Job Opportunity: Digital Trade and e-Commerce Technical Advisor, DAI

Digital Frontiers implements the ProICT program activity, through the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership (DCCP), and is designed to fund intensive, dedicated policy and regulatory engagements in the areas of telecommunications, internet, and ICT.

This Position Description describes responsibilities for the DCCP position of Digital Trade and e-Commerce Technical Advisor. The Technical Advisor will be seconded to TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) in Nairobi, Kenya and will support the African Union on digital trade and e-commerce for an initial period of 12 months, with expectations of travel across the Continent.

Background:

In 2018, African Union (AU) member states signed on to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and at the Heads of State Summit in February 2020, the AU Heads of State and Government agreed to a new AfCFTA protocol on digital trade.  The AU also adopted an African Digital Transformation Strategy (DTS) 2020-2034, which calls for the development of sectoral implementation strategies and action plans to operationalize the DTS. Negotiations on this new AfCFTA protocol on digital trade are expected to begin in 2022. Heads of State also agreed to seek capacity building support for AU member states and other AfCFTA stakeholders to prepare for the upcoming negotiations.

TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) is a not-for-profit aid-for-trade organization based in Africa with growing operations in East, Horn, Central, Southern and West Africa. TMEA has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the AfCFTA Secretariat to support the Secretariat’s work to implement and achieve its key milestones in trade facilitation, trade policy development, and corridor development across the Continent.  TMEA will be supporting the Secretariat and African states to implement their obligations in customs management, digital trade, trade facilitation and transit of goods and services. Trade systems, digital policy, and processes digitalization are some of the areas that TMEA and AfCFTA Secretariat have identified as critical in supporting and boosting cross border trade systems connectivity and cross border data flows to facilitate trade in goods and services in Africa.

This position will be filled by someone with experience conducting negotiations who can leverage their extensive expertise in the development of digital trade policy and e-commerce frameworks and who have first-hand private sector experience in digital trade transactions, conducted or supported with the public sector, and facilitated the work of a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, underserved groups, SMEs, young entrepreneurs, and women-owned businesses in trade policy. The technical advisor will engage with and support the participation of these stakeholders across Africa, facilitating and encouraging a robust, collaborative, and constructive exchange of ideas; and foster the design of digital solutions and applications to boost intra-Continental trade.  The technical advisor will also support the work of those stakeholders to contribute to the development of relevant digital trade policies and e-commerce frameworks and processes; help them to participate in and facilitate policy discussions on digital trade; and make informed decisions on the potential trade impacts that those negotiations and applications may have across African economies.

Scope of Work:

Technical Leadership (30%):

  1. Provide high quality technical advice and leadership, including to African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), AU Member States, and other stakeholders (e.g., MSMEs, regional business councils, women, youth, MSMEs, CSOs) on digital trade policy and e-commerce frameworks across Africa including through undertaking applied policy analysis; developing policies, strategies, and tools; and sharing and exchanging policy advice on a full spectrum of digital trade policy issues;
  2. Prepare and produce documents, briefs, reports, and publications that are responsive to AU Member States’ policy concerns and challenges, and devise mechanisms to encourage the adoption of policy recommendations;
  3. Work closely with TMEA digital teams to design and develop digital frameworks and projects to identify and address challenges around cross border data flows and connectivity for trade facilitation;
  4. Provide technical advisory support to USAID-funded and TMEA-led digital projects of cross border and Africa-wide digital projects, including projects related to digital governance, including data privacy, and processing and transfer requirements, and digital connectivity;
  5. Work in collaboration with TMEA digital teams to design and roll out digital development principles and projects customized to support digital inclusion in trade and sustainability, relevant to the AfCFTA;
  6. Formulate possible policy models and policy options for consideration for digital trade at the Continental level, building on the experience of other regions such as ASEAN and MERCOSUR, among others, and provide any other necessary support;
  7. Work with a wide range of stakeholders to support their participation in the digital trade negotiations at the AfCFTA;
  8. Coordinate and engage with experts, including from other multilateral organizations, involved in significant digital trade policy activities in Africa, including programs and projects that are funded and/or managed by TMEA and USAID; and
  9. Support any other relevant tasks that can help to promote the capacity and abilities of stakeholders across Africa to contribute to the digital trade negotiations and implementation of digital solutions for trade facilitation in the AfCFTA.

