Duty Station: Addis Ababa
Closing Date: Jun 22, 2022
Result of Service
To increase the appreciation and understanding of government officials, the public and private sector in Africa on the benefits and challenges of E-commerce with a concentration on Portuguese speaking countries.
Work Location
Home Based
Expected duration
The expected duration of the assignment is 6 months from the date of signing of the contract.
Duties and Responsibilities
Background:
The African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), through the Regional Integration & Trade Division, is a specialized unit within the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Its mission is to act as the leading Africa-based Centre of excellence and a continental hub for providing and coordinating technical support for the development of trade policies in Africa. ATPC works with stakeholders at all levels to enhance the implementation of sound national, regional and international trade strategies, policies and programs. The Centre also conducts research to generate and disseminate knowledge on trade an provides policy advice, training and capacity. Building based on the needs identified by its partners.
During the second half of 2021, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a partner organization to ECA, developed and implemented two virtual learning courses directed at civil servants in Latin America titled “Opportunities and Challenges for MSME’s in Latin American Cross-Border E-commerce” and an equivalent course for the Caribbean. The courses intend to promote the participation of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in cross-border electronic commerce, educate stakeholders about privacy issues and discuss competition policy.
Broadly, the courses cover five topics: 1) Introduction, 2) The digital transformation and the role of E-commerce in MSME’s, 3) Logistics and commercial facilitation for cross-border e-commerce, 4) The strategic importance of data in cross-border e-commerce and privacy, and 5) conditions and competition policy in cross-border e-commerce. Accompanying each module there are also sub-topics and ‘lessons’ to be accessed asynchronously, interviews and instructive videos and message boards for comments. Each week there is also a synchronous live session for 1.5 hours for participants to interact in real-time with an instructor. At the culmination of each week modules conclude with a brief quiz containing 10 multiple-choice questions.
In this context, ECA intends to partner with ECLAC to bring the course to new audiences on the African continent, particularly in Portuguese speaking countries and seeks to hire a consultant to assist with adding African-specific themes into the course material and acting as a tutor for participants throughout the duration of the course. It is the further intent of this initiative to broaden the audience of the course to not only include civil servants in Portuguese-speaking countries but attract a larger public audience, with specific focus on the private sector.
Objectives
The overarching objective of this assignment is to update the course “Opportunities and Challenges for MSME’s in Latin American Cross-Border E-commerce”. The consultant will be responsible for filming videos, conducting interviews and implementing certain portions of the course in Portuguese and English for the six Portuguese speaking African nations. The consultant will also be responsible for course moderation and participation throughout its duration. The course will be re-branded to title “Cross-border e-commerce in Africa: Benefits, Barriers and Businesses with focus on Portuguese speaking countries”. The course will be delivered in both Portuguese and English with participants given the opportunity to choose their modality.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant will work under the guidance of the ATPC coordinator and the direct supervision of the project manager. In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives the expert is expected to perform the following tasks:
• Utilize existing training materials to deliver training materials on “Cross-border e-commerce in Africa: Benefits, Barriers and Businesses with focus on Portuguese speaking countries” through filming 10 to 12 video tutorials in Portuguese that include the presentation of course materials pertinent to each module
• Conduct interviews in Portuguese with small business owners from Portuguese speaking countries in Africa to be included in video presentations
• Moderate 4 to 5 synchronous course sessions in Portuguese (1.5 hrs each) where course materials will be presented in-depth and questions may be asked by participants
• Interact with the participants in the course in Portuguese through the use of message-boards and online forum where participants can submit questions or comments
• Serve as a subject matter expert on cross-border e-commerce in Africa with particular focus on Portuguese speaking countries
• Prepare a final report with the realized tasks and results of the course
Qualifications/special skills
Academic Qualifications: Master’s degree in economics, international trade or related field is required.
Experience: A minimum of (5) years of professional experience related to economics and e-commerce, digital trade or a related area is required. Experience working on the African continent is also required. Work in relation to Portuguese speaking African nations is highly desirable. Ability to adapt communication styles to suit different audiences is an advantage.
Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in English & Portuguese 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.