Litigation Officer at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Principal Officer Litigation and Internal Matters, the Litigation Officer will undertake legal advisory and dispute resolution roles and responsibilities as follows

Role and Responsibilities

• Prepare legal opinions and advise on next steps in respect of internal and external claims
• Carry out thorough investigations with a view to gathering facts, other information and documents required for prosecution or defense of matters involving the Commission, its agencies and special representative offices
• Prepare and review Court and Alternative Dispute Resolution ADR processes
• Represent the Commission, its agencies and special representative offices in prosecution or defense of cases in court or ADR
• Liaise with external counsel to ensure adequate representation of the Commission, its agencies and special representative offices in all dispute resolution proceedings
• Assist in maintaining and updating a register of all disputes involving the Commission, its agencies and special representative offices
• Assist in the implementation of mechanisms for updating Management of progress in respect of litigation and ADR
• Assist in initiating and representing the Commission, its agencies and special representative offices in out of court settlement negotiations as required
• Assist in ensuring the implementation of court decisions and the awards or outcomes of arbitration or ADR proceedings
• Perform any other task assigned by his or her supervisor

Academic Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Law, with a specialization in International, Administrative or Commercial law from a recognized university
• 5 years progressively practice experience as a lawyer in the legal office of an intergovernmental organization or government
• Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to international law
• Knowledge and understanding of international law theories, concepts and approaches relevant to organized crime, illicit trafficking, drug demand reduction and related areas
• Knowledge of relevant regulations and rules of international organizations, as well as of applicable jurisprudence legal and administrative expertise to analyze a diverse range of issues and problems in the context of the disciplinary process, and to develop innovative and creative solutions and to litigate employment related matters

Age limit:

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

ECOWAS Key Competencies:

• Ability to get groups to work together cooperatively, by enlisting active involvement, creating a climate for respect and openness, and applying effective techniques for group facilitation, explore their potentials, motivate them and guide them
• Organizes and leads cross divisional work group in developing creative solutions to address problems and or leads a small group of entry level professionals and administrative support staff
• Well developed on the job training techniques paired with excellent coaching and mentoring skills knowledge of new staff orientation approaches to facilitate understanding of the position and organization
• Ability to assign work to employees and provides timely and consistent feedback regarding technical proficiency and effectiveness
• Knowledge of project management at the level usually acquired from a certification in Project Management eg Prince2 or Project Management Professional PMP
• Ability to consider the impact of a shift in programmatic direction to the needs of internal and external clients
• Ability to promote and consider staff feedback to streamline processes in order to meet deadlines of relevance to client expectations ability to consistently maintain composure and direction in high pressure situations
• Well developed problem solving, mediation and conflict resolution skills to address discrepancies, complaints, bottle necks, time constraints affecting quality and quantity of client services
• Ability to anticipate growing client needs and expectations to continuously improve quality, and timelines and service delivery, addressing client questions in a timely manner
• Ability to communicate openly with clients or stakeholders, keeping them informed of progress and issues requiring attention or resolutions
• Excellent judgement and ability to implement programmatic changes in a manner that ensures a bias free work environment and fair and equitable application to new rules or regulations
• Demonstrated experience and ability to adhere to policies, goals, objectives, and principles of valuing diversity in performing everyday duties and responsibilities promoting or modeling behaviors that demonstrate tolerance and understanding of various cultures
• Ability to build value from leveraging diverse capabilities and inputs from various cultures, staff and clients
• Ability to seek out best practices to make organizational decisions of relevance to diversity management ensuring that project and program activities identify vulnerable areas and contain systemic checks
• Excellent knowledge of ECOWAS institutions and how the different organs relate to each other particularly as it relates to own work sector or programs
• Broad knowledge of ECOWAS legal framework with a sound knowledge of approaches to policy and program development as well as project management normally acquired through certification
• Well developed knowledge of the rules, processes and procedures of ECOWAS of pertinence to tasks related to own position
• Broad knowledge of member states trends, indicators, challenges and opportunities as it relates to sector or programme assigned to own position
• Creativity and flexibility to deviate from traditional methods in developing new procedures, processes and tools using technology to simplify methods and approaches whenever possible
• Ability to reevaluate current procedures and suggest improvements to ensure an effective, streamlined process
• Ability to gather and summarize information to predict stakeholder views on a new policy or programme and excellent analytical skills to assess external policies and trends when reviewing policy or programme options, pros, cons and recommendations
• Ability to synthesize complex information gathered from a variety of external sources and disseminates it to others in a logical manner
• Ability to apply appropriate methodology to discover or identify policy issues and resource concerns
• Ability to evaluate, incorporate, and communicate the latest developments in specialty area using institution or agency guidelines and criteria
• Well developed interpersonal, negotiation, networking and presentation skills with proven abilities to influence, explain complex information and demonstrate empathy and open mindedness
• Ability to demonstrate operational proficiency in the use of computer in communicating using technology tools such as email, word processing, excel, power point, collaborative software, graphic software
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner through both writing and verbal means either with electronic or print media
• Fluency in one of the three ECOWAS official languages English, French and Portuguese
• Good knowledge of internal planning cycles and ability to contribute to the development and to implement Community wide or institution policy by determining target audience, building coalitions with the appropriate population, and monitor progress
• Ability to consider external circumstances, factors and trends when organizing project activities to ensure the best outcomes
• Ability to review process outcomes, correspondence, reports, and policy documents to develop sound and achievable plans
• Ability to conduct meetings with staff, stakeholders, colleagues and others to ascertain organizational, program and or project needs adjusting plans and activities accordingly
• Ability to adjust project plans based on input from staff and stakeholders and or ability to design and implement guidelines, tools and templates to accommodate new or revised programmes and services.

ECOWAS Work Environment:

• ECOWAS provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and a healthy work-life balance.
• We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore, we encourage women to apply for positions that suit their competencies.
• Individuals from minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are also highly encouraged to apply.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of ECOWAS’s workforce.