Posting Title: SRO-SA Consultant to support AFCFTA Strategy consultants -Mozambique

Department/Office: Economic Commission for Africa

Duty Station: LUSAKA_ISC

Posting Period: 17 March 2021 - 23 March 2021

Job Opening Number: 21-Economic Commission for Africa-151925-Consultant

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Result of Service

A national consultant based in Mozambique to provide support to the 2 international consultants (located outside Mozambique) and the 2 national consultants who will be drafting the Impact study and the National AfCFTA Strategy respectively.

Work Location

Mozambique

Expected duration

5. Duration

The assignment will be completed in 5 work months from the time of signature of contract.

7. Remuneration

The total fees for the assignment will be US$6,000 (six thousand dollars) to be paid in two equal instalments. The first instalment of US$3,000 (three thousand dollars) will be paid after the conclusion of the Study on the Impact of AfCFTA on Mozambique economy. The second and final instalment of US$3,000 (three thousand dollars) will be paid after the conclusion of the Validation Workshop.

Duties and

Responsibilities

1. Background

The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) signed in Kigali, Rwanda, on 21 March 2018 is a key milestone in Africa's integration Agenda. The Agreement includes the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services and the Protocol on Rules and Procedures for Settlement of Disputes. These protocols are being negotiated under Phase 1. The Agreement also encompasses Protocols on Investment, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights that will be negotiated under Phase 2.

The AfCFTA, due to be implemented in 2021, is expected to be a key engine of economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa in line with the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 titled "The Africa We Want". Regional commitments on economic integration and industrialization should inform national development strategies.

For the AfCFTA to deliver on the expected outcomes, priority actions are to be undertaken in the short to medium run. Firstly, the ratification of the AfCFTA is critical. Efforts to support Member States in consensus-building to secure the ratification of the Agreement should be accompanied by a strengthening of the AfCFTA marketplace through continental policies on competition, investment and intellectual property rights. Secondly, there is a need to build on the political momentum behind the AfCFTA to support policy reforms that are aimed at implementing the Agreement as well as the required domestication. In this regard, it is critical for member States to undertake deliberate actions and deploy necessary efforts through national AfCFTA strategies with a view to maximize the benefits of the Agreement while minimizing potential adverse effects. The strategies should be complemented by an effective monitoring and evaluation framework that will track progress on the implementation of the Agreement.

In its role both as a think-tank and as a provider of technical assistance to African member States, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) assumes the lead technical and coordinating role within the United Nations system for supporting African countries to become AfCFTA-ready, as part of deepening Africa's trade integration through domestication and effective implementation of the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA. A main component of this initiative is to support African countries to develop a National AfCFTA Implementation Strategy and Action Plan for trade in goods and services based on specific requests from member states. Mozambique is among the countries under the auspices of the ECA Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) that has approached ECA for such type of technical and financial support. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) of the Government of Mozambique has addressed in October 2019 a request for technical and financial support from ECA for the elaboration of impact studies and a National AfCFTA strategy. A scoping mission was undertaken by UNECA in Mozambique in November 2019, under the auspices of MIC and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), to chart a roadmap for the Government of Mozambique on next steps to become AfCFTA-ready. As an outcome of this scoping mission, UNECA will be leading support to the Government of Mozambique in the elaboration of the impact studies and the National AfCFTA implementation strategy.

The National AfCFTA Implementation strategy and action plan are expected to identify where comparative advantages lie for each country for diversification and priority value chains development in order to support economic diversification and maximize trade potential in the context of the AfCFTA. The key cross-cutting issues to be considered in the strategy and action plan include gender, environmental and climate change mitigation, technologies and the impact on women, youth and other vulnerable groups.

The initiative acknowledges that trade liberalization policies will not achieve intended development goals if they are not designed and implemented without the adequate consideration of gender and other vulnerable groups. The liberalization of trade impacts men and women differently due to the different economic and social positions they occupy. Thus, developing a gender-sensitive approach is necessary to mitigate the negative impact of trade policies on women and enhance the positive outcomes for women which will strengthen the overall effectiveness of these policies.

It is in this context that UNECA, in close collaboration with MIC, intends to recruit a national consultant based in Mozambique to assist and provide support to the 2 international consultants (located outside Mozambique) and the 2 national consultants who will be drafting the Impact study and the National AfCFTA Strategy respectively.

2. Duties and Responsibilities

Working under the overall guidance and supervision of both the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) (Director of Trade) and UNECA (Economic affairs officer based in Lusaka), the national consultant is expected to closely collaborate with the consultants who are responsible for drafting the Impact Study and the National AFCFTA Strategy and to support the international consultants to achieve their duties in a satisfactory manner.

Specifically, the national consultant will: i. Facilitate and organize stakeholder consultations for the (four) consultants working on the Impact study and the National AfCFTA Strategy, while giving special attention first to the needs of the international consultants located outside of Mozambique;

ii. Facilitate the collection of data and access to documentation for the two international consultants located outside of Mozambique and ensure translation of the documentation to English so that the contents can be accessible to the two international consultants;

iii. Provide support to the international consultants during their missions to Mozambique (including providing interpretation from Portuguese to English when necessary);

iv. Provide support to the organization of the Validation workshop for the National AfCFTA Strategy and to the stakeholder consultations that are needed in the course of finalizing the Impact study and the national AfCFTA strategy ;

v. Respond to ad-hoc requests for support as formulated by UNECA to facilitate the work of the consultants to ensure a timely delivery of the studies;

vi. Respond to requests for administrative assistance as formulated by MIC to facilitate the successful conclusion of the impact study and the national AfCFTA strategy.

3. Deliverables

The deliverables from this assignment will include: i. A written report submitted by the consultant directly to UNECA every two weeks describing activities undertaken;

ii. Direct logistical contributions to support the finalization of the Impact Study and National AfCFTA Strategy;

iii. Direct logistical support to ensure the organization of stakeholder consultations and the Validation workshop for the National AfCFTA Strategy;

Qualifications/special skills

Academic Qualifications: An Advanced degree in a social science field, in business administration or any other relevant area.

Experience: The candidate should have a minimum of seven (7) years of work experience in Mozambique in Administration ,Social Science and Planning .

Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) and Fluency in Portuguese is required.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS' BANK ACCOUNTS.

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This vacancy is archived.

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