Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the ASYCUDA Regional Coordinator for East and Southern Africa Region, the Programme Management Officer (Customs) will provide substantive assistance and functional support to the National Customs Services (NCS) and National Project Teams (NPT), and will be responsible for the following duties:

-Participates in the development, implementation, and evaluation of UNCTAD/ASYCUDA and Single Window projects, etc.; monitors and analyses programme/project development and implementation; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.
-Performs consulting assignments, in collaboration with the client, by planning facilitating workshops, through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change.
-Analyses existing customs-related legislation, customs regulations, and customs procedures from the viewpoint of Customs automation and Single Window implementation at the national and regional levels.
-Researches, analyses, and presents information gathered from diverse sources.
-Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
-Assists the NCSs in the preparation of functional specifications for the development of additional functionalities in accordance with the national requirements and international standards and best practice in the Customs sector.
-Provides advice to NCSs on the functional aspects of ASYCUDA national extensions/e-documents, with the view to ensure their full integration into the overall operational NCSs ASYCUDA and Single Window environment.
-Undertakes survey initiatives; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyses, and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
-Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc.
-Provides substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
-Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
-Participates in or lead field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries, etc.
-Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.).
-Performs other duties as required.

Qualifications and Experience

Education:
-Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, economics, or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
-A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration, or related area, including in digitalisation of customs procedures, is required.
-Experience in organizing and delivering functional training courses within governmental organizations is desirable. Experience working in an international environment is desirable.
-Fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.