Principal Officer, Salary Policy & Pension Administration at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Grade: P5
Department: Human Resources
Directorate: Human Resources
Division: Salary Policy & Pension Administration
Line Supervisor: Director, Human Resources
Supervising: Salary Policy Officer; Employee Data Management & Reporting Officer; Pension & Staff Insurance Administration Officer

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Director, Human Resources, the incumbent oversees salary policy, Pension Administration, Insurance Management and Staff Data Management/Archiving
• The position is responsible for monitoring all tasks necessary to accomplish the organization’s payroll processing objectives, including relationships with internal/external auditors and all relevant stakeholders. The role manages payroll process and performs accounting-related tasks.

Role and Responsibilities

• Supervise human resources data management, archiving/payroll, pension management and staff insurance;
• Supervise Staff attendance management;
• Survey industry and/or community to determine organization’s competitive position in employee benefits;
• Study payroll systems to achieve alignment with HR benefits and other related and to ensure effective accounting support in line with best practices;
• Facilitate management and employee understanding of payroll procedures;
• Oversee the preparation of staff salaries and other emoluments on a monthly basis;
• Perform various variations analysis and reconciliations;
• Review and approve for processing, expenditures such as educational expense refunds and other staff related expenses;
• Supervise the preparation of payroll returns such as provident deductions and other payroll deductions and ensure the prompt payments of such returns;
• Implement budgetary control procedures and ensure that expenditures approved for payments have been provided for in the budget;
• Oversee the maintenance of all payroll records and ensure they are up to date;
• Review salary annually process in terms of annual increments;
• Maintain payroll pensions, benefits, allowances data in the ECOLink system;
• Facilitate smooth operation of  pension schemes;
• Assure company compliance with provisions of Employee Retirement Income Security Act;
• Supervise the development of benefits information and statistical and census data for actuaries, insurance carriers and management;
• Oversee Staff Insurance such as Group Life and Group Accident Insurance;
• Supervise staff data and archiving management both electronically and physically;
• Audit and Oversee employee records management;
• Prepare reports (gross payroll, hours worked, vacation accrual, pension deductions, benefit deductions, etc.) for management quarterly, year-end and when required;
• Analyze and supervise preparation and input of payroll data. Typically uses ECOLink/HCM system to produce accurate and timely payroll. Ensures compliance with all applicable regulations;
• Perform any other tasks that may be assigned by the Director Human Resources.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Master's Degree (or equivalent) in Human Resources, Finance, Social Sciences or Humanities from a recognized University.
• 10 years of professional experience in Human Resources Management, including 5 years at a supervisory level;
• Broad knowledge of human resources management with in-depth knowledge of practices, procedures and processes in several of the following sub-functions: recruitment and promotion, training and executive development, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, HR information systems, analytics, reporting, monitoring, strategic and workforce planning, talent management, salary administration and financial planning, pension and organizational design/position administration ;
• Demonstrated practical knowledge of relevant employment laws, rules, regulations, and principles with  deep understanding of opportunities and challenges unique to public sector management and international organizations;
• Knowledge of change management and organizational development, preferably in diversified and geographically dispersed public-sector and/or international organizations;
• Ability to lead on policy and program development initiatives, carry out consultations, produce options and research impacts/risks.

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Ability to lead in assigned programmes and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfillment of the organization’s mandate;
• 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;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner;
• Excellent self-management skills, demonstrating ethics and integrity, confidentiality 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.
• 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 and make recommendations;
• Ality to develop and implement best practices in client services;
• 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.
• Ability to be diplomatic, tactful and respectful 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 managing conflict regardless of cultural differences /positions, gender differences, and encourage other staff to overcome cultural and gender bias and  differences;
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Ability to serve the interest of culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and persons with disability without prejudice and bias understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute and lead effectively;
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political and social situation and trends in Member States, 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;
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS rules and procedures in order to appropriately interpret and apply directive or text, provide technical advice, coach others and assess performance.
• Ability to analyze a situation by using indicators to assess the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success in making decisions;
• Ability to pull together information from different sources to identify the cause of problems, consequences of alternative causes of action, potential obstacles and ways to avoid the problem in the future;
• Ability to break down very complex situations/information into simple terms   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 or disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or no longer effective.
• 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 and editing skills;
• Exhibit active listening skills to encourage stronger communication amongst   team members and to  drive employee engagement in all institutions and agencies;
• Ability to give constructive feedback, provide recognition, address shortcomings and motivate direct reports to work at peak performance;
• 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.
• Organizational and project/program management skills with significant experience identifying timelines, targets, costs and resources necessary to deliver on operational/program/project outputs in line with result based management approach;
• 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 use participatory approach in project planning and identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired task;
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs;
• Ability to plan, organize, control resources, and to comply with  policies, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Annual Salary

• UA66,123.98, USD104,330.42.