Project Assistant

COMPLIANCE AND FACILITATION DIRECTORATE - Project Assistant (Project OCTAGON)

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an independent intergovernmental body, established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs services across the globe. The WCO represents 183 Customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters.

As a forum for dialogue and exchange of experiences between national Customs delegates, the WCO offers its Members a range of Conventions and other international instruments, as well as technical assistance and training services provided either directly by the Secretariat, or with its participation. The Secretariat also actively supports its Members in their endeavours to modernize and build capacity within their national Customs administrations.

OVERVIEW

The WCO created its 8th Programme within the Enforcement and Compliance Sub-directorate, the Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing Programme (AML-CTF) in 2018. The primary reason that most transnational criminal organizations engage in their illicit activities is to generate premium profits due to the illegal nature of their activities. Law enforcement authorities, in addition to targeting the illicit activity that is at the core of these networks, should also target the illicit profits that these organizations generate. The most damaging action against such networks, after the actual arrest and prosecution of their leadership, is the identification, seizure and confiscation of their dirty money. Without these illicit funds, Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and terrorist organizations cannot continue their operations. They cannot pay their lower-level members, purchase the equipment they need, pay bribes, etc.

The WCO realizes that Customs Services (“Customs”) play a primary role in the global effort to thwart money laundering. Customs is uniquely positioned to serve as the primary sentinel at international borders and inland ports of entry, as an important Customs mandate is to identify and prevent the movement of smuggled currency, currency equivalents, gems/precious metals and other items of monetary value across the international borders.

In support of the global law enforcement and regulatory effort to combat international money laundering, the WCO established Project OCTAGON (also referred to as the “Project”). Project OCTAGON is a WCO-led AML-CTF project that will target money laundering activities in the customs arena and build the capacity of the WCO membership and that of the WCO partners to better combat bulk currency smuggling, the smuggling of gems and precious metals, as well as laundering of illicit funds via trade (i.e trade-based money laundering or “TBML”). The Project will also involve the analysis of high-crime regions across the globe and the prioritization of capacity building efforts to assist WCO Members in combatting specific crime sets in those regions. This effort also involves the collaboration of INTERPOL and the Egmont Group.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The goal of Project OCTAGON is to raise the capabilities of the WCO membership, and its primary AML partners, INTERPOL and the Egmont Group, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to target the same activities from an operational standpoint. The activities connected to Project OCTAGON will span almost all regions around the world. Project OCTAGON will specifically involve the analysis and assessment of the primary sub-regions around the world that are in need of enhanced AML-CTF capacity building support from the WCO and its partners as it relates illicit proceeds connected to transnational organized crime groups and terrorist/insurgent organizations. The Project will also provide mentorship and operational training support to designated customs service, through the global WCO AML-CTF expert network.

OBJECTIVES

The Project objectives are envisioned to be achieved mainly through:

• Delivering technical assistance and capacity building;
• Conducting training workshops;
• Conducting scoping missions;
• Developing and updating training curriculum and materials including e-learning module;
• Preparing operational efforts to target the smuggling of currency/currency equivalents, gems and precious metals and basic trade-based money laundering;
• Providing experts to support Members operational efforts within their countries
• Organizing post-operational meetings to assess the over results of the missions;
• Organizing an annual global assessment meeting on illicit financial flows connected to organized crime and terrorist groups;
• Promotional efforts to heighten awareness of AML-CTF in the Customs arena;
• Creating a panel of WCO AML-CTF experts to provide training and subject matter expertise; and
• Partnering with the primary WCO counterparts on the international stage with regard to AML-CTF, such as INTERPOL, the Egmont Group, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and others.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Under the supervision of the AML-CTF Programme Manager, the Project Assistant will focus on the following key activities:

• Drafting of letters in support of capacity building and operational efforts;
• Maintaining statistical records and tracking of the same through established Project OCTAGON templates;
• Regular communications with the appropriate parties in support of the Project OCTAGON mission;
• Drafting of summaries of Project OCTAGON progress and Power Point presentations in support of the same;
• Logistical coordination of Project OCTAGON activities; and
• Other Project-related duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

EDUCATION

A university degree in a relevant field of study will be advantageous.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 3 years of experience in providing administrative and logistical support in a programme/project context is required;
• Experience with development projects benefitting Asia, Latin America and Africa is preferred;
• Experience in law enforcement-related projects is an advantage; and
• Preference will be given to candidates familiar with the functioning of international organizations.

LANGUAGES

• Strong command of English language, both written and spoken, is a must; and
• Ability to speak and write French and/or Spanish at a high level is a plus.

COMPETENCIES

• Excellent organizational skills;
• Ability to work in an international and multicultural environment;
• Ability to adhere to tight deadlines;
• In-depth knowledge of MS office (mainly Word, Excel and PowerPoint); and
• Ability to adapt to the administrative and financial tools used by the WCO.

CONTRACT AND CONDITIONS

• Staff Member under short-term contract until end of September 2023;
• Probationary period: 6 (six) months;
• Full-time employment (37 hours and 40 minutes weekly), at the WCO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium;
• 30 days of annual paid leave;
• Salary commensurate to experience and up to 3,000 EUR/month all inclusive (remuneration exempted from income tax in Belgium); and
• Compulsory WCO health insurance deducted from the salary (around 67 EUR/month);

This position is subject to the Manual for Short-Term Contractors. The successful applicant shall not acquire the right subsequently to occupy a permanent post within the WCO. The successful applicant will not be affiliated to any retirement fund or pension scheme taken by the WCO.

APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate how he/she meets each of the essential qualifications and requirements. Applicants are encouraged to detail concrete achievements in their CVs and/or in their cover letters as well as include references.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an assessment which may include a written test and/or an interview. All short-listed candidates may be requested to provide copies of their original diploma, certificates and proof of relevant experience. Pre-selected candidates may also be subject to reference checks to confirm the information provided in the application.

Interested candidates may submit a request for additional information via e-mail, providing full name and contact details.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to criteria of the position and the WCO applicable rules.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The WCO values commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability as well as values diversity among its staff members. Applications from qualified women and men will receive equal treatment and due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting nationals from WCO Members on as wide a geographical basis as possible. Please note that the WCO Headquarters is a non-smoking environment.

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