Directors or Director level Officers are responsible for providing the expertise in particular areas for the design and implementation of technical projects in line with ECOWAS objectives.

Directors in ECOWAS provide leadership and management to major sector(s) of technical activities which are substantively important to the accomplishment of the Institution’s mandate. They are responsible for interpreting governing bodies’, the President’s and the Commissioner’s broad visions and policy guidelines, and for developing and managing goals and objectives to meet that mandate. D1 positions typically supervise 10 or more professionals some of who may be Division Chiefs at the P5 level and thus supervise other professional staff.

Directors or Director level Officers report directly to Departmental Heads. As the principal link between the Directorate and the wider beyond, the Director is responsible for:

• Clearly communicating the Department’s vision to staff, explain how the Directorate’s activities aligns with them as well as ways of carrying out set tasks on it;
• Staying on top of fast-moving technical, political, social or economic changes;
• Remaining in frequent contact with the other Directors in the Institution to ensure that the work is harmonized with that of other Directorates as needed.

Managerial Tasks

The Director will supervise staff of the Directorate including Professional and General staff. He or she will utilize a range of transactional managerial skills to ensure that staff of the Directorate performs efficiently and effectively, and that they deliver the regular outputs needed at sufficient quality and in a timely manner.

Managerial tasks will include:

• Plan annual goals, objectives, activities and budget tied to the Department’s overall plans; and create measure and monitor goal achievement; negotiate suitable adjustments to goals and budgets;
• Implement performance-based budgeting within the Directorate;
• Organize the Directorate in an efficient way with clear reporting lines, minimal bureaucracy and optimal delegation of responsibilities and authority;
• Work with the relevant Directorate to ensure efficient and effective services such as recruitment, action on performance decisions, promotions and related matters;
• Set standards of work mechanisms to monitor staff output and ensure that standards are maintained and deadlines met without compromising quality of work;
• Manage the system of setting individual performance planning and standards through available Performance Planning and Evaluation systems;
• Provide regular and prompt performance feedback to direct reporting;
• Actively engaged in the development of staff to ensure skills are built to match plans, goals and existing structures;
• Create productive working atmosphere within the Directorate to encourages staff participation.

Use of Personal Expertise

While the Director will have a reserve of skilled professionals to draw upon, he or she may at times be called upon to apply his or her personal expertise directly in the relevant technical field in any of the following ways:

• Direct technical guidance on programme design or implementation in an area where he or she has high-level technical expertise;
• Represent ECOWAS in professional meetings or working groups; make speeches, negotiate agreements, mediate disputes;
• Lead or participate in technical missions to develop projects and programmes;
• Advise on issues relating to his or her area of technical expertise;
• Work with the relevant specialized Parliamentary Committee on regional legislation, as needed.

Technical Tasks

The Director of the Department of Epidemics and Disease Control (DDEDC) is charged with leading the overall agenda of Disease prevention and control in the ECOWAS region. Thus the job holder will work with Health Ministries and other partners to monitor and prevent epidemics and control diseases. The successful applicant is expected to coordinate the deployment of both human and material resources to assist countries during disease outbreaks and epidemics. He/she will work closely with the Communications unit of WAHO to develop strategies for managing and coordinating a comprehensive system of communicable disease surveillance and control. The DDEDC will also work closely with the other senior managers to ensure the smooth running of the institution. The DDEDC will also manage relationships with partner organizations, and must therefore be results-oriented and meet donor requirements.

The Director of the Department of Epidemics and Disease Control will be responsible for the following duties:

1.    Develop an orientation strategy for the Department of Epidemics and Disease Control;

2.    Develop mechanisms to provide preparedness and rapid response to support ECOWAS Member States in cases of epidemics or disease outbreaks;

3.    Lead the regional response to epidemics, in collaboration with other stakeholders in the region;

4.    Coordinate the development and promotion of strategies for reducing the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in ECOWAS Member States;

5.    Identify and support strategies to assist Member States in the procurement of medicines and vaccines at affordable prices;

6.    Lead the West Africa regional harmonisation process of medicines regulations;

7.    Play a lead role in the organisations’ policy dialogue, advocacy and resource mobilization efforts;

8.    Coordinate and provide technical leadership in the preparation of the department’s budget, annual work plans and reports;

9.    Ensure the identification, documentation, and dissemination of programme results and best practices;

10. Provide guidance and supervise professional and administrative staff;

11. Ensure the sharing of technical information among staff, partners, and other key stakeholders;

12. Establish and maintain close and effective relationship and collaboration with other programmes partners, donors and other stakeholders;

13. Assist WAHO in developing strategic documents with clear objectives and achievement benchmarks, implementation plans, financial projections and tools for evaluation;

14. Maintain compliance with all ECOWAS policies.

15. Execute any other duties as may be assigned.

·         Masters in Medicine, Public Health, Natural Sciences, Health Economics and or Social Sciences or related fields

Experience

·         Twelve (12) years professional experience including six (6) years relevant international experience and five (5) years in a supervisory or managerial capacity;

·         Possession of higher degree would reduce the required professional experience to ten (10) years with five (5) years in a supervisory or managerial capacity.

·         Experience in a variety of private and public institutions, preferably in a multi-cultural setting and in an international institution would be an advantage

by donors such as USAID, EU, World Bank, KFW or other donor agencies;

Competencies (Skills, Knowledge and Abilities)

·         Experience in developing and managing intervention strategies in epidemics and disease control, communicable and non-communicable diseases, medicines and vaccines;

·         Excellent facilitation skills to support ECOWAS Member Countries to implement policies and strategic plans;

·         Excellent oral and written communication skills with a proven ability to prepare technical materials;

·         Effective leadership and strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize work load, set and meet deadlines, handle multiple tasks simultaneously with particular attention to detail;

·         Successful track record in coordinating and managing complex health projects funded by donors such as USAID, EU, World Bank, KFW or other donor agencies;

·         Demonstrated abilities of team work, group facilitation, and interpersonal skills;

·         Basic computer skills: Microsoft Office package;

·         Ability to work effectively across language and cultural barriers;

·         Ability to write grant proposals;

·         Strong networking, negotiating and advocacy skills;

·         Good organizational and time management skills, with a proven ability to prioritize, adapt to rapidly changing health priorities;

·         Ability to delegate tasks clearly and effectively to staff; in particular to the support staff of the Directorate.

Age

Candidates should not be over 50 years old at the point of recruitment and must be citizens of one of the ECOWAS member states;

Language

Candidates must be fluent in one of the official languages of the Community; English, French and Portuguese. A working knowledge of another would be an advantage.