Programme Officer, IT/Communication at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Vacancy code: GOPA/PARCI/MBB/ITCOM/2019104
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job category: Professional
Department/office: ECOWAS, Dept. of External Relations
Contract type: Consultant

Details

• EU Support to the ECOWAS Commission through the WAEMU Institutional Capacity Building Programme implemented by GOPA Worldwide Consultants.

Background Information
The ECOWAS Commission adopted in December 2016 the Regulation PC/REX.4/12/16 establishing a Regional European Development Fund (EDF) Cell within the ECOWAS Commission to support the Regional Authorising Officer (RAO). The main objective of the Cell is the facilitation of project programming and preparation, coordination of activities with the different stakeholders, information, communication and training.

The role of the cell is to provide support to the RAO on the following:

• Identification, formulation, programming and coordination of the implementation of EU funded programmes;
• Monitoring and evaluation and audits of the EU funded programmes;
• Coordination among the ECOWAS departments involved in the implementation of the EU funded activities;;
• Dialogue with the EU, West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), ECOWAS Member States, International Cooperating Partners (ICPs) and all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the EU funded programmes;
• Support the preparation of meetings of the EU funded programmes governance bodies, including the Technical Working Group (TWG/GTT) and the Strategic Orientation Committee (SOC/COS) meetings;
• Follow up and monitoring of the implementation of the decisions of the Strategic Orientation Committee;
• Training to ensure the reinforcement of the capacities in the domains of programming, identification and formulation, implementation and financial & contractual management of EU funded programmes.
• Development of information systems as well as other systems for monitoring and evaluation for the implementation of the programmes at contributing to the efficiency of the cooperation, improvement of the results, easing the information flows among stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Major responsibilities include but not limited to the following, develop and oversee the Cells communication strategy and activities related to the Cell’s outreach.
• Ensure strategic and timely flow of information and key messages about the Cell, its operations, and its analytical work to key external and internal audiences.
• Work closely with the project teams to organize – often across multiple teams – press briefings; major conferences and seminars; public, print media, or broadcast media appearances; and other communications-related activities.
• Write and/or oversee the preparation, production, and dissemination of both routine and complex outreach products (e.g., backgrounders, media packets, news releases, op-eds/articles, radio/TV broadcasts, PowerPoint presentations, brochures, Q&As, videos, websites, speeches, briefing notes, feature stories, etc.) that promote the image of the EU-ECOWAS Cooperation.
• Work closely with ECOWAS, Department of Communications’ online and social media teams to manage and maintain the Cell’s website and social media, including Facebook and blog sites.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Communications, International Relations/Public Affairs, Journalism, Marketing, Political Science or other relevant field.
• 3 years of relevant experience in outreach and communications work, with specialized knowledge on working with media and social media.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and work well with diverse people.
• Knowledge and applied work experience in social media sufficient to execute, lead, or advise others in assuring that online communication and audience engagement tools and channels are fully leveraged.
• Ability to prioritize, work well under pressure and capably handle/juggle multiple tasks within tight deadlines. Experience working with cross-functional teams.
• Strong computer skills - has the ability to use standard technology packages, e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, Notes, Internet, etc.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English and at least one of the other two official ECOWAS languages (French or Portuguese) and an ability to convey complex ideas in a creative, clear, direct, and lively style.

General Professional experience:

• At least 5 years professional experience.
• At least 1 year of experience in working in West Africa Region.

Specific Professional experience:

• Communication - Very good ability at communicating with internal and external partners, and can articulate their communication needs; solid understanding of relevant international development topics.
• Social Media, Information Channels, and Communication Tools Awareness – Has moderate experience in and/or demonstrates excellent familiarity with and working knowledge of media channels and tools.
• Content Development - Has moderate experience in and/or demonstrates proficiency at a level sufficient to take full responsibility for the development of communication materials or lead others in developing drafts of communication materials.
• Content and Style Editing - Excellent written communications skills; has experience in and/or demonstrates substantive working or functional proficiency level sufficient to write, rewrite, or edit complex communications products for purposeful structure, clarity of ideas, and the logical, persuasive presentation.

Conditions of Employment
ECOWAS Member State Citizenship is required.


Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications and detailed CV to: itc.parci@gmail.com with the position applied for as subject of the email.