Conference Officer 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: Conference Officer

Job Code: 20000315
Location: Abuja
Institution: ECOWAS Commission
Grade: P3/P4
Agency: Commission
Status: Permanent
Department: Internal Services
Directorate: Conference and Protocol
Division: Conference
Line Supervisor: Principal Programme Officer, Conference
Supervising: Conference Assistants

Role Overview

• Reporting to the Principal Programme Officer Conference, the incumbent will be responsible for planning and coordinating day-to-day activities all aspects of event logistics and event management for all ECOWAS meetings and events and will interpret the official Order of Precedence in doing so.
• S/he, when necessary, will coordinate, prepare and support, with counterparts from other Directorates, the provision of in-presence and virtual high-quality conferences/meetings meeting and the production of budgets by conference assistants for all meetings, events in application of the official standard rates for services.
• S/he will guide the hierarchy on the suitability of conference facilities to be accredited by the Commission for use, while bringing technology to bear in the deployment of meeting logistics.

Role and Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate meeting logistics details of events such as conferences, business meetings, seminars, workshops, employee appreciation events and virtual events in accordance with established entitlements, order of precedence, standard rates and approved budgetary resources.
• Supervise allocation of meeting venues and related space, prepare floor plan of seating arrangements in accordance with ECOWAS Commission standard meeting requirements and order of precedence.
• Assist in the preparation of international conferences hosted by ECOWAS
• Initiate the preparation of the preliminary list and annotation of agenda items, the list of participants, administrative notes, letters of invitation and routine materials concerning the preparation of statutory and technical meetings.
• Deploy and supervise Conference Assistants in the provision of event management services during the ECOWAS Statutory technical meetings and all events as directed by Management
• Initiate and analyse requests from substantive offices for meetings and supervise the preparation and circulation of the Commission’s annual calendar of events, weekly schedule of meetings and events.
• Ensure that protocol arrangements are in place at ceremonial, official and other events.
• Use technology to carry out above-mentioned tasks.
• Provide administrative support as relates to the mounting of all meeting logistics
• Organize and manage and deploy all service providers and provide necessary feedback to hierarchy for confirmations of service to General Administration.
• Formulate, develop and implement event management policies, strategic goals, objectives and programmes for the team.
• Provide support to advise host government officials on logistics, financial and other requirements relating to MOU on the hosting of ECOWAS meetings and ECOWAS order of precedence.
• Format and process documentation for meetings.
• Supervise and communicate with service providers engaged for catering end event infrastructure to ensure a high level of service.
• Provide administrative and research support for the senior leadership which includes maintaining records and filing of important reference documents of high confidentiality.
• Draft monthly update for the Principal Programme Officer, Conference as required
• Develop and retain talent including completing performance appraisals, personal development and succession plans effectively and on time.
• Provide occasional out of hours support.
• Perform any other duties as may be required from time to time.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Public Administration, Social Sciences, Humanities, or a related field from a university/polytechnic of recognized standing.
• Professional qualification in Public Relations/Mass Communications, Hospitality, Hotel Management, Logistics Management would be an added advantage.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressive responsible experience in Conference Management, Hospitality, Hotel management, protocol, public information, external relations or related field.
• Knowledge of accepted norms, rules and customs of international diplomatic protocol, including practices developed within ECOWAS System or similar international organization.
• Knowledge of diplomatic and liaison services protocol in a governmental or international organization including experience developing constructive working relationships with host governments.
• Proven experience and the organization of international conferences including setting travel reservations.
• Experience in the ECOWAS System or an intergovernmental organisation is desirable with significant experience in organizing events/meetings in an international setting is required
• High proficiency in MS Office Suite, Event management software, (ETouches, Evenbrite, Cvent)
• Extremely strong reading, writing and comprehension in a second ECOWAS Official working language.
• Advanced level Command of Ms Office Suite and SAP.
• Functional knowledge of graphic design IT tools.
• Ability to harness AI to boost efficiency and performance.

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Demonstrated 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 small team of trainees/junior staff and instill a spirit of teamwork to engage employees and achieve a well-defined set of activities.
• Ability to resolve issues that occur with minimal direction and/or to recommend and explain solutions or alternatives for approval.
• Ability to utilize the ECOWAS Code of Ethics to manage self, others, information and resources.
• Ability to mentor others and create feedback loops with supervisors, colleagues as well as temporary or contract employees to build strong working relationships and improve performance.
• Superior interpersonal skills with ability to keep a client informed of progress or setbacks in projects of relevance to timeline, quality and quantity.
• Demonstrated 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 ECOWAS client service standards.
• Contribute to maintaining organizational unit’s performance goals and standards.
• Demonstrated respect, fairness and ability to relate well with people from varied backgrounds, nationality, gender, ethnicity, race and religion.
• Advanced understanding of diverse cultural views especially within west Africa, with sensitivity to group differences; ability to challenges bias and to practice tolerance and empathy.
• Ability to listen actively, consider people’s concerns and apply sound judgement, tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to work in a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths.
• Ability to encourage, empower, and advocate for people in an unbiased and transparent manner.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS institutions and sectors (e.g. location, mandate, inter-relationships, programs, services and occupations).
• Knowledge of ECOWAS internal operational requirements of programs, projects, services and systems required to achieve work assignments and meet performance goals.
• Excellent 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 sound 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.
• Good judgement with ability to use evidence and research to inform ECOWAS policies and programs and identify relevant and appropriate sources of information, including stakeholders, regional institutions and/or internal committees.
• Demonstrated operational proficiency in the use of computer in communicating using tools like email, word processing, excel, power point, and social media sites; ability to produce complex spreadsheets, graphics and charts to communicate trends, conclusions, observations, etc.
• Ability to makes 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 and in a succinct and organized manner through both writing and verbal means, either with electronic or print media.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to develop rapport, to make presentations, express opinions and debate ideas with others in a constructive manner.
• Fluency in one of the three ECOWAS official languages (English, French & Portuguese).
• Ability to develop and implement an individual action plan for achieving specific work goals and identify, organize and monitor tasks throughout to facilitate execution.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute and/or lead projects as per accepted project management standards and techniques, to co-ordinate contributions by others and to set and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to organize work, set priorities, and work within timelines, giving attention to details, stakeholders, indicators and risks.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, collect and assess indicators to monitor performance and to take proactive remedial action as required.

Salary
UA 49,106.81 / USD 77,480.72 - UA 56,591.37 / USD 89,289.87 annually.

Application Closing Date
30th March 2025.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications to: b50conferenceofficer@ecowas.int using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Click here to download the application form (Docx.)

Note

• Special notice: Female applications are strongly encouraged.
• Assessment method: Assessment of qualified candidates may include a written exercise and a competency-based interview.