Procurement Officer, Budget, Invoice & POM at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Job Code: 20003137
Grade: P3/P4

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Head of Procurement, the incumbent shall be responsible for recording, analyzing, and reporting on financial transactions of all procurement related activities (including Grant).

Roles and Responsibilities

• Estimate and establish cost parameters and budgets for purchases.
• Check all procurement related invoices before payment.
• Create and maintain good relationships with vendors/suppliers.
• Maintain records of purchases, pricing, and other important data.
• Review and analyze all vendors/suppliers, supply, and price options.
• Develop plans for purchasing equipment, services, and supplies.
• Support the Negotiation on the best deal for pricing and supply contracts.
• Maintain the supplies of high-quality products.
• Maintain and update the list of suppliers and their qualifications, delivery times, and potential future development.
• Work with team members and the Head of Procurement to complete duties as needed.
• Support the preparation of the Department of General Administration and Conference Budget to conform to the requirement of the SAP System and in line with the ECOWAS Financial Regulation.
• Investigation of all purchase requisitions and purchase orders to ensure appropriate account assignments are applied.
• Check Budget commitments on Purchase requisitions & Purchase Orders (POs). Monitor POs and verify Invoices for payment.
• Perform any other task assigned to the supervisor.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree (or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Commerce, Supply Chain, Law or a related field from a recognized University.
• 5 years of progressively responsible experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration or a related area; experience working in procurement uniting an International Organization, NGO, or Multilateral Aid Agencies or equivalent; experience working with financial processes of pooled funds.
• Knowledge of procurement policies, processes, and procedures and of purchasing and accounting techniques; good judgement and knowledge of financial rules and regulations; ability to research and gather information from a variety of sources.
• Ability to research, collect, record, and preserve all relevant internal control measures and information (including electronic format) ensuring that a comprehensive information chain is established and maintained.
• Knowledge of all operational processes to identify and evaluate weaknesses in surveillance controls; ability to strengthen processes to actively mitigate/eliminate the potential for non-compliance and breach of ethics; ability to create pattern analysis and statistical models of processes and controls to detect anomalies/weaknesses.

Age Limit:

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

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Ability to persuade/influence others to consider a certain point of view, adopt a new idea or implement new methods and practices.
• Ability to lead a team of trainees/junior staff and instill a spirit of teamwork to engage employees and achieve a well-defined set of activities.
• Ability to respect the chain of command in an appropriate manner.
• Ability to resolve challenges that occur with minimal direction and/or to recommend and explain solutions or alternatives for approval.
• Ability to utilize the Code of Ethics to manage self, others, information and resources.
• Ability to mentor others and create feedback loops with supervisors, colleagues and subordinates to build strong working relationships and improve performance.
• Contribute to maintaining organizational unit’s performance goals and standards.
• Interpersonal skills with the ability to keep a client informed of progress or setbacks in projects of relevance to the timeline, quality, and quantity.
• Ability to proactively interact with clients and build strong trusting relationships based on mutual respect and regular discussions.
• Ability to establish and sustain professional credibility with clients/stakeholders in a manner that anticipates their needs, mitigates issues and that carefully balances professional obligations with the need to be sensitive and responsive to their needs.
• Ability to counsel, advise, consult, and guide others on matters pertaining to assigned client service responsibilities and established client service standards.
• Demonstrate respect for cultural differences, fairness, and ability to relate well with People from varied backgrounds, nationality, gender, ethnicity, race and religion.
• Understanding of diverse cultural views especially within West Africa, with sensitivity to group differences; ability to challenge bias and to practice tolerance and empathy.
• Ability to listen actively, consider people’s concerns and apply judgement, tact, and diplomacy.
• Ability to work in a diverse and inclusive interactive environment that benefits from diverse strengths.
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Ability to encourage, empower, and advocate for people in an unbiased and transparent manner.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS institutions, sectors, programmes and policies.
• Knowledge of ECOWAS internal operational requirements of programs, projects, services, and systems required to achieve work assignments and meet performance goals.
• Knowledge of rules and procedures of ECOWAS associated assigned responsibilities and ability to explain these clearly to others.
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS culture, structures and performance issues and priorities impacting assigned responsibilities.
• Knowledge of member states development trends, indicators, challenges, and opportunities as it relates to project/programme assigned to own position.
• Ability to study data/information from a variety of sources, identify anomalies, trends and issues, present findings, and make recommendations.
• Ability to break down problems or processes into key parts to identify and solve gaps in service, quality assurance, compliance, and performance targets.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply techniques to generate creative ideas and new approaches to meeting goals.
• Ability to use evidence and research to inform policies and programs and identify relevant and appropriate sources of information, including stakeholders, regional institutions and/or internal committees.
• Demonstrate operational computer proficiency using appropriate tools.
• Ability to make sound use of graphics and tables to effectively present numerical data to write semi-complex technical reports/proposals and edit/check templates, letters, etc.
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner through both writing and verbal means,
• Exhibit interpersonal skills, make presentations, express opinions, and debate ideas with others in a constructive manner.
• 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.
• Ability to develop and implement an individual action plan for achieving specific work goals.
• Identify, organize, and monitor tasks throughout to facilitate execution.
• Ability to contribute and/or lead on projects as per accepted project management standards and techniques, to co-ordinate contributions by others to set and meet deadlines.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, and work within timelines, giving attention to details, stakeholders, indicators, and risks.
• Ability to identify, collect and assess indicators to monitor performance and to take proactive remedial action as required.

Annual Salary

• UA49,106.81 / USD77,480.72 - UA56,591.37 / USD89,289.87