Job Description
Background
UNOPS’ strategy forAfghanistanis aimed at providing maximum support to the Government and people ofAfghanistanthough the delivery of projects and services in line with the government’s own priorities. The UNOPS Afghanistan Operation Center (AGOC) has been established as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been designated as the implementation agency. At present, UNOPS AGOC is implementing a number of projects in a range of sectors including infrastructure (roads and schools) development, capacity building to various ministries, and environmental protection, among others, on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community.
The functional objective of UNOPS AGOC is to deliver projects in an efficient and effective manner, to achieve the development outcomes sought by the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community, where capacity building is always considered and encouraged. The aim of UNOPS AGOC is to provide implementation services to the Government of Afghanistan, the donor community and partner agencies in the reconstruction and development of the country. In doing so, UNOPS aims to exceed client expectations in the delivery of quality services throughout the country.
Duties and Responsibilities
Reporting directly to the Team Leader (TL) & Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the project, the Customs Advisor (ICU) shall perform the following duties and responsibilities, but not limited to:
- Assist ACD in setting up an International Customs Unit (ICU) for coordination and interaction with international organizations on Customs related matters.
- Support in capacity building of the staff of newly created ICU and reporting.
- Help Afghan Customs in coordinating and interacting with international organizations on customs related matters, e.g. WCO, WTO etc.
- Assist and facilitate participation of ACD officials in international conferences and workshops through technical material, briefings and background notes etc.
- Coordinate with other Ministries and departments in preparing responses on customs and trade facilitation issues raised on international, regional and bilateral forums.
- Assist Afghan Customs in their participation in regional conferences of CAREC, SAARC and ECO etc to have effective consultations and contribution.
- Support ACD in bilateral meetings to have fruitful negotiations culminating into agreements & treaties on mutual cooperation and assistance.
- Provide backstopping to ACD for these events through preparation of notes and briefing the senior management participating in these conferences.
- Assist ACD in Dubai process negotiations for increasing customs cooperation and trade facilitation with Pakistan.
- Help strengthen TRSU to carry out analysis of foreign trade statistics to take informed decisions helping in risk management, revenue collection, and detection of fraud and corrupt practices.
- Enhance ACD’s ability to analyze trade data, performance indicators, and customized alerts and data exchanges with customs administrations of other countries.
- Train TRSU staff in analyzing trade data using modern statistical methods.
- Help ACD in conducting a technical study to explore various options for exchange of data with customs departments of neighboring countries.
- Assist in implementing the recommendations of the study as a pilot and later its up scaling.
- Assist ACD in development and implementation of the Government-to- Government (G2G) Customs data exchange portal in coordination with ASYCUDA experts.
- Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Customs DG or Team Leader.
Required Selection Criteria
Competencies
- Experience in international cooperation and implementing custom reform
- Ability to establish and facilitate inter-agency cooperation
- Ability to analyze business processes and identify issues based on experience
- Experience in providing assistance and support in evaluation and performance monitoring.
- Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision and direction;
- Capable of working with others in a participatory and capacity building manner;
- Strong communications skills and ability to work in a team to achieve organizational goals;
- Ability to establish and maintain excellent contacts with colleagues, senior government officials, donors and other UN agencies;
- Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment;
- Self-motivated, versatile and adaptable to different cultures and people.
- Ability to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
Education/Experience/Language
- Masters Degree in International Law, Political Science, Social Sciences, Public Administration and/or Customs related studies. A First Level University Degree with additional 2 years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the Masters Degree.
- Degree or Professional Certificate in government administration a distinct advantage
- Minimum 13-14 years of work experience in reforms, planning, and donor coordination in customs
- Experience in monitoring, control and evaluation of the progress of customs reform projects in Afghanistan or similar developing countries
- Excellent command of both oral and written English a must
- Working knowledge of the local language considered an advantage
- Working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, data processing and information management
Submission of Applications
Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest, complete Curriculum Vitae and an updated United Nations Personal History Form () (available on our website), to EMO AGOC Human Resources, via e-mail to . Kindly indicate the vacancy number and the post title in the subject line when applying by email.
Additional Considerations
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
- Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post.
For more information on UNOPS, please visit the UNOPS website at .
