Principal Officer, Administration and Human Resources at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

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: Principal Officer, Administration and Human Resources

Job Code: 20003462
Location: Bobo-Dioulasso - Burkina Faso
Job Status: Permanent
Grade: P5
Directorate: Healthcare Services
Division: Administration and Human Resources
Line Supervisor: Director Administration and Finance
Institution: West African Health Organization (WAHO)
Supervising: Human Resource Officer, Administrative Officer, Procurement Officer, PO ICT & Documentation

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Director of Administration and Finance, the Principal Administration and Human Resources Officer shall be responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing administration, human resources, IT and documentation and procurement units.

Role and Responsibilities

• Supervise the administration, human resources, procurement, and ICT& documentation units’ staff.
• Ensure planning, coordination, and control of the division’s
• Ensure the smooth running of day-to-day administrative affairs, including management of the work environment and space, equipment, and information storage and retrieval systems.
• Provide guidance on issues relating to staff matter, (recruitment, onboarding, appraisal, capacity building, motivation, promotions, leave, redeployment, discipline, separation from service and welfare)
• Coordinate shipment/freights, customs clearances, and the preparation of all related
• Coordinate the division’s activity planning, preparation, control, monitoring, and budget execution.
• Identify the operational needs, develop, and support implementation of the organisation’s Annual Procurement Plan.
• Prepare contracts and monitor payments to vendors and individual contractors for services rendered.
• Ensure that reliable information is provided to staff on the activities of the
• Put in place mechanisms to ensure the rational management of the Institution’s supplies, materials, and resources.
• Ensure the preparation of accurate, consistent, and objective reports in accordance with ECOWAS statutes and regulations.
• Ensure that actions and activities implemented are consistent with the strategic objectives of the institution.
• Liaise and coordinate with the Community’s HR family to ensure consistency of HR practices, sharing of experiences and mutual support.
• Ensure internal and external visibility of the division’s actions and
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• A Master's Degree in Business Administration, or Human Resource Management or Social Sciences, or relevant qualification in related field from a recognised university.
• At least 10 years of professional experience in administration or human resources management including 5 years at a supervisory level.
• Sound knowledge of ECOWAS policies, processes and procedures related to administration, human resources, and ICT.
• Proven experience in budgeting and procurement policies and
• Ability to provide technical advice on a wide range of administrative, human resources and ICT issues.

Age Limiti:

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

ECOWAS Key Competencies:

• Ability to lead in assigned programmes and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfillment of the organization’s
• 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
• 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
• Ability to manage and coordinate client management initiatives and make
• Ability to develop and implement best practices in client
• 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
• Ability to be diplomatic, tactful, and respectful 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
• 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
• Ability to serve the interest of culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and persons with disability without prejudice and
• Understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute, and lead
• 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 to appropriately interpret and apply directive text, provide technical advice, coach others, and assess
• Ability to analyze 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 design new methods of addressing issues or disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or no longer
• 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
• Accomplished technical writing and editing
• 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.
• Organizational and project/program management skills with significant experience identifying timelines, targets, costs and resources necessary to deliver on operational/program/project outputs in line with result-based management approach.
• 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 use participatory approach in project planning and identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired task.
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs.
• Ability to plan, organize, control resources, and to comply with policies, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Annual Salary
UA 53,809.91 / USD 84,901.27

Application Closing Date
6th November, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their attached CV, Motivation Letter, and correctly filled Job Application form to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Click here to download the application form (Docx.)

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