Principal Accountant – Disbursements at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

ROLE OVERVIEW

• Under the direct supervision of the Director of Budget & Treasury, the Principal Accountant (Disbursements) has responsibility for coordinating, formulating, and executing programmes and plans aimed at the proper management of the Commission’s internal and external payments processing and regularization of advances.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supervise and oversee the entire payment processes (internal & external vendors) of the Commission.
• Supervises, reviews, and ensures the accurate and timely processing of approved payments requests (Staff Vendors, External Vendors and ECOWAS Representative Offices)
• Coordinate, analyse and review reports on advances and ensures proper regularization of advances/expenditures.
• Ensure effective and efficient management, monitoring, and control of the payment process in accordance with ECOWAS Financial Regulations.
• Supervise and oversee the timely preparation of monthly expenditure and advances (staff and external vendors) reports, and other related reports.
• Reviews and endorses transaction documents and ensures they are carried out in the ECOLink system.
• Reviews and confirms vendor creation in ECOLink sequel to relevant approvals.
• Serve as ‘B’ signatory to all Commission bank accounts.
• Oversee the supervision of personnel of the Division, which includes work allocation, training, and problem resolution; evaluate performance and make recommendations for personnel action.
• Act as the Business Process Owner for these areas of responsibility in Disbursements (accounts payable, regularization of advances, etc.)
• Supervise the preparation of key reports to highlight the benefits derived from the System (ECOLink).
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, policies and procedures.
• Perform any other task assigned by the Line Supervisor.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree or its equivalent in Accounting, Banking & Finance, Economics, Finance, Management or in a similar field from a recognized University.
• 10 years’ experience in a complex organizational environment, in budget formulation, financial monitoring, accounting and financial reporting; including 6 years relevant international work experience and 5 years of management experience in finance and budget operations.
• Possession of a professional qualification in accounting such as ACCA, ACA, ANAN or other recognized accounting certification is an advantage.
• Knowledge of financial accounting principles and concepts including the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
• Good knowledge of general aspects of financial management software and of at least one ERP software. Previous specific experience with SAP will be an asset.
• demonstrated practical knowledge of relevant financial accounting principles and concepts to perform tasks in accordance with the generally accepted Accounting Principles and Standards of relevance to public sector and international organizations.
• demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter, accounting best practices, ECOWAS financial policies (e.g. revenue, accounts payable).
• Knowledge of financial and budgetary principles and practices, budget development and financial administration of resources.

AGE LIMIT

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

ECOWAS KEY COMPETENCIES

• Ability to lead in assigned programs and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfillment of the organization’s mandate (e.g. establish networks and benchmarks).
• 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.
• Excellent self-management skills, demonstrating ethics and integrity 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 (e.g. Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) or Program Management Professional PgMP).
• 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 requirements.
• Ability to manage and co-ordinate client management initiatives (e.g. feedback loops, surveys, studies, needs assessments) and make recommendations.
• Ability to develop and implement best practices in client services (e.g. dashboards, incentive management, feedback mechanisms).
• 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 success.
• Diplomacy, tact, and respect 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 outcomes.
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths bringing together innovative practices.
• Ability to remain objective in appraisals, evaluations and in managing conflict regardless of cultural differences positions, gender issues or opinions, and encourages staff to overcome cultural and gender barriers and background differences.
• Ability to serve the interest of a culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and some disable groups without prejudice, bias, or sympathy to a select group.
• Solid understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute, and lead effectively.
• Applied knowledge of the Community mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political, and social state/trends of member states, especially 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.
• Superior knowledge of the rules and procedures of ECOWAS to appropriately interpret and apply directive text, provide technical advice, coach others and assess performance.
• Ability to analyze a situation by way of indicators (e.g. performance, technical) to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success, in deciding.
• Ability to pull together information from different sources to identify the source of problems, consequences of alternative courses of action, potential obstacles, and ways to avoid the problem in the future.
• Ability to break down very complex situations/information into simple terms (using charts, diagrams, effective expository writing) 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 to design new methods of addressing issues/disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable, unavailable, or no longer effective.
• Proficiency in oral and written French and English languages.
• 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 appropriately.
• Accomplished technical writing skills (e.g. proposals, terms of reference, program assessments, blueprints, business processes) with well-developed editing.
• Ability to give honest feedback, provide recognition, address shortcomings, and motivate direct reports to work at peak performance.
• Fluency in one of the three ECOWAS official languages (English, French & Portuguese).
• Superior organizational and project/program management skills with significant experience identifying timelines, targets, costs, and resources necessary to deliver on operational/program/project outputs.
• 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 identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired capacity (e.g. training, structural realignment, partnerships, reallocation of resources.
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring, and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs (e.g. management indicators, project milestones, program results, processing targets).
• Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.