Programme Lead – ADEPT (Remote)

1.   Background

The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (the Alliance) is a public-private partnership for trade led growth jointly hosted by the World Economic Forum, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Center for International Private Enterprise in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The Alliance’s work is designed to help governments in developing and least developed countries implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). It brings together governments and businesses as equal partners to identify trade facilitation issues such as customs delays and unnecessary red-tape at borders, and design and implement targeted reforms that deliver commercially quantifiable results.

The Alliance is supported by the governments of Canada, the European Union, Germany, and Sweden and works with private sector partners from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the world’s largest multinationals.

2.   Objective of the Assignment

The ADEPT Programme Lead will support the scaling up and rollout of ADEPT projects across multiple countries by coordinating technical workstreams across the full project lifecycle, ensuring high-quality delivery of diagnostics, solution design, implementation, and dissemination.

3.   Scope of Responsibility

A. Geographic Scope:

• Developing and Least Developed Countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East

B. Programme Scope:

• Humanitarian Trade facilitation
• Focus on:
  • Process inefficiencies
  • Permit / licensing challenges
  • Public-private coordination gaps

4.   Key Responsibilities

A. Project Development Pipeline

The ADEPT Programme Lead will support the development of ADEPT projects, identified in collaboration with UNICEF, through a standard four-phase methodology:

Phase 1: Discover (Diagnose and Validate)

• Engage with individual UNICEF Country Offices
• Lead end-to-end business process mapping (AS‑IS) of clearance processes
• Identify and analyse key bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and regulatory constraints
• Support development of validated problem statements and baseline performance metrics
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations and validation workshops
• Contribute to go / no-go decision-making on project progression

Phase 2: Design (Develop Solutions with Stakeholders)

• Lead the development of pragmatic solutions addressing identified bottlenecks
• Support the design of process simplification and optimisation measures
• Identify opportunities for digitalisation, particularly through the configuration of existing trade facilitation systems (e.g. Single Window, Customs Management Systems)
• Help to define institutional roles, responsibilities, and governance structures
• Ensure stakeholder involvement in and alignment with proposed solutions

Phase 3: Deliver (Implement and Operationalise)

• Support implementation of agreed process reforms and operational solutions
• Contribute to deployment of digital and procedural improvements
• Deliver or support training and user sensitisation activities
• Monitor early-stage implementation and support issue resolution
• Strengthen local coordination mechanisms and working groups

Phase 4: Disseminate (Evaluate, Learn and Transition)

• Support documentation of project results, lessons learned, and best practices
• Contribute to development of replicable models and knowledge products
• Support dissemination across countries and stakeholders
• Provide inputs to final reports and donor deliverables

B. Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with stakeholders:
  • Government (customs, ministries, regulators)
  • Humanitarian (UNICEF, other UN agencies, NGOs)
  • Private sector actors (business associations, logistics companies)

• Facilitate structured public-private-humanitarian dialogue processes, ensuring:
  • Operational relevance
  • Stakeholder ownership
  • Alignment on solutions

C. Management of Consultants

• Help to identify, select and manage strong consultants:
  • Regional PM(s) who will:
    • Lead engagement and Discovery activities
    • Support Design and Deliver phases
  • Local consultants who will:
    • Support local engagement and Discovery activities
    • Lead the Design and Deliver phases
  • Ensure consultants deliver:
    • Structured analysis
    • Timely project progress
  • Provide direction while maintaining:
    • Local ownership
    • Proximity to reality

D. Portfolio Reporting and Coordination

• Provide structured updates to Head of Portfolio, including:
  • Project development pipeline progress
  • Project implementation status
  • Risk, issues, opportunities and learnings
• Contribute to:
  • Donor reporting inputs
  • Internal programme coordination

5. Expected Outputs

Within 3 months:

• 5 validated, high-quality proposals for new projects

Within 16 months

• Full delivery of the 5 new projects identified above
• Completion of a further 3 defined existing ADEPT projects

6. Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

Advanced degree in a relevant field

Professional Experience

Relevant professional experience in:

• Trade facilitation, customs, or logistics
• Process improvement and operational reform programmes
• Multi-country or development programme implementation

Technical Expertise

Demonstrated experience in:

• Business process mapping and analysis
• Identification and analysis of operational bottlenecks
• Design of practical implementable solutions
• Project management, including planning, delivery, and monitoring
• Stakeholder management in complex, multi-agency environments
• Single Window systems, customs systems

Operational Skills

• Strong facilitation and workshop delivery skills
• Ability to translate analysis into actionable recommendations
• Experience working in developing country contexts, particularly in customs / regulatory environments
• Proven ability to manage and mentor local consultants and multidisciplinary teams

7. Working Style and Expectations

• Highly hands-on and entrepreneurial
• Comfortable working with:
  • Limited initial information
  • Evolving opportunities
• Strong focus on:
  • Velocity
  • Specificity
  • Delivery
• Willingness to:
  • Travel regularly
  • Engage in diverse and sometimes challenging operating environments

8. Duration