Director of Trade

Crown Agents USA, Inc. (CA-USA) is seeking a Director of Trade for an anticipated USAID-funded Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub Project located in Gaborone, Botswana.

Our Business

Crown Agents is an international development company employing over 600 personnel worldwide with a presence in more than 40 countries, subsidiaries in 11 countries, and permanent staff working on the ground in 22 corporate offices in Africa, Asia Latin America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Crown Agents provides direct assistance, management consulting, and human and institutional development for public and private sector clients in customs and trade facilitation, public financial management, procurement, logistics, and health systems strengthening.

Crown Agents USA (CA-USA), the U.S. incorporated subsidiary of Crown Agents, provides direct technical assistance, capacity development, and procurement services to stimulate economic growth, establish good governance, and improve health outcomes across the developing world. Since its incorporation in the United States in 1998, CA-USA has provided technical assistance services and support to U.S. Government agencies and international organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Department of State (DOS), and the Gates Foundation.

Project Description

The Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub Project’s key objectives are to increase international competitiveness, intra-regional trade and food security in Southern Africa. These objectives are underpinned by an improved regional trade and investment enabling environment coupled with increased agricultural value chain competitiveness supporting intraregional trade. This project is funded by the USAID and works closely with the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Specific Responsibilities

The Director of Trade will provide expert guidance while sharing best practice knowledge in order to improve regional trade and investment activities. To achieve these objectives, the Director of Trade will oversee that the following outcomes are achieved:

1.)The Research and implementation of relevant public-private partnerships to leverage funding and in-kind support to achieve results under this initiative.

2.)The implementation of trade and transport facilitation measures. This includes strengthening SADC Secretariat and Member States to comply with requirements and recommendations of applicable regional and international trade agreements and improving corridor management, port management, border crossings, and time and cost to trade information.

3.)The advancement of regional and multilateral trade and investment agreements and support institutions. This includes addressing non-tariff measures that pose barriers to trade and identifying and addressing barriers to investment.

Qualifications

· At least 10 years of experience, preferably within the SADC region, in international trade policy

· A Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent in a relevant discipline such as business, economics, or law required

· Master’s Degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent professional experience

· Experience in researching and implementing public-private partnerships to leverage funding and in-kind support

· Demonstrated ability to identify and address barriers to investment and trade

· Experience in trade policy and international trade law with a robust understanding of Southern African regional trade subtleties; prior experience and knowledge of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreements is preferred

· Demonstrated understanding of SADC institutional architecture and SADC member states in terms of agricultural development issues, regional trade, socio-economic realities, and regional and national trade policies, and their relationship to relevant continental economic and governance institutions (e.g. AU, COMESA)

· A strong understanding of the enabling environment issues that countries face in the Southern Africa Region

HOW TO APPLY:

Application Process

To apply to this position, please email your CV to careers@crownagents.com. Include your name, along with “15-28A Director of Trade”, in the subject line. Visit our website at www.crownagentsusa.comfor more information about our company. No phone calls, faxes or walk-ins please. Crown Agents USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and affords equal opportunity to all qualified applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other status protected under local, state or federal laws.

Crown Agents USA will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with qualified disabilities in accordance with the ADA. If you require a reasonable accommodation for our application process, please contact our Recruiting department directly. Requests will be kept confidential and shared strictly on a need-to-know basis only.