JOB SUMMARY

Under the supervision of the Resident Representative, the Political Advisor will work with the latter to inform and advise him on various matters and issues related to sub-regional policies. S/He will handle the various matters and proffer advice on national and sub-regional policy issues. S/He will also draft policy speeches in which s/he will present the Commission’s ideas, options, and opinions to inform stakeholders and explain ECOWAS’s position on various matters.

The Political Advisor takes into consideration all factors of a given situation in order to prepare a proper analysis and advise his/her supervisor accordingly.

ROLE AND RESPONSABILITIES

·       Establish a monitoring system to collect information that can influence the policy of the country or area.

·       Regularly analyse political situations and events and their consequences.

·       Explain the organisation’s position, prepare briefing notes and draft the political speeches of the Permanent Representative.

·       Give appropriate advice on developments in the country and ECOWAS’ position to the Resident Representative.

·       Analyse the laws and regulations of the area and provide information on the political situation in the country to the Resident Representative.

·       Maintain close ties and contact with the leaders and all political stakeholders in the country to clarify ECOWAS’ position on all subjects.

·       Under the supervision of the Representative, participate in meetings organised by the government or the political class to which ECOWAS is invited.

·       Ensure strategic monitoring of the matters under his/her responsibility.

·       Collaborate in the development and implementation of the policy content of the ECOWAS Commission’s statutory meetings.

·       Carry out any other task within his/her area of competence or expertise, at the request of the Resident Representative.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

·       Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, Economics, International Relations or any other social science from recognized university.

·       7 years of relevant experience political affairs, governance, diplomacy, conflict resolution, security or related field

·       knowledge and understanding of the history, political or economic context and background of the policy area in a sector or field of operation to assist in development and use of a sound evidence-based policy formulation and implementation.

·       Ability to understand and apply approaches, techniques and tools that draw on a wide range of inputs and improve the quality and pace of policy making.

·       Knowledge and understanding of key stakeholders in the policy area, such as experts, interest groups, etc and different country legislation in the focus area to assist in aligning ECOWAS policies, with continental and international development agenda.

·       Ability to demonstrate skills in policy formulation and analysis in social sciences as well as technical report writing.

·       Ability to conduct in-depth research that will lead to policy formulation and implementation.

AGE LIMIT:

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

ECOWAS KEY COMPETENCIES

• 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 potentials, motivate and guide 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 chain of commands in an appropriate manner.
• Develop on—the-job training techniques paired with excellent coaching and mentoring skills; knowledge of new staff orientation approaches to facilitate 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.

• Ability to consider the impact of a shift in 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, bottle necks, time constraints affecting quality and quantity of client services.
• Ability to anticipate growing client needs and expectations to continuously improve quality, timelines, service delivery and addressing client questions in a timely manner.
• Ability to communicate openly with clients, keeping them informed of progress and issues requiring attention/resolutions.

• Ability to implement programmatic changes in a manner that ensures a biased-free work environment, 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.
• Ability to 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 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 project/programme assigned to own position

• 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 re-evaluate 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; and 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.

• 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.

• 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 monitor 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, adjusting 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.