Trade Policy Advisor

 

 Namibia

 

The project started in November 2000. Please view the attached details hereunder.

 

Deadline for the submission of CV:   until the position is filled

Nationalities:                                           EU nationals

Starting date :                                        ASAP (project started in November 2000)

Duration:                                                  2 years (the remaining months)

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE (subject to a revision after the inception period)

The principle responsibility of the Trade Policy Advisor will be to advise the Management of MIT, and the Director of International Trade in specific, on trade policy related issues. To advise the Government how best to approach each stage of negotiations in the various regional and international trade arrangements in which Namibia is participating will be one of his main tasks.

The following tasks are foreseen for the Trade Policy Advisor:

• he will provide technical skills in various negotiations, dealing with market access (e.g. Lomé IV), regional economic integration schemes and initiatives (e.g. SACU, SADC and COMESA), WTO and other multilateral arrangements, bilateral trade relations (e.g. Preferential Trade Agreements), etc.;
• he will directly participate in the various trade negotiations according to a workplan agreed with the Director of International Trade. This will involve regional and possibly international travelling;
• he will in consultation with the Director of International Trade draft discussion papers on topical issues for internal use and on request of the various trade negotiation teams produce position papers on selected topics;
• he is further to assist the Ministry with strategic development of Namibia’s foreign trade policy agenda and the consolidation of linkages between research and policy developments – i.e. the formulation of the Trade Policy Division’s research agenda – in support of Namibia’s trade policy. Related tasks may include the facilitation of trade policy seminars for Namibian policy makers;
• the Trade Policy Advisor will by means of appropriate interventions, mainly on-the-job, assist in the up-grading of skills of staff in the Trade Policy Division and work closely with them in order to enhance their capacity in trade analysis and negotiations;
• he will co-ordinate and organise the secondments / attachments of the trade policy staff to regional and international specialised agencies.

The engagement of the Trade Policy Advisor for the full duration of the Trade and Investment Development Programme (TIDP) in the International Trade Directorate is expected to (1) enhance the capacity of the Directorate to effectively formulate policy positions and prioritise research activities, (2) to improve the capacity and ability of the staff to analyse, scope and time future regional and international bi- and multilateral trade negotiations and (3) lead to an improved cross-fertilisation between the work of the Sub-Division Research and Sub-Division Trade Policy.

The Trade Policy Advisor will work directly with the Director of International Trade who will be his direct counterpart. He will further liaise regularly with the long-term Advisor for Trade Development and Promotion in order to streamline workplans and programmes.