Trade Policy Advisor

GIZ Internal/External Vacancy Announcement #102/2020

GIZ AU AfCFTA

The African Union (AU), established as a unique Pan African continental body, was charged with the responsibility to coordinate and provide overall guidance for the negotiations on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA entered into force on May 30, 2019 and implementation is set to start in January 2021.

The trade advisor will be responsible for the setup of the technical advisory component of the project towards the AfCFTA Secretariat as well as Ghana as an African Union (AU) Member State. The project in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) works in close collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industries (DTI) of the African Union, AfCFTA Secretariat, Member States and partners such as UNECA, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and a large number of African actors to support the content of free trade negotiations in the areas of trade in goods and services, trade facilitation, customs cooperation as well as on the investment protocol. The project also works on industrialization, e-commerce, women in trade, value chains, special economic zones and other trade-related issues. The project is part of the GIZ portfolio with the African Union in Addis Ababa under the direction of the GIZ Liaison Office to the AU. Due to the continental relevance of its mandate and range of tasks, the project increasingly cooperates with global and other regional GIZ projects, for instance with the East African Community (EAC) and African member states.

For further information see GIZ African Union

Responsibilities 

• Support the bilateral partners in Ethiopia in fostering their role in implementing the AfCFTA through technical advisory services on the member state level
• Close collaboration with AU Commission, the GIZ AfCFTA Support Programme Team (which the advisor is part of) as well as with RECs
• Manage short-term experts to undertake subject-specific research into areas of concern to Member State representatives participating in technical meetings throughout the key project component topics of trade in services, goods as well as the investment protocol.
• Technical advice and project coordination on various aspects of trade integration, including trade in goods, trade in services, trade facilitation, and stakeholder involvement and possibly also industrialization, value chain and other emerging topics
• Participate in the AfCFTA Team meetings and bilateral exchanges with AfCFTA advisors throughout the various project components and locations
• Work with other GIZ projects and be familiar with GIZ internal procurement processes

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Economics, Law, or equivalent
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Fluency in French is an asset.

Professional experience

• Demonstrated experience of at least 4 years in trade policy
• Solid understanding of regional and continental economic integration issues in Africa
• Experience in development cooperation is an asset
• Experience in working with AU or other regional organizations is an asset
• Flexibility to travel within the region

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• Solid communication skills in an intercultural environment
• Problem solving orientation