West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, WASCAL is a research and education-focused institute designed to provide knowledge and climate services that should help tackle the climate change challenge and thereby enhance the resilience of human and environmental systems. It does so by strengthening the research capacity and infrastructure in West Africa related to climate change by pooling the expertise of ten West African countries and Germany. The West African countries include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d‘Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

WASCAL has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana from where it coordinates 10 graduate schools at different universities in the region. WASCAL also has a Competence Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where it manages climate research activities.

Job Summary
Under the supervision of the Director of Research and Head of WASCAL Competence Centre, the Executive Assistant will be responsible for providing clerical and administrative support services. He/She must be creative and enjoy working within a small, dynamic environment that is mission-driven, results-driven and community oriented. The ideal person will have the ability to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, with a strong bilingual (English/French) written and verbal communication, administrative, and organizational skills, and the ability to maintain a realistic balance among multiple priorities. The Executive Assistant will have the ability to work independently on projects and must be able to work under pressure at times to handle wide varieties and confidential matters with discretion.

Key task of the position include:

The Executive Assistant will :
• Serve as the primary point of contact of all matters pertaining to the office of the Director of Research and Head of Competence Centre,
• Also serve as a liaison officer to the research and management teams,
• Manage the diary of the Director of Research and Head of Competence Centre,
• Oversees specials projects that may be assigned,
• Participate and assist in the planning and organisation of specific meetings, conferences and external relations efforts and report appropriately,
• Translation of documents (French/English) ,
• Maintain the general filing system and file all correspondence appropriately for ease of reference,
• Any other duties that may be assigned.

Competences required:

Strong skills that reflect ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail,• Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with stakeholders, including staff, external partners and donors,• Expert level written and verbal communication skills in English, French. Having a smattering of German will be an added advantage,• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability,• Highly resourceful team-player, with the ability to also be extremely effective independently,• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion, be adaptable to various competing demands,• Demonstrate ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fest paced environment,• Forward looking thinker, who actively seeks opportunities and proposes solutions.Education and Experience Requirements:• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in administration and management or related field,• Masters’ degree in administration will be an added advantage,• Strong tenure: Minimum five years of experience supporting Executives,• Experience and interest in internal and external communications, partnership development,• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point), Social Media web platforms.

Application procedure:
Applications letters, curriculum vitae and support documents (diplomas /certificates) with names and addresses of three referees should be emailed to candidature@wascal.org. Please indicate “Executive Assistant-CC” in the subject line.

Applications will be accepted up to the 30th June, 2017.

This is a local position and it will be based at the WASCAL Competence Centre, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Applications will be acknowledged, but only short listed candidates will be contacted.