Accountant at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - 2 Openings

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: Accountant

Location: Abuja/Nigeria
Institution: ECOWAS Institutions
Grade: P3/P4
Status: Permanent
Department: Finance
Directorate: Budget & Treasury
Division: Finance
Line Supervisor: Principal Accountant
Supervising: Accounting Assistants
Slot: 2 Opeings

Role Overview

• Under the direct supervision of the Principal Accountant, the incumbent shall be responsible for all book-keeping, supervision of Accounts Assistants; ensure the preparation of monthly bank reconciliations and postings into the general and personal ledgers. Be in charge of salaries, asset register and ensure proper filing of all supporting documents on receipts and payments.

Role and Responsibilities

• Supervise the processing of financial claims and expenses in line with ECOWAS financial rules and regulations on a timely basis;
• Create and maintain all vendor master records in the financial system;
• Supervise and train the Accounting Assistants for maximum efficiency and output in a manner as to ensure proper segregation of duties;
• Scrutinize supporting documents for completeness, accuracy and validity of requests in line with applicable policies, procedure, rules and regulations;
• Review the work of Accounting Assistants to ensure proper documentation, proper approval, use of appropriate transaction codes in accordance with the ECOlink, ECOWAS Financial Regulations and the Manual of Accounting Procedures;
• Monitor ageing and due dates of payables in a timely manner;
• Act as liaison between Vendors, other departments and the Finance Directorate and offer impeccable customer service;
• Review/reconcile vendor statements on a regular basis;
• Review and/or prepare monthly reports on receivables and collections
• Prepare and submit monthly reports for management review;
• Investigate Vendors and Employee inquiries and track down delinquent invoices;
• Supervise the timely filing of all related vouchers and records to enable easy retrieval of documents and ensure proper archiving of prior fiscal year documents;
• Retrieve and furnish all relevant vouchers and details for internal and external audits
• Assist in the review and analysis of various accounting data;
• Assists in the analysis of open item managed accounts in the ERP system (SAP) and initiate corrective action;
• Assist in the collection of data for preparation of cost estimates and budget proposals for regular budget and extra-budgetary resources;
• Assists with the data extract for and preparation of various reports to management;
• Assist in monitoring budget implementation and performance;
• Supervise the processing of all approved payments, reconciliations of bank accounts statements on a monthly basis, and postings into the ledgers.
• Maintain and update the Asset Register including proper asset modification in SAP (sales, write off, Master data modification)
• Maintain records of all donor funds received and prepare report for Donors as may be required.
• Supervise the postings of all regularization vouchers and returns received from programme Officers.
• Supervise timely filing of all supporting documents relating to ECOWAS and Donor Funds;

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Accounting or Finance from a recognized university;
• 5 years of progressively responsible experience in finance, accounting and budget;
• Knowledge and technical competence in financial statements consolidation and ability to respond to internal/external audit queries;
• Knowledge of cash management practices, policies and procedures, and the ability to make appropriate recommendations to improve their accuracy, security timeliness and efficiency;
• Knowledge of various payments systems, banking terminologies, pension fund practices and relevant financial management processes and policies.

Age Limit:

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

ECOWAS Key Competencies:

• 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 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 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;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate 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 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
UA 49,106.81 USD 77,480.72 / UA 56,591.37 USD 89,289.87.

Application Closing Date
26th September, 2019.

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 [email protected] using the "Job Title" as the subject of the email.

Click here to download Application Form (Ms Word)

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