Overview
Develop a practical, user-oriented Customs toolkit to strengthen the capacity of customs administrations in administering and verifying the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) preferences.
Key Responsibilities
- Review the DCTS legal framework, operational procedures and existing guidance, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) materials.
- Review relevant customs manuals, operational procedures and guidance on preferential trade agreements, rules of origin, origin verification and customs compliance.
- Define the proposed structure, format and content of the DCTS Customs toolkit.
- Prepare an inception report setting out the proposed toolkit scope, structure, development approach and workplan.
- Coordinate technical consultations with customs administrations from selected DCTS beneficiary countries.
- Engage HMRC and relevant international experts to validate operational approaches.
- Consult selected Business Support Organisations (BSO) and other stakeholders.
- Document operational practices, recurring implementation issues and priority capacity gaps.
- Propose relevant operational topics and tools for the toolkit.
- Provide peer-to-peer review to the draft “How to Benefit from DCTS ?” curriculum and its 4 modules.
- Undergo peer review of the draft toolkit with HMRC, partner customs administrations, other relevant institutions and key resource persons.
- Consolidate technical comments received during consultations.
- Revise the toolkit to reflect agreed recommendations.
- Prepare the final version for publication and implementation.
Required Experience
- At least 6 years of professional experience in customs administration, trade facilitation, or border management.
- Demonstrated expertise in preferential trade agreements, customs procedures and rules of origin.
- Proven experience developing customs operational manuals, guidance documents, toolkits or training materials.
- Experience working with customs administrations in developing or least developed countries.
- Strong experience facilitating technical consultations and multi-stakeholder engagement.
- Experience with the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) or similar preference schemes (Desirable).
- Familiarity with HMRC operational procedures (Desirable).
- Experience working with the World Customs Organization (WCO), WTO, ITC or other international organisations (Desirable).
- Experience supporting capacity building programmes for customs administration (Desirable).
Qualifications
Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) International Trade, International Law, Public Administration, Economics or another relevant discipline.
