GB JOBS: The Economic Community of West African States

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is a regional body created with the aim of constituting a West African Common Market and a Customs and Monetary Union. As part of its restructuring efforts, the Commission has zoned its Financial Control function to Nigeria (one of its member states) on a 4 year non-renewable contract. Our client, a Federal Parastatal, has therefore been mandated by the Commission to identify suitable candidates to fill this role.

Job Title: Financial Controller (REF: FC 001)
ECOWAS Commission - Nigeria

Job description

The ideal candidate under the guidance of the Council of Ministers and in harmony with colleagues and the community is responsible for all the financial control functions and will ensure the regularity of all financial transactions within the Community Institutions in line with laid down rules and regulations.
Key Responsibilities 

• Provides leadership, strategic direction and monitors overall performance of the financeteam.      
• Ensures that expenditures in the Community Institutions are in line with their approved budgets and proper implementation of budgetary and accounting controls.
• Ensures compliance with the Staff Regulations and other relevant texts of the Community.
• Collaborates with other regional international bodies, specialised institutions and public-private partnerships to facilitate the implementation of regional programmes.
• Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks linked to the overall objectives of the Commission, as well as those the accounting function. 
• Endorses all commitments of expenditures in the Community Institutions.
• Provides periodic reports on budgetary, financial and accounting monitoring of the Community for the consideration of the Administration and Finance Committee.
• Participates in the preparation of regulations aimed at improving the financial and accounting management of the institutions and makes proposals on the improvement of Financial and Accounting procedures to the Council of Ministers.

Special Skills & Core Competencies 

• Demonstrable understanding of Nigeria’s economic integration and diplomatic interests in the context of ECOWAS matters or demonstrated leadership ability in advancing and articulating Nigeria’s economic integration and diplomatic interests.
• Demonstrate good working competence of International Accounting and Auditing Standards used by International Public Sector Organisations and Government. These include IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards), International Auditing Standards (ISA), promulgated by IFAC.
• Must  have the ability to nurture contacts with senior-Government officials and deepen the institutional structure of  the Community.
• Demonstrate good interpersonal and diplomatic skills as well as average proficiency in at least two of the three ECOWAS official languages i.e.English, French and Portuguese.
• Must be IT literate with good exposure in the implementation or use of Enterprise Financial Management Systems such as Oracle Financials or S.A.P Enterprise systems used by institutions with a minimum  annual budget/turnover of $100 million or N13 billion
• Experience in the use of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools (CAAT) to manage  financial and procurement transactions documents online on real time basis is critical.

Desired Skills and Experience

• The ideal candidate must have a higher degree either in Finance, Accounting, Business Management or any other related field, e.g. Economics from a reputable university. Preferably at the doctoral level.
• Must be a qualified chartered accountant - preferably a Fellow of an international professional accounting body or institute recognised by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) e.g ICAN/ANAN/ACCA/ ACMA (UK)/CPA (USA).
• A  post graduate degree will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 20 years post qualification professional experience as a chartered accountant. 10 years of these must be specific international experience working with orconsulting for multilateral/bi-lateral organizations (e.g. World Bank, European Commission/EU, AU Commission, AfDB, USAID) or other donor organizations, multi-national corporations (MNCs) or conglomerate group of companies with responsibilities for financial controls, compliance with internal control structures, budgets and commitments.
• Possession of at least four years experience as a Senior Audit Manager or Partner in any of the major global accountancy firms will be an advantage.

Method Of Application 

• All applicants are required to describe how they meet all of the above criteria in a cover letter to be submitted along with an updated and comprehensive resume.
• Application for the role is also to be supported by a write-up (PDF Format only) of not more than 1000 words on the strategies to be deployed as the Financial Controller in promoting economic integration agenda of the commission’s economic activity in achieving its overall objectives.
• Any applicant who is found to have criminal records, has been previously indicted, or submits information that is established to be false will be automatically disqualified at any stage in the process.
• Candidates whose submission does not contain a detailed resume, cover letter and the 1,000 words essay will not have thier application processed
• Closing Date: Please note that receipt of application closes 4weeks from the date of the advert.

How to Apply 
Click Here to Apply

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