UNDP Jobs - 89109- International Logistics Facilitation Expert.

International Logistics Facilitation Expert.

Location :

home-based.

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Dec-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

66 working days over a period of 6 months.

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

66 working days over a period of 6 months.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The regional project Strengthening Arab Economic Integration for Sustainable Development (AEISD), within the UNDP, has an objective to provide technical assistance to the League of Arab States (LAS), specifically the Economic Sector and relevant organs, and member states of Pan Arab Free Trade Area (PAFTA) in working towards a deepened integration, including preparations for the Arab Customs Union.
Being conscious that trade has significant potential to fight poverty in Arab countries through generating more income and access to markets. Its second important component relates to strengthening the Arab connectivity among economies in the region. Expectedly, these efforts would be translated into contribution of economic integration for better livelihoods, more employment opportunities and participation by the private sector.
To support improvement of Arab connectivity among countries, project activities, priority is exercised in activities aimed at facilitation of trade, transport, investment and trade-related areas (i.e. trade/transport corridors, promotion of quality infrastructure, competition). Among these, an important initiative related to the promotion of application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digitalization to facilitate trade, investment and economic development for various countries. UNDP cooperates with Governments of Arab countries and regional/sub-regional organizations such as Agadir Technical Unit to promote activation of trade facilitation measures such as the dematerialization and the digitalized information processing platforms such as National Single Windows, specified by Article 10:4 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Its third component focuses on the promotion of inclusiveness and transparency as part of the development agenda, particularly on the economic empowerment of women for regional economic integration.
Built on the progress achieved in supporting the implementation of the Executive Program of the agreement on Facilitating and Developing Trade among Arab Countries (PAFTA), the current project focuses on specific aspects of making trade an engine of inclusive and sustainable growth guided by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. In continuation, the project will also focus on helping countries and the main sub-regional and regional integration entities to accelerate the pace of trade reforms and regional economic integration to strengthen the employment effects of those reforms, with a particular focus on women and youth, and to mobilize additional resources for this purpose.
The project also aims to address specific challenges and complexities that Arab countries and League of Arab States face to enhance regional economic integration, more specifically in the transition from an FTA- based framework towards making the customs union a reality.
The following present major areas of focus:
1. Provide a structured and targeted technical support to LAS Secretariat and Arab negotiators on trade policy formulation and reform under PAFTA.
2. Provide assistance to the LAS Secretariat with a view of strengthening its organizational capacity in the pursuit of further facilitation of the regional economic integration agenda as well as promotion of trade liberalization.
3. Assist target Arab countries in collaborating with national policy makers in trade and economic fields in efforts to modernize and reform trade policy by taking into consideration new developments.
4. Facilitation of transport and trade activities which constitutes one of the key areas to support national programs of enhancement, national competitiveness, better market access, and more integration of the value chain.
5. Promoting gender equality and women empowerment as well as generating business and job opportunities for youth is also a key target under the project activities. Moreover, good governance constitution which is a pre-requisite in deepening Arab economic integration to a higher level of commitment with inclusiveness and sustainability.
6. Promoting contribution of trade to be one of the pillars to achieve the SDGs at national and regional level.
Within the scope of cooperation with member countries of Agadir, UNDP presented a proposal of Agadir Single Window in 2018, which was welcomed by Customs Directors-General at their 5th Joint Committee Meeting in December 2019. Morocco sought support from UNDP to conduct a review of the operations of PortNet towards developing a more integrated and comprehensive platform. The aim is improve economic competitiveness of international trade and investment and move to a paperless environment.
The official request, dated on January 19th 2019, by H.E Dr. Nabil Lakhdar, Director-General of Customs was communicated to the Chief Technical Advisor of UNDP, in which he requested UNDP to support in conducting a technical functional review to the Portnet System including recommendations for improvements and action plan/roadmap of the related implementations.
Up to present, the PortNet platform operates independently from the customs automated system for clearance of shipments and is operated by the Directorate-General of Customs and Excises. These two systems exchange data and other relevant information for the issuance of any permit or license in accordance with the adopted working protocols. According to the information received by UNDP, similar modalities of submission of data and information for clearance requests are used by concerned agencies such as the Ministry of Investment, Trade Green and Digital Economy.
The Moroccan authority PortNet has contributed to the dematerialization of around 70 percent of the processes for exports as well as the port calls or stop-overs of ships. The PortNet was born in 2009 as a joint project between the Ministry of Transport and the National Moroccan Port Agency. Initial focus was on the expeditious processing of required procedures for the entry and exit of vessels and goods at ports of Casablanca and Agadir. The developer of this platform addressed the stopover management, dangerous goods, manifests, cargo collection and delivery notes as well as clearance of goods procedures.
Subsequently, the PortNet entered into function by PORTNET S.A in 2012 (a joint venture between the National Authority of Ports and the private sector) and it has contributed substantially in improving the clearance of shipments, goods and commodities, and particularly port services. In effect, PortNet has become the Single Window with focus on port services and several related services (dealt with the validation of trade licenses and permits by regulatory authorities in the country).
Nowadays, the Port Net provides linkages between traders, businesses and industries with a number of governmental agencies (in charge of enforcing regulations) at 13 Moroccan Ports in accordance with information provided by the National Port Authority in October 2019. Port services are mainly automated in order to achieve higher level of efficiency and convenience to around 40,000 importers, exporters, and customers in 2019.
According to Doing Business 2020 by the World bank, Morocco introduced e-Payment of port fees, streamlining paperless customs clearance and extended port hours of operations. This progress will be sustainable and inclusive with more progressive development and adoption of new management techniques and information & communication technology. In this regard, capitalization of the potential of international trade within the supply chain is strongly recommended.

