SRO-EA Consultant Trade-in-Services in South Sudan

Result of Service Ultimate Result The ultimate result of the intervention is to better position the South Sudanese Government and private sector actors to effectively implement and take advantage of the AfCFTA.

Work Location Home based and Juba

Expected duration The Support Consultants will be recruited for a period of 3 months spread between September and December 2021. The Support Consultant will be paid US$15,000 in total, allocated according to the following product submission timetable:

30% after submission of deliverable 1 40% after submission of deliverables 2, 3 and 4 30% after submission and approval of deliverables 5

Duties and Responsibilities Background

The agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) signed in Kigali, Rwanda, on 21 March 2018 is a key milestone in Africa’s integration Agenda. The Agreement includes the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services and the Protocol on Rules and Procedures for Settlement of Disputes.

The AfCFTA is expected to be a key engine of economic growth, industrialization, and sustainable development in Africa in line with the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063 for “The Africa We Want”.

For the AfCFTA to deliver the expected outcomes, priority actions are to be undertaken in the short to medium run. Firstly, the ratification of the AfCFTA is critical. Efforts to support Member States in consensus-building to secure the ratification of the Agreement should be accompanied by strengthening the AfCFTA marketplace through continental policies on competition, investment, and intellectual property rights. Secondly, there is a need to build on the political momentum behind the AfCFTA to support policy reforms that are aimed at implementing the Agreement. In this regard, it is critical for member States to undertake deliberate actions and deploy necessary efforts through effective and integrated AfCFTA national strategies with a view to maximize the benefits of the Agreement while minimizing potential induced adverse effects. The strategies will be complemented by an effective monitoring and evaluation framework that will track progress on the implementation of the Agreement. Similarly, they will be informed by regional commitments to economic integration and industrialization; as well as national policies and overarching strategies such as the National Strategy for Transformation and Vision 2035 and 2050, among others. South Sudan has signed the AfCFTA but is yet to ratify it. Ratification would mean access to larger markets for South Sudanese goods. It is likely to result in increased exports.

As part of its role in providing technical assistance to member States, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is leading the implementation of a technical assistance project aiming to deepen Africa’s trade integration through effective implementation of the AfCFTA. A main component of the project is to support pilot African countries to develop AfCFTA National Strategies. These strategies are expected to identify where comparative advantages lie for diversification and priority value chains development to support economic diversification and maximize trade potential in the context of the Agreement. Cross cutting issues to be considered in the strategies include gender mainstreaming, environmental and climate change as well as technologies.

Trade liberalization policies will not achieve intended development goals if they are not designed and implemented in a gender sensitive manner. Trade liberalization have varied impacts on men and women due to the different economic and social positions occupied by men and women in the society. Developing a gender responsive approach is necessary to mitigate the negative impact of trade policies and to enhance the positive outcomes for women which in the end will enhance overall effectiveness of these

It is in this context that the ECA through its African Trade Policy Center (ATPC) and its Sub-Regional Office for East Africa proposes to recruit national consultant to lead country-level activities and support implementation of the project in South Sudan. The consultant will specifically develop a national strategy and action plan for trade in Services under AfCFTA.

Objective The objective of this intervention is to support South Sudan to develop an inclusive strategy and action plan for AfCFTA, focusing on the services sector.

Duties & Responsibilities

Working under the overall guidance of ECA SRO-EA Director, and direct supervision of the Secretary of the NSC, the Support Consultant on Trade-in-Services is expected to work in close collaboration with the Lead Consultant, and various stakeholders at state, national, regional, and global levels involved in the project. Specifically, the consultant will:

1. Contribute to reviewing the trade in services context in the South Sudan outlining recent developments in the country and its sub-region. The review should provide an overview of enabling conditions for structural transformation, identify key macroeconomic challenges and risks and propose mitigation/adjustment strategies;

2. Draft the services trade components of the AfCFTA National Strategy;

3. Review and provide guidance on the various key services sectoral and sub-national intervention work going on and ensure quality outputs;

4. Documenting outcomes from South Sudan’s key services sectors/thematic areas (i.e. Financial Services; Technology/Digital Services; Travel and Tourism; Business Services; Transportation; Transit and Logistics; Education and Human Capacity Development; and Health Services) into a single coherent strategy document, which must include an Action Plan. The National Strategy and Action Plan should be concretely informed by national data and other national strategy documents;

5. Support the Lead Consultant- Trade in Goods, to produce a South Sudan AfCFTA strategy;

6. Carry out an analysis of South Sudan’s defensive and offensive interests in the trade in services priority sectors: transport, communication, tourism, financial and business services;

7. Assist South Sudan in preparing services trade offers under the AfCFTA and review offers received from partner countries;

8. Support capacity building efforts;

9. Assist with any other ad-hoc requests within the context of the project;

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or above) in Economics, Trade, Development Studies, or related fields is desirable. Experience: The candidate should have a minimum of seven (7) years of proven experience in strategy development, trade policy formulation, regional integration and development, services sector or related areas in South Sudan. Proven record of strategy development in consulting environment and successfully managing development projects are desirable. Familiarity with data analysis using statistical packages. Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) 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.