning as well as provide legal support to the staff in the execution of their duties as may be required.

Role And Responsibilities

• Undertake legal research and analysis on pending cases before the Court.
• Study and advise on the rules, practice, and jurisprudence of the Court.
• Produce thematic reports and a subject-matter Index of the jurisprudence of the Court.
• Draft legal briefs and opinions on various legal issues of interest to the Community.
• Prepare and review draft contracts and partnership agreements involving the Court.
• Produce academic papers and presentations on the work of the Court.
• Provide legal support to the Staff and other services of the Court, as required.
• Assist and represent the Head of Division on official engagements when required.
• Perform any other official assigned tasks.

Academic Qualifications And Experience
Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in Law, with a specialization in international, administrative, or commercial law from a recognized university.

Experience:

• 7 years progressively responsible experience as a lawyer in the legal office of an intergovernmental organization or government is desirable.
• Knowledge of international law; ability to apply legal expertise to analyzing a diverse range of complex and unusual legal issues and problems and in developing innovative and creative solutions.
• Knowledge of legal issues relating to the functions, structure, and activities of international organizations.
• Proficiency in legal writing and ability to prepare legal briefs, opinions, or legal submissions, and a variety of legal instruments and related documents.

Ecowas Key Competences
Leadership:

• Ability to get groups to work together cooperatively by enlisting active involvement, creating a climate for respect and openness, and applying effective techniques for group facilitation, exploring their potential, motivating and guiding them.
• Organize and lead cross-divisional work group in developing creative solutions to address problems and or lead a small group of entry-level professionals and administrative support staff.
• Ability to respect the chain of command in an appropriate manner.
• Develop on—the—job training techniques paired with excellent coaching and mentoring skills, as well as knowledge of new staff orientation approaches to facilitate a clear understanding of the position and organization.
• Ability to assign work to direct reports and provide timely and consistent feedback regarding technical proficiency and effectiveness.
• Ability to represent the organization effectively before external parties.

Client Service Orientation:

• The ability to consider the impact of a shift in a programmatic direction to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to promote and consider staff feedback to streamline processes to meet deadlines of relevance to client expectations.
• Ability to consistently maintain composure and direction in high-pressure situations.
• Develop problem-solving, mediation, and conflict resolution skills to address discrepancies, complaints, bottlenecks, and time constraints affecting the quality and quantity of client services.
• Ability to anticipate growing client needs and expectations to continuously improve quality, timelines, and service delivery and address client questions in a timely manner.
• Ability to communicate openly with clients, keeping them informed of progress and issues requiring attention/resolutions.

Multicultural Sensitivity And Advocacy:

• Ability to implement programmatic changes in a manner that ensures a bias-free work environment and fair and equitable application to new rules/regulations.
• Experience and ability to adhere to policies, goals, objectives, and principles of valuing diversity in performing everyday duties and responsibilities; promoting/modeling behaviors that demonstrate tolerance and understanding of various cultures.
• Ability to remain objective in managing conflict regardless of cultural differences /positions, gender differences, and encourage other staff to overcome cultural and gender bias and differences.
• Ability to build value from leveraging diverse capabilities and inputs from various cultures, staff and clients.
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths, bringing together innovative practices.
• Seek out best practices to make organizational decisions of relevance to diversity management, ensuring that project and program activities identify vulnerable areas and contain systemic checks.

Knowledge of Ecowas:

• Knowledge of ECOWAS institutions and how the different organs relate to each other, particularly as it relates to own work sector/programs.
• Knowledge of approaches to policy and program development of an international organization as well as project management.
• Knowledge of the rules, processes, and procedures of an international organization, of pertinence to tasks related to own position.
• Knowledge of member states development trends, indicators, challenges, and opportunities as it relates to the project/programme assigned to own position.

 Analytical And Critical Thinking:

• Creativity and flexibility to deviate from traditional methods in developing new procedures, processes, and tools, using technology to simplify methods and approaches whenever possible.
• Ability to reevaluate current procedures and suggest improvements to ensure an effective, streamlined process.
• Ability to gather and summarize information to predict stakeholder views on a new policy/programme; excellent analytical skills to assess external policies and trends when reviewing policy/programme options, pros, cons, and recommendations.
• Ability to synthesize complex information gathered from a variety of external and internal sources and disseminate it to others in a logical manner.
• Ability to apply appropriate methodology to discover or identify policy issues and resource concerns.

Communication:

• Ability to evaluate, incorporate, and communicate the latest developments in specialty areas using institution/agency guidelines and criteria.
• Develop interpersonal, negotiation, networking, and presentation skills with proven abilities to influence, explain complex information, and demonstrate empathy and open-mindedness.
• Ability to demonstrate operational proficiency in the use of computers in communicating using technology tools.
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner through both written and verbal expressions.
• Exhibit active listening skills to encourage stronger communication amongst team members, to show care and make them feel valued, and to drive employee engagement in all institutions and agencies.
• 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 And Implementation:

• Knowledge of internal planning cycles and ability to contribute to the development and to implement Community-wide or institution policy by determining target audience, building coalitions with the appropriate population, and monitoring progress.
• Ability to consider external circumstances, factors, and trends when organizing project activities to ensure the best outcomes.
• Ability to review process outcomes, correspondence, reports, and policy documents to develop achievable plans.
• Ability to conduct meetings with staff, stakeholders, colleagues, and others to ascertain organizational program and/or project needs, making adjustments to plans and activities accordingly.
• Ability to adjust project plans based on input from staff and stakeholders and/or ability to design and implement guidelines, tools and templates to accommodate new or revised programmes and services.

Eligibility:

• Must be a citizen of an ECOWAS Member State.
• Must not be more than 50 years of age at the time of recruitment. This does not apply to internal candidates.

Annual Basic Salary
USD 44,965.64 / 52,379.70.

Application Closing Dates
25th April, 2025. (Internal Candidates)

6th June, 2025. (External Candidates)

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their complete Application Documents to: senres_25int@courtecowas.org (Internal Candidates), senres_25ext@courtecowas.org (External Candidates) using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Click Here To Download Application Form (MS Word)

Application Documents
Applicants who meet the requirements must submit:

• An ECOWAS job application form
• An updated Curriculum Vitae,
• A signed motivation letter.

Note

• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed.
• Offers of employment will be subject to a satisfactory background check.
• Candidates must be ECOWAS citizens
• Candidates must be under 50 years. (This condition does not apply to internal candidates)
• The documents submitted shall not be returned. Only short-listed candidates shall be contacted.
• Offer of employment will be subject to a satisfactory background check and official documentation attesting nationality.