Consultant in Trade (National)

Result of Service The consultant will deliver the following outputs:

A. Collect data on trade-related documents exchanged electronically between assigned country – one of the four countries China, Mongolia, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation depending on in which country the national consultant is in charge of data collection – and other countries using the data collection framework provided by ESCAP . The national consultant needs to 1) collect cases which are not covered in the current CBPT; 2) review the accuracy of the cases related to China, Mongolia, Republic of Kore and Russian Federation covered in current CBPT.

B. Identify possible pilot projects on cross-border paperless in assigned country, including identification of at least four specific trade-related documents (e.g., certificate of origin, invoice, bill of lading, sanitary certificate, commercial invoices; warehouse receipts; packing lists; bills of lading; customs declaration forms; and insurance certificates) which could be piloted with other countries covered by the project. 1. This requires the consultant to review the best practices of electronic exchange of these four documents and discuss how relevant these documents are related to other countries covered by the project. 2. The consultant needs to review the previous work carried out by the WCO-ESCAP task force on cross-border electronic data exchange. 3. The consultant needs to work closely with the international consultant to ensure quality, consistency, and adherence to the project's scope. It is expected that regular virtual meetings among consultants (international and national) will be organized, and the consultant will be required to attend the meetings.

C. Write a comprehensive report which should list the challenges and solutions to implementing the pilot project between assigned country and other countries covered by the project. The tentative structure of the report is shown in Annex 1.

Evaluation of outputs: The performance will be evaluated based on the overall quality and timely delivery of the outputs. The report is expected to be submitted adequately formatted and in good English.

Copyrights over all outputs are owned by the United Nations. The United Nations reserves its exclusive right at its sole discretion to alter, publish or use any part of the outputs under this contract in any respect. The United Nations shall have no obligation to inform or consider the needs of the contractor in connection therewith.

The consultant should inform and request explicit permission for any use of the outputs under the project, in particular, during the project delivery and before it has been published and disseminated publicly by the United Nations. Dissemination under another organization's name is not permitted unless permission is granted in writing. Failure to follow this requirement may result in non-payment to the contractor.

Work Location Home-based

Expected duration 15/03/23-30/06/23

Duties and Responsibilities The first session of the Standing Committee of the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific agreed to the parties' joint actions. (https://is.gd/QHpTGq).

The consultant will support outputs and activities contributing to the implementation of prioritizing cross-border paperless trade processes, documents and data for pilot projects (action 13.2). The outputs and activities will include member States from East and North-East Asia including China, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea have acceded to the Framework Agreement, and the Russian Federation is at the final accession stage.

Qualifications/special skills Master’s or higher degree in economics or related areas

At least six years of research or work experience on trade, trade facilitation or e-commerce.

Languages Fluency in English is required.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.