Administration and Finance Assistant – European Centre for Election Support

Organizational Context
The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) is a not for profit private foundation headquartered in Brussels a global remit. ECES promotes sustainable democratic development through the provision of advisory services and operational support in favor of all electoral stakeholders, including electoral management bodies, civil society organizations dealing with civic & voter education and election observation, political parties and parliaments dealing with electoral reforms, media, security forces and legal institutions dealing to electoral dispute resolutions.

ECES holds the Vice Presidency of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), the most important network of European civil and political society organisations working on democracy assistance. It is composed by 14 members from 11 EU Member States. EPD is the first Community of Practice on democracy assistance operating at the EU level advocating for a stronger presence of democracy support on the EU agenda. In this context, ECES and EPD have jointly crafted a strategy called “A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support – EURECS”, an innovative delivery mechanism to implement electoral and democracy assistance activities that are consistent with European values and EU policies.

Since February 2012, ECES has signed over 60 contracts in support of transparent, credible and cost-effective electoral processes and the strengthening of democratic institutions in more than 35 countries mainly, but not only, in Africa and Middle East. In addition to that, the founders and personnel of ECES have acquired extensive field experience and, taken together, ECES can count on a specific knowledge and a well-established network in over 70 countries around the world. The EU is by far the largest ECES’ donor, however the organization has also signed contracts and partnered with many other organisations.

Project’s Context
The project EU-SDGN – Support to Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria is meant to complement the efforts of the Government to improve and strengthen democracy, especially with regards to the 2019 general elections. Within the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), national authorities renewed their commitment to cooperate in the pursuit and achievement of the objectives foreseen in the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) 2016 – 2020 Project.
The project, EU-SDGN – Support to INEC is part of a broader EU programme in Nigeria of five components as follows: Support to INEC; Support to the National Assembly; Support to Political Parties; Support to Media; and Support to CSOs.
The project contributes to the reinforcement of democracy in Nigeria through building strong, effective and legitimate democratic institutions. In particular, the projects aims to 1) enhancing the capacities of the INEC and other electoral stakeholders to deliver effectively; 2) strengthening INEC’s strategic planning, policy framework and operational capacity; 3) enhancing INEC’s internal communication and strengthening the institutional mechanisms to engage with stakeholders.
The design of the EU-SDGN project was undertaken in close cooperation with all relevant electoral stakeholders in Nigeria, taking into account the findings and recommendations of the latest EU EOM, as well as INEC internal review and report on the 2015 general elections. Furthermore, the project is built upon European Response to Electoral Cycle Support Strategy.
Functions / Key Results Expected
The Administration and Operation Assistant Under the supervision of the Project Director, of the Executive Director of ECES and of the Administrative and Finances Manager will provide administrative, finance and operational support for all project activities. The Finance, Administration and Operation Assistant will have the following specific responsibilities and will provide the following deliverables:

Administration and Logistics:
Participate to the management of ECES Nigeria office premises in areas such as office space management, office maintenance and office security
Manage office contracts such as supply of water, electricity, newspapers, cleaning, etc
Manage ECES contracts related to communication (phones fleet) and transport (fleet of vehicles)
Participate to the security management of the Office (staff ID card, office access, etc)
Set up of a registration and filing system for all incoming and outgoing correspondences
Contribute to the preparation of Project staff’s contracts
Organize and maintain an efficient filing system for Project staff’s contracts
Assist the Administrative and Finance Manager in the implementation and evaluation of the logistical support to be provided to field activities

Procurement:
Perform purchases and procurements of materials, goods and equipment according to the projects’ needs and the corresponding administrative and/or forwarding procedures;
Research of suppliers, set up and maintenance of a data base on Nigeria’s market for goods and services
Manage office supplies
Follow up on orders placed with suppliers from request of quotes to delivery and stock management
Maintain the inventory of ECES Nigeria’s assets
Ensure that the Project’s Standard Operating Procedures are adequately implemented throughout the project’s life-span;
Contribute to prepare the activities’ projections;
Contribute to internal financial audit and expenditure verification control;
Contribute to the preparation of external financial audits;
Contribute to the preparation of financial documents/reports;
Implement all other working tasks deemed necessary by the Finance, Administration and Operation Manager and by the Project Director.
Values:
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the ECES;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Demonstrates integrity by modelling ECES’ values and ethical standards.

Recruitment Qualifications
Education:
Graduate University Degree in Management, Economics, Business Administration, Organizational Management etc
Experience:
At least three (3) years of relevant work experience in administrative and logistics functions;
Previous experiences in administrative and finance position within not for profit organizations and/or international organizations;
Experience in preparing financial and logistics reports/documents and audits;
Experience in developing financial and management reports;
Proven working knowledge of accountancy software/programmes;
Proficient knowledge of MS Office applications is a must;
Good interpersonal skills and result orientation;
Ability to work in a multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment;
Ability to perform effectively under high pressure, hardship conditions.
Experience in management of EU funding and in particular knowledge of basic rules and procedures for contracts defined in the Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for European Union External Actions (PRAG)
Language Requirements:
Excellent working level of English language in both writing and speaking.
Fluency in French is considered an asset. Good knowledge of Hausa

Application Closing Date
12th August, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their updated CV’s in PDF format to: nigeria@eces.eu

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