Capacity Building (30%):

  1. Support trade capacity building efforts of U.S. Government-funded and other TMEA programing to promote African digital trade policy and digital trade systems and processes development, in consultation with USAID along with DOS, USTDA, USTR, and other U.S. Government agencies, as relevant.
  2. Deliver technical assistance to AU member state policy makers, negotiators, staff of the regional economic communities (RECs), and other stakeholders (including SMEs, others private sector representatives, civil society organizations); and
  3. Deliver technical assistance to the AfCFTA Secretariat, RECs, Members States, private sector and civil society stakeholders through TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), focused on a range of areas enabling e-commerce and digital trade including, but not limited to: data privacy, trade systems and processes, development and implementation of e-commerce policies and procedures, and development of e-commerce logistics solutions; with special focus on postal services among other logistics actors in the e-commerce ecosystem within Africa.

Communications & Knowledge Management (20%):

  1. Develop toolkits, manuals, guidelines and/or other policy tools in collaboration with policy makers and stakeholders at AU Member States and RECs;
  2. Develop digital and data-based platforms and other trade facilitation toolkits and models in collaboration with government trade agency experts at RECs and AU Member State levels; and
  3. Support robust, inclusive stakeholder engagement activities on digital trade policy to promote participation by civil society, SMEs, under-served groups, and others in the digital trade negotiations and implementation phase of the AfCFTA.

Advocacy (10%):

  1. Provide a supportive platform for stakeholders to exchange ideas and learn about global best practices with respect to digital trade policies that can benefit AU Member States in their AfCFTA negotiations on digital trade, particularly small and vulnerable, and least developed members; and
  2. Support sensitization and outreach initiatives on digital trade policy in Africa.

Reporting (5%):

  1. Develop brief monthly work-plans to share with DAI and stakeholders, DOS, USAID, USTR, TMEA and others on upcoming objectives and activities and provide updates on ongoing and completed work in each of the major categories identified in the SOW (technical leadership, capacity building, communications and knowledge management, advocacy, and partnerships);

Partnerships (5%):

  • Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with international and regional organizations working on digital trade for the benefit of African Union Member States

Requirements/Qualifications:

The position requires:

  1. A minimum of ten (10) years of expert work at the international level in digital trade policy, consisting of:
    1. extensive experience (10 years) working on policy formation in digital trade policy with either international or African Governmental institutions at the national, regional, or Continental level; trade associations, civil society organizations; think tanks; academic institutions; or companies,
    2. extensive experience working and interacting at an operational level with traders, other private sectors actors (e.g. logistics and transport service providers) and/or government trade agencies in Africa.
    3. extensive experience drafting and/or implementing policies related to the digital economy (e.g., privacy policies, cybersecurity frameworks, data protection, taxation, and general Information Communications and Technology policies).
  2. Significant experience of working with multi-cultural and African teams and navigating political economy issues on the Continent.
  3. Experience in developing and implementing trade policies, especially in digital trade and free trade agreements.
  4. Familiarity with ongoing global debates on these issues in international fora, including the WTO, OECD, G20, APEC, Regional Economic Communities, etc. is strongly desired.  Experience working with the African private sector and other African digital trade stakeholders is strongly desired.
  5. Experience working on trade and trade related programs with the support of international cooperation in Africa is strongly desired.
  6. Complete fluency in English required but fluency in both English and French is an advantage.
  7. Knowledge of other African Union working languages is a plus.

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter stating why you are the best person for the job, a CV (5 pages maximum), and list of three professional references… https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=DAINC&cws=1&rid=6903

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