Head of Administration and Finance

Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the incumbent shall be responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing of finance, administration, human resources, and support services of the Agency.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensure compliance with ECOWAS and partners’ administrative and financial policies and procedures.
• Provide guidance in financial planning for the Centre.
• Supervise and update special accounts.
• Oversee the development of a database of the Centre’s financial records.
• Develop a financial control management system based on the provisions of the ECOWAS Financial Regulations and best practices.
• Monitor the Centre’s accounting and cash management.
• Coordinate the drafting of mid-term and annual reports on the activities of the Centre.
• Prepare and monitor implementation of the Centre’s budgets.
• Review and find solutions to financial variations in the implementation of the Centre’s programmes.
• Co-sign with the Executive Director of the center all financial documents including the payment methods envisaged (transfers, checks and cash).
• Prepare and present periodic financial statements.
• Prepare quarterly financial and management reports.
• Supervise preparation of periodic reports on the statements of accounts and bank reconciliations.
• Supervise the management of special accounts and follow up on direct payments.
• Delegate and supervise the evaluation of suppliers’ invoices and payments.
• Follow up on staff performance appraisals.
• Oversee the implementation of the centre’s information and communication technology strategy linked to RAHC activities.
• Prepare and provide support to audit missions.
• Supervise updating of fixed assets register.
• Coordinate travel and missions of staff and guests of the centre.
• Supervise all administrative activities during meetings or workshops organized by the Centre.
• Supervise activities of the staff in his/her unit.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by supervisor.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree or its equivalent in Administration and Finance, Business Administration or in a similar field from a recognized university.
• Ten (10) years of professional experience in accounting, financial, budget operations management, and procurement, of which 2 years are at a supervisory level.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS financial regulations and procedures and ability to apply them.
• Ability to provide technical guidance in various areas of administration, finance, accounting.
• Demonstrated knowledge of network development to support financial data.
• Demonstrated practical knowledge of relevant financial accounting principles and concepts to perform tasks in accordance with the generally accepted International Public Service Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and principles.
• Demonstrate professional competence and mastery of position-related issues; proven knowledge of good accounting practices, ECOWAS financial policies.
• Sound knowledge of financial and budgetary principles and practices, budgeting and financial administration.
• Professional Qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA, ICA, will be an advantage.

AGE LIMIT

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

ECOWAS KEY COMPETENCIES

• Ability to lead in assigned programs and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfilment of the organization’s mandate.
• Ability to lead by example and organize teamwork to encourage cooperation to achieve targeted results, champion and build momentum for change and to bring about employee engagement; develops and implements internal controls for pilot program to manage potential barriers to implementation.

• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner.

• Excellent self-management skills, demonstrating ethics and integrity, confidentiality and displaying due regards for internal controls of rules, delegations, and transparency.
• Ability to bring together complementary skills/expertise, assess individual contributions and recognize/address accomplishments and shortcomings in a manner that brings continued success to the organization.
• Knowledge of program management at the level usually acquired from a certification in program management.

• Ability to research benchmarks and trends to bring about the best recommendations for the development and improvement of programs/projects that will best serve the community/organization.
• Well-developed networking and interpersonal skills to seek feedback, information, and data from a network of professionals from multiple countries/sectors/organizations and to identify and prioritize the most critical community requirements.
• Ability to manage and co-ordinate client management initiatives and make recommendations.
• Ability to develop and implement best practices in client services.
• Ability to develop and implement stakeholder management plans, programs and initiatives to obtain buy-in on new initiatives, to better understand dissenting views, to obtain resources and to increase perceptions of success.

• Ability to be diplomatic, tactful and respect of other people from varied backgrounds, understanding diverse cultural views especially within West Africa with the ability to convert diversity into opportunities to improve program/operational outcomes.
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths bringing together innovative practices.
• 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 and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Ability to serve the interest of culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and persons with disability without prejudice and bias.

• Understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute, and lead effectively.
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political, and social situation and trends in member states, as pertains to own scope of work.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS best practices, program management approaches and research techniques to lead and/or contribute to the development or assessment of programs, projects, or initiatives.
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS rules and procedures in order to appropriately interpret and apply directive text, provide technical advice, coach others and assess performance.

• Ability to analyse a situation by using indicators to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success, in making decisions.
• Ability to pull together information from different sources to identify the cause of problems, consequences of alternative causes of action, potential obstacles, and ways to avoid the problem in the future.
• Ability to break down very complex situations/information into simple terms to explain recommendations and conclusions aimed at solving problems or improving operations/programs/projects.
• Ability to develop new insights into situations, apply innovative solutions to problems and to design new methods of addressing issues or disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or no longer effective.

• Ability to communicate with impact, clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner conveying credibility & confidence when making presentations, setting expectations, and explaining complex issues.
• Ability to listen intently and correctly interpret messages from others and respond appropriately.
• Accomplished technical writing and editing skills.
• 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.
• Ability to give constructive feedback, provide recognition, address shortcomings, and motivate direct reports to work at peak performance.
• 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.

• Superior organizational and project/program management skills with significant experience identifying timelines, targets, costs and resources necessary to deliver on operational/program/project outputs.
• ability to set effective goals and targets for self, others, and the work unit and adjusting work or project priorities in response to changing circumstances.
• Ability to identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired capacity (e.g. training, structural realignment, partnerships, reallocation of resources.
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring, and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs (e.g. management indicators, project milestones, program results, processing targets).

• Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Assessment method: Assessment of qualified candidates may include a written exercise and a competency-based interview.