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: Legal Adviser, Internal Matters

Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Institution: ECOWAS Commission
Grade: P3
Status: Permanent
Departement: Office of the President
Directorate: Legal Affairs
Division: Litigation And Internal Matters
Line Supervisor: Principal Legal Adviser Litigation and Internal Matters

Role Overview

• Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Principal Legal Adviser, Litigation and  Internal matters and Litigation, the Legal Adviser Internal Affairs, will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

Roles and Responsibilities

• Provide legal expertise to ECOWAS Commission in implementation of the ECOWAS mandate;
• Assist in the drafting of policy documents, organic and operational documents for the ECOWAS technical departments;
• Assist in the review and finalization of legal documents and follow up its implementation in Member States;
• Give and draft legal opinion;
• Build synergies amongst legal advisers;
• Produce reports and write ups on legal related issues.
• Assist in Support resource mobilization and manage budgeting and financial disbursements for the legal activities.
• Assist in increasing the awareness of decision makers,
• Undertake other duties that may be assigned by the Head of Division.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in law, with a specialization in international, administrative or commercial law from a recognized university;
• 5 years progressively practice  experience as a lawyer in the legal office of an intergovernmental organization or government;
• Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to international law;
• Knowledge  and understanding of International law ; theories, concepts and approaches relevant to organized crime, illicit trafficking, drug demand reduction, etc.;
• Knowledge of relevant regulations and rules of international organziations, as well as of applicable jurisprudence; legal and administrative expertise to analyzing a diverse range of issues and problems, in the context of the disciplinary process, and to develop innovative and creative solutions and to litigate employment-related matters.

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• 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 team of trainees/junior staff and instill a spirit of teamwork to engage employees and achieve a well-defined set of activities;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner;
• Ability to resolve challenges that occur with minimal direction and/or to recommend and explain solutions or alternatives for approval;
• Ability to utilize the  Code of Ethics to manage self, others, information and resources;
• Ability to mentor others and create feedback loops with supervisors, colleagues and the subordinates to build strong working relationships and improve performance.
• Contribute to maintaining organizational unit’s performance goals and standards.
• Interpersonal skills with ability to keep a client informed of progress or setbacks in projects of relevance to timeline, quality and quantity;
• 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  client service standards;
• Demonstrate respect for cultural differences, fairness and ability to relate well with people from varied backgrounds, nationality, gender, ethnicity, race and religion;
• Understanding of diverse cultural views especially within West Africa, with sensitivity to group differences; ability to challenge bias and to practice tolerance and empathy;
• Ability to listen actively, consider people’s concerns and apply  judgement, tact and diplomacy;
• Ability to work in a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths;
• bility and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Ability to encourage, empower, and advocate for people in an unbias and transparent manner.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS institutions, sectors, programmes and policies;
• Knowledge of ECOWAS internal operational requirements of programs, projects, services and systems required to achieve work assignments and meet performance goals;
• 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;
• Knowledge of member states development trends, indicators, challenges and opportunities as it relates to project/programme assigned to own position.
• 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.
• Demonstrate operational computer proficiency  using appropriate tools;
• Ability to make 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 in a succinct and organized manner through both writing and verbal means, ;
• Exhibit interpersonal skills, make presentations, express opinions and debate ideas with others in a constructive manner;
• 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.
• Ability to develop,  implement an individual action plan for achieving specific work  goals;
• Identify ,organize and monitor tasks throughout to facilitate execution;
• Ability to contribute and/or lead on projects as per accepted project management standards and techniques, to co-ordinate contributions by others  to set and meet deadlines;
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and work within timelines, giving attention to details, stakeholders, indicators and risks;
• Ability to identify, collect and assess indicators to monitor performance and to take proactive remedial action as required.

Annual Salary
UA49,106.81,USD77,480.72

Application Closing Date
24th April, 2020.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should download the Application Form below, fill it out correctly; attach a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation Letter and send to: b6legaimat@ecowas.int using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Click here to download Application Form (Ms Word)

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