Programme Officer (Accountant) at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Full Time

Job Title: Programme Officer (Accountant)

Location: Lome, Togo
Grade: P3/P4
Division: Administration and Finance Division
Directorate: PPDU
Line Supervisor: Head Administration and Finance
Supervising: Accounting Assistants

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Head of Administration and Finance, the incumbent is responsible for all accounting and the supervision of accounting assistants.
• Ensures the appropriate use of funds and the complete entry of accounting documents.
• Establishes bank reconciliations, analyzes accounts and prepares financial statements.

Role and Responsibilities

• Assume responsibility for bookkeeping and directly supervises assistants to ensure adequate segregation of duties.
• Establish and integrate the different Grant budgets into the SAP system.
• Ensure budgetary monitoring and produce monitoring reports for the various projects.
• Process all approved payments.
• Exercise close supervision of the Accounts Assistant responsible for Treasury by performing surprise checks on books and funds held at a predetermined time to ensure appropriate and duly authorized use of funds.
• Establish all bank reconciliations monthly.
• Prepare financial reports/statements under the supervision of the Head of the Administration and Finance Division of the Lomé pool.
• Be responsible for entries in the general ledger and personal registers.
• Accounts for all funds received from donors and prepares report for donors, as applicable.
• Supervise the submission of all reports received from program managers.
• File all supporting documents.
• Prepare the draft final account for each financial year.
• Ensure the upgrading of accounting assistants in the performance of their tasks.
• Verify transactions before data can be entered by accounting assistants and seeks authorization from the Head of Administration and Finance before making changes to accounts.
• Ensure accounting of project funds provided by partners.
• Carry out any other task entrusted to him by his supervisor.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business Management obtained from a recognized university or higher education institution.
• Have a minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in accounting.
• Have excellent computer skills.
• Having a good command of the FICO, Grant Management, Fund Management, MM and TVM modules of the SAP accounting software will be an additional advantage.
• Having proven knowledge of IPSAS standards will also be an additional asset.
• Have worked on the management of funds from different international donors.
• Have proven leadership skills, the ability to work in a team, create and maintain good interpersonal relationships.
• Be able to work under pressure in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.
• Work in collaboration with colleagues on mission, assume responsibilities.
• Keep abreast of new developments in own profession/profession.
• Actively seek professional and personal development.

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 the 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 subordinates to build strong working relationships and improve performance.
• Contribute to maintaining organizational unit’s performance goals and standards.
• Interpersonal skills with the ability to keep a client informed of progress or setbacks in projects of relevance to the 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 needs, 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.
• Ability 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 unbiased 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 and 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.

Salary
USD65,357.05 – USD76,632.37 Annually.

Application Closing Date
6th March, 2024.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their correctly filled Application Form, Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation letter to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Note

• Female applications are encouraged.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications initially submitted with only the CV remain acceptable.
• ECOWAS does not charge a fee for recruitment and will not request for your account details.