Executive Bilingual Secretary at the West African Power Pool (WAPP)

The West African Power Pool (WAPP) is a specialized institution of ECOWAS that operates in the general interest of the regional power network system in order to ensure a reliable power supply throughout the region (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo). Today, WAPP comprises thirty-five (35) electricity companies that are public and private power generation, transmission, distribution and commercialisation entities involved in the operation of the power network system in West Africa.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Executive Bilingual Secretary

Location: PMU Head Office, Abuja, Nigeria
Project Name: WAPP North Core/Projet Dorsale Nord Interconnection Project
Employing Institution: Project Management Unit (PMU) of the North Core Project
Reports to: PMU Director, with dotted line reporting to the Administration,
Protocol and Logistics Officer
Subordinates: Bilingual Team Assistants (dotted line reporting)
Appointment: Full time, approximately 36 months
Language required: Proficiency in English and French

Project Background

• The West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) is a specialized institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which, among others, ensures regional power system integration and the realization of a regional electricity market.
• Within the framework of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), the Governments of Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Togo and Burkina are collaborating to develop a sub-regional interconnection project referred to as the 330 kV WAPP North Core Project. The project involves the construction of approximately 875 km of 330 kV transmission lines from Nigeria to Burkina Faso, through Niger, and Benin, the construction or extension of seven substations, and the extension of two national control centers.
• The project will also involve the electrification of rural communities located within a 5 km radius on both sides of the line, and the implementation of several environmental and social mitigation measures.
• These include, among others, the implementation of Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) to provide for persons and communities affected by project implementation activities. The project is being financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB).
• Given the regional dimension of the project, and in order to enhance its coordination, the Energy Ministers of the North Core countries agreed to put in place an institutional framework which includes
•  the establishment of an Project Management Unit (PMU) to, among others, assist in the preparation and physical implementation of the North Core project.

Job Purpose

• Reporting directly to the PMU Director, the Executive Bilingual Secretary will have a dotted line reporting relationship with the Administrative, Protocol and Logistics Officer and work closely with him/her to provide executive and administrative support to the Director.
• The jobholder will serve as the primary point of contact to the Director, manage his official schedule and travel itinerary, identify and address the official support needs of the Project Director to ensure smooth workflow of the Director’s office.

Duties and Responsibilities
Key duties and responsibilities include the following:

• Provide general management and coordination of all activities relating to the Office of the Project Director. This includes assisting the PMU Director with daily administrative duties and completing a broad variety of administrative tasks such as managing an active calendar of appointments; drafting and responding to correspondence; arranging travel plans, itineraries and agendas and compiling reports, memos and other documents on behalf of the Director;
• Coordinate logistics for high-level meetings both internally and externally as well as coordinate meetings and strategic activities for the JMSC, JSC, Evaluation & Tender Committees including other official meetings for the Project Director’s office;
• Provide support in filing and/or archiving files and documents and in creating relevant administrative data bases; including scanning and electronic archiving;
• Manage direct official communication (oral and written) with external partners of the WAPP/North Core project, corporate and regulatory institutions/organizations on behalf of the Project Director as directed;
• Translate correspondence and basic documents and reports for the Office of the Project Director and provide language support to other team members as required. Undertake basic interpretation during project related meetings;
• Coordinate timely document and report submission to the Project Director for his attention and create a record system for in-coming and out-going mails for the Project Director’s office;
• Manage the Project Director’s communication, agenda and official email. This includes screening incoming calls, taking messages and essential information and prioritizing calls to be returned by the Director, responding to mails as directed;
• Provide leadership and support to the team of bilingual assistants;
• Provide support, as needed, to front desk operations to include but not limited to, answering telephone calls, accepting packages and other deliveries, and greeting and signing in visitors/guests;
• Perform other relevant duties as may be assigned by the Project Director and the Administration, Logistics and Protocol Officer.

Qualification and Experience
The ideal candidate must have the following:

• A Second Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Public Administration, Public or International Relations, Humanities, Communication, or any business-related degree with a minimum of five (5) years’ work experience in a similar role;
• Recognized certification in Translation or strong proven experience in working with both English and French in a bilingual environment;
• Proven experience in providing support for upper-level management;
• Work experience in an international donor funded project environment is an advantage.

Knowledge Requirements:

• Familiar with the use of office equipment such as photocopier, scanner, printer, binding equipment;
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other data processing software) and general computer skills; strong internet research ability.

Desirable Qualities, Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage complex schedules, plan and forecast;
• Experience in use of Office 365 Suite and SharePoint would be an asset;
• Experience in electronic archiving software would be an advantage;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with stakeholders;
• Excellent communication skills in both English and French – oral, writing, editing, grammatical, and basic research skills;
• Excellent typing skills, ability to average 60 WPM with very minimal errors;
• Ability to take initiative, and demonstrate professional discretion and diplomacy;
• Ability to work well in a team and under pressure, pay attention to detail and solve problems.

Languages:

• It is required that the Executive Bilingual Secretary is proficient in English and French (Read, write, speak).

Duration:

• The contract is for a period of 36 months with a probation period of six months.

Performance Assessment:

• The performance of the Executive Bilingual Secretary will be evaluated annually by the PMU Director. Key Performance Indicators derived from the duties and responsibilities above and agreed upon between the jobholder and the PMU Director, would be used as the basis for measuring the performance of the jobholder.

Further Information

• This position is on a full time basis envisaged for a duration of approximately 36 months with a six (6) month probation period. Successful candidates will be stationed at the PMU Head Office in Abuja, Nigeria.
• A key requirement for this position may be/is fluency in French and/or English with a good working knowledge of the second language and ability to use relevant computer software (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as the internet.
• Interested applicants are strongly advised to refer to the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the advertised position prior to sending their applications.

Applications Closing Date
18h00 GMT Friday, 15th May 2020.