TERMS OF REFERENCE

National Consultant

Background:

• The International Trade Centre (ITC) has a unique mandate in the United Nations system to promote increased competitiveness of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing, transition and least developed countries and assisting them to better use trade as a platform for growth, development and employment creation.
• The ITC support these countries to improve their business environment and facilitate better management of border operations, including through the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
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• In line with the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement, The International Trade Centre (ITC), in partnership with the GIZ Trade for Employment Programme (T4E) and the Ministry of Industry & Trade, is executing a project in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to improve the competitiveness of Jordanian SMEs and growth of Jordanian exports through trade facilitation.
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• ITC, as part of the operational project, will assist the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to further enhance its trading environment and achieve compliance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) trough the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Portal. More specifically, this portal will include an online step-by-step guide will describe the sequence of practical steps needed to successfully comply with the regulatory and procedural requirements of an import, export or transit transaction.
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• The consultancy described in this Terms of Reference (ToR) deals with the development of step-by-step procedures functionality to raise traders' awareness of the practical steps required to successfully import/export goods.

 Descriptions of duties/responsibilities  

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Senior Trade Facilitation Adviser, and the direct guidance of the responsible technical manager to:

1.    Identify all the steps that are required to comply with Jordan import/export requirements

• The consultant shall identify all the administrative steps involved in trade transactions in relation to the border and regulatory agencies before (e.g. obtaining licenses), during (e.g. declaration submission, inspections), and after the import or export operation (e.g. exchange control operations). For example, the list of administrative steps required to process an export could include (fictional, not to be used as a reference).
• Apply for import/export registration permit
• Pay for import/export registration permit
• Lodge import/export intent request
• Request for a phytosanitary certificate
• Make payment and obtain phytosanitary certificate
• Obtain health certificate
• Obtain radiation certificate
• Obtain a certificate of origin
• Arrange pre-shipment inspection
• Customs declaration
• Pay port dues
• Obtain Fumigation certificate
• Obtain an organic certificate
• Obtain insurance
• Arrange port clearance

In order to precisely delineate what qualifies as a step, the following rules shall apply:

• Each step should involve only 2 actors:
• a private sector actor (e.g. exporter, importer, transporter, licensed customs broker); and
• a public sector actor (e.g. government agency), or a regulatory procedure carried out by a private sector actor (e.g. port clearance granted by privately own port operator).

Each step should involve one transaction only:

• if obtaining an export intent s requires 4 consecutive interactions between the trader and the Ministry of Trade (i.e. registration, payment, lodging request, removing intent ), it should translate into 4 different steps.
• The consultant will focus exclusively on regulatory / administrative procedures (submission and lection of documents and authorizations, payments of duties, taxes, fees and charges, inspections, etc.). The Consultant will not have to list steps relating to:
• Production processes (e.g. packaging);
• Commercial processes (e.g. contractual agreement with client, choice of incoterms);
• Payment processes (e.g. obtaining a letter of credit with a bank);
• Logistics services (e.g. transport arrangements).
• This is without prejudice to the fact that the documents issued in the course of these 4 processes will have to appear as prerequisite to the completion of administrative/regulatory steps
• E.g. the Consultant will not discuss the invoice issuance process, however the commercial invoice will necessarily appear in the list of documents to be submitted to the customs along with the declaration.
• 2.    Document all the steps that are required to comply with Jordan import/export requirements
• For each administrative step identified in relation with import or export procedures, the consultant should lect the following information:
• Which agency/organization to visit to complete the step and its contact information and opening hours
• The list of required documents and s to provide to the agency /organizations to complete the step
• Please indicate whether originals or copy are required
• Pease indicate the number of copies and/or originals required
• Please provide copies of the documents / s to be completed for reference
• The list of documents and s that will be provided by the agency/organization at the end of the step
• A copy of the documents and s required and/or obtained for each step
• The monetary expenses related to the completion of the steps (i.e. fees and charges) in local currency and USD
• If fees / charges are related to the weight / value of the goods, please provide calculation rules
• The average time required to complete the step and the average waiting time to be able to proceed to the next step
• References to the applicable regulations related to the current step (i.e. legal basis for the step)
• Photos of the entrance side of the regulatory/border agencies.
• Indicate if the step is required every time there is an export / import or if the step only need to be followed on a periodical basis (e.g. export permit valid for a 12 months period)

3.     Document all formalities related to the export or import of 5 commodities in the step-by-step procedures functionality

• The Consultant will update the information collected (see guidelines above) into the step-by-step functionality using a dedicated web-based content management system (CMS). The consultant will be trained to use the CMS by ITC experts.
• Because trade alities can vary according to the type of flows, the type of procedures (release for consumption, temporary admission) and the nature of goods (perishable, pharmaceutical), the Consultant will be requested to document and updated on the online step-by-step functionality all alities related to the export or import of 5 commodities that will be shared in due course.

Eligibility Criteria

Skills

The Consultant will have the necessary expertise and experience to complete this assignment, such as:

• Very organized and meticulous with a great sense of details
• Ability to work autonomously and in a team
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills
• Interest in administrative procedures, their simplification and the reform of public administration in general
• Sense of public service

Education

• University degree in Business Administration, Information System Management, Software Development, Organizational Management, Public Administration, Law or any other related field. 

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of professional experience preferably in the areas of trade procedures and customs requirements.
• Excellent written and oral communication in Arabic
• Good written and oral communication in English
• Experience and ease in managing great volumes of information and data
• Management of simple software and applications (databases, image and video processing)

Languages:

• The consultant is required to have excellent communication and drafting capacities in Arabic. Working knowledge in English.