Duties and Responsibilities

The assignment aims to conduct and prepare a technical review for the functions and operational features of the PortNet and related processing systems of concerned governmental agencies for the clearance and release of shipments.1 This leads the Maroc Export Plus by optimizing trade costs and time in bringing Moroccan exports into new destination markets and more diversification of Moroccan products there. These factors are imperative for enhanced competitiveness for the Moroccan economy.
In adopting the evidence-based analysis for the design and execution of policy measures, this assignment aims to provide factual assessment of achievements and positive results brought about by the application of PortNet. The study might lead to identify new potentials for its function and managerial upgrading in the first stage in order to formulate corresponding policies and measures towards a paperless platform with streamlined business processes and friendly practices in control. It will also look into technical solutions as well as required governance models for partnerships between the Government and the private sector. New technologies of information in processing and those widely adopted in the world for international trade Single Window (Trade SW) would be explored in order to capitalize and optimize processing costs and time required.
Functionally, it is expected that the new platform contributes to a friendlier administration of cross-border trade and investment while promoting better and more efficient control.

Competencies

Corporate? Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

Time management and organizational skills, with the ability to undertake multiple tasks and deliver under pressure;
Strong analytical and synthesis skills;
Ability to work independently and achieve quality results with limited supervision and within tight schedules;
Strong quantitative and qualitative research skills;
Experience in reports production;
Ability to write in a clear and concise manner;
Good teamwork and interpersonal skills;
Flexibility and ability to handle multiple tasks and work under pressure;
Excellent computer skills especially Word, Excel and Power Point.
Knowledge Management and Learning
Ability to strongly promote and build knowledge products;
Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;
Demonstrates a strong capacity for innovation and creativity in providing strategic policy advice and direction.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

Master’s Degree in Computer Sciences or sciences in information processing, Economics, International Development, or any other related fields to logistics facilitation.

Years of experience:

Minimum of 10 years of practical experience in electronic processing of information and data required for clearance of shipments of international trade and/or logistics services.

Technical experience:

Experience in designing, developing and deploying any regional/National Single Window is a major asset;
Rich experience in customs techniques for clearance and release of the cargo as well as technical control by controlling agencies of the Government;
Extensive experience in designing and establishing automated applications concerning information processing for trade and transport management in a multi-agency platform is required;
Adequate understanding of the WCO Data Model and the international standards and practices implemented by UN/CEFACT;
Proven experience in business process re-engineering and data harmonization;
Demonstrated knowledge of technical standards and international standards, applicable to the design and operations of a NSW, among them, those developed by UNECE, World Customs Organization, relevant international and multilateral organizations;
Experiences in freight-forwarding and customs brokerage is an advantage;
Previous experience working for the UN is a plus;
Demonstrated experience in performing similar assignments in the Arab region is an asset.

Language Requirements

Excellent writing, editing and oral communications skills in English. Being fluent in Arabic is desirable.

How to apply:
The consultancy is open for all international consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.
Submissions through any other media will not be considered.
The application must include all of the following documents:
1. P11,
2. Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and
3. Financial proposal
All files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.
It has been observed that bidders don’t submit all requested documents and thus reducing their chance to be selected for a contract with UNDP. before you submit your offer please revise that the application is complete and comprises all documents.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.