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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) to realize the West African Electricity Sector Regulation Project within the framework of the West African Power Pool.
For the effective functioning of ERERA’s activities, the Commission intends to recruit a competent and qualified person for the post of Legal Expert to be a member of the ERERA Regulatory Council.
The Legal Expert, member of the Regulatory Council, ensures jointly with the other members, the regulation of cross-border electricity exchanges, in accordance with the provisions of Community texts. They serve on a full-time basis.

The Legal Expert is responsible, among other things, for:

• Providing expertise in the development of the Council’s acts and ensuring, in particular, legal compliance with all the acts passed by the Council within the framework of implementing its overall mandate of regulating cross-border electricity exchanges and settling disputes;

• Assisting the Chairman of the Regulatory Council in carrying out his responsibilities, particularly the organization, monitoring and supervision of all ERERA’s activities, the preparation of the annual report, as well as the preparation and implementation of ERERA’s budget;

• Drafting and preparing texts, licences and terms of reference, legislation and regulation, contracts or interconnection agreements, contract, awards;

• Steering institutional reforms, energy policies, liberalization and regulation of the energy sector.

• Analyzing the electricity sector regulations of ECOWAS Member States;

• Diagnosing existing or cross-border energy exchange agreements being prepared and ensuring their implementation;

• Managing legal issues (joint-venture, public-private partnership, tariff issues) related to cross-border electricity exchanges and market management;

• Defining the operating legal rules and procedures of the regional electricity market;

• Monitoring partners’ compliance with commercial rules and their contractual agreements, and laying down dispute-settlement procedures;

• Participating in Council deliberations;

Candidates for the post of Legal Expert of the ERERA Regulatory Council will be appointed on the basis of their moral integrity and competence. They should have successfully held a management position in their previous functions.

a)    Degrees and Qualifications

• Candidates must hold a Masters’ Degree in Law.

b)    Experience: Candidates for this position must have:

• No less than twelve (12) years proven professional experience in energy legislation and regulation, particularly in the preparation and drafting of texts, licences and terms of reference, contracts or interconnection agreements, award of contracts, etc.

• No less than five (5) years experience in team management, preferably in a supervisory capacity, within an international organization;

• Good knowledge of Community institutions and mechanisms within the ECOWAS region, as well as proven experience in the area of electricity sector regulation in Africa. Experience in international relations and negotiations will be an added advantage.

• Good knowledge of energy policy issues, in particular electricity sector institutional reforms, as well as legal issues related to cross-border electricity exchanges and electicity market management.

Requisite skills

• Diplomacy

• Good interpersonal skills

• Good listening skills and sense of initiative

• Team spirit and strong analytical and summarizing skills

• Availability, good organization and diligence

• Good command of main office software packages (Pack office…)

• Good knowledge of West African policy issues and the United Nations, African Union and European Union policy frameworks, etc.

• Excellent writing and communication skills.

• With strong analytical and summarizing skills, the candidate must be able to identify problems and contribute to providing solutions. He must display a sense of independence while demonstrating great capacity for team work.

Candidate should not be 50 years old or over at the point of recruitment and must be a citizen of one of the ECOWAS member states.

Must be fluent in one of the official languages of the Commission:English, French and Portuguese. A working knowledge of another would be an advantage.