Secretary at European Centre for Election Support (ECES)

Reports to: Project Director and ECES Executive Director
Duration: 52 Months with a 3 Months probatory period

Organizational Context
The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) is a not for profit private foundation
headquartered in Brussels a global remit. ECES promotes sustainable democratic development through the provision of advisory services and operational support in favor of all electoral stakeholders, including electoral management bodies, civil society organizations dealing with civic & voter education and election observation, political parties and parliaments dealing with electoral reforms, media, security forces and legal institutions dealing with electoral dispute resolution.

ECES holds the Vice Presidency of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), the most important network of European civil and political society organizations working on democracy assistance. It is composed by 14 members from 11 EU Member States. EPD is the first Community of Practice on democracy assistance operating at the EU level advocating for a stronger presence of democracy support on the EU agenda. In this context, ECES and EPD have jointly crafted a strategy called "A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support - EURECS", an innovative delivery mechanism to implement electoral and democracy assistance activities that are consistent with European values and EU policies.

Since February 2012, ECES has signed over 60 contracts in support of transparent, credible and cost-effective electoral processes and for the strengthening of democratic institutions in more than 35 countries essentially in Africa and in the Middle East. The founders and personnel of ECES have acquired extensive field experience and ECES can count on these knowledge and experiences as well as on a well its well established network in over 70 countries around the world. The EU is by far the largest ECES’ donor, however the organization has also signed contracts and partnered with many other organisations.

Project’s Context

• The project EU-SDGN - Support to Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC) is meant to complement the efforts of the Government to improve and strengthen democracy, especially with regards to the 2019 general elections.
• Within the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), national authorities renewed their commitment to cooperate in the pursuit and achievement of the objectives foreseen in the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) 2016 - 2020 Project.
• Within the project, EU-SDGN support to INEC is part of a broader EU programme composed of five components as follows: Support to INEC; Support to the National Assembly; Support to Political Parties; Support to Media; and Support to CSOs.
• The project contributes to the reinforcement of democracy in Nigeria through building strong, effective and legitimate democratic institutions.
• In particular, the projects aims to 1) enhancing the capacities of the INEC and other electoral stakeholders to deliver effectively; 2) strengthening INEC’s strategic planning, policy framework and operational capacity; 3) enhancing INEC’s internal communication and strengthening the institutional mechanisms to engage with stakeholders.
• The design of the EU-SDGN project was undertaken in close cooperation with all relevant electoral stakeholders in Nigeria, taking into account the findings and recommendations EU EOM to the 2015 general elections, as well as INEC internal review and report on the 2015 general elections.
• Furthermore, the project is built upon European Response to Electoral Cycle Support Strategy.

Functions / Key Results Expected
Under the supervision of the Project Director and ECES Executive Director, the Secretary will have the following specific responsibilities and with the following deliverables:

• Arranging day-to-day activities for the Project director
• Monitoring and processing all incoming and outgoing correspondence on internal memos, business letters, e-mails and faxes for the Project director.
• Screening all telephone calls, ensuring that appropriate parties receive the information.
• Writing letters & reports, sending mails and typing confidential works for the Project director.
• Responsible for manager’s dairy and replying his calls, mails and faxes.
• Booking an air tickets and ground transportation for the project experts.
• Arranging accommodation for the project experts.
• Following up and ensuring the good organization of trainings and conferences.
• Keep records, control and scheduling appointments for Project director.
• Responsible in setting up & maintaining an effective filing system for the office.
• Drafting all documents and reports for the Project director as required.
• Any other task required by the Project director or ECES Executive Director

Values:

• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the ECES;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling ECES’ values and ethical standards.

Recruitment Qualifications
Education:

• Advanced University Degree or equivalent.

Experience:

• Qualifications University Degree.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Proficiency in English.
• Ability to set Priorities.
• Organizational and filling Skills.
• Proven experience with MS Office Applications is a must.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent working level of the English language. Good knowledge of Hausa.