Short-term Rules of Origin (ROO) Policy Experts (ECOSYS)

Job Description

Project: ARISE + Viet Nam is seeking to recruit various short-term experts for implementation of the Project Annual Work Plan Year 1 (2021-2022)

The overall objective of the TA for the ARISE+ Programme in Vietnam project is to contribute to inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in Vietnam. The purpose of the project is to provide technical support to the Vietnamese Government to maximise Vietnam’s benefits from preferential trade regimes, with a focus on regional agreements and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).

“The ASEAN Regional Integration Support by EU (ARISE) Plus – Viet Nam Trade-Related Technical Assistance (ARISE+ Viet Nam)” is a European Union-funded project. The overall objective of the ARISE+ Viet Nam project is inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in Viet Nam, while the specific objective of the project is to provide technical assistance to the Vietnamese Government to maximise Viet Nam’s benefits from preferential trade regimes, with a focus on regional trade agreements and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). DAI Human Dynamics is implementing this project together with consortium partners: VCCI, Eurocham and Gopa.

ARISE + Viet Nam is implementing activity FTA 1.1. The primary objective of FTA 1.1 is to improve the capacity of government officials, primarily in International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Finance and any other relevant agencies, to understand tariff nomenclature and transpose Viet Nam’s tariff schedule from AHTN 2017 to AHTN 2022. The secondary objective of FTA 1.1 is to improve the capacity of government officials, businesses, and researchers in Viet Nam to analyse trade statistics, including by HS code, in order to assess both the implementation of Viet Nam’s tariff commitments as well as the impact of tariff reduction on Viet Nam’s economy.

We are urgently looking for interested candidates to join our team under short-term expert positions as following:

1. Expert 1 – ROO Policy Expert (ECOSYS)

Tasks

The following tasks will be carried out by the expert:

• Conducting the first meeting with MOIT officials and KE1 to agree on priorities and scope of work and offer suggestions.
• Analyse the current status of EVFTA ROO implementation at issuing authorities and the electronic certification system.
• Advise research and give recommendations on topics including but not limited to: current circumstances, operation of ECOSYS under the EVFTA context, joint implementation issues around self-certification and the ECOSYS model.
• E-join and present at in-depth workshop of sharing consultation outcome.
• Establish regular relationship with ARISE+ project staff to sustainably support above tasks
• Advise on inputs funded through incidentals budget

Required qualifications:

• University degree, preferably at a Master’s level, in Public Policy or related field
• Significant professional experience: a minimum of 10 years of work experience in the operation of Rules of Origin regimes, both in the EU and in international markets, and both the public and private sector
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of the Rules of Origin disciplines of the EVFTA
• Good networks with government agencies and business community
• Experience in the design and delivery of training on ROO preferred
• Experience in the delivery of related trade technical assistance preferred

Place of work: Ha Noi, Viet Nam

2. Expert 2 – ROO Policy Expert (ECOSYS)

Tasks

The following tasks will be carried out by the expert:

• Leading the drafting of the ECOSYS report and guidelines
• From guidelines, developing training tools for workshops that provide in-depth understanding of ECOSYS, tailored to exporters
• Leading two workshops providing in-depth understanding of the guidelines, verifying the technical content of the guides and support its dissemination

Anticipated support from KE1/ARISE+ project:

• Provide reference resources and additional information from other EU-FTA signatories and other third countries and their respective ROO training modules and guides as necessary
• Liaise with ARISE+ as necessary
• Provide technical backstopping as necessary

Required Qualifications:

• University degree, preferably at a Master’s level, in Public Policy or related field
• A minimum of 3 years of work experience in the operation of Rules of Origin regimes in the Vietnamese, EU and/or international markets (experience within the context of the EVFTA strongly preferred)
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the ECOSYS in Viet Nam
• Experience in the design and delivery of training on ROO preferred
• Experience in the delivery of related trade technical assistance preferred
• Excellent skills in both English and Vietnamese languages

Place of work: Ha Noi, Viet Nam

Interested candidates are requested to send their application in English to DAI and include the job title in their email subject line.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and it is recommended to send application before the deadline.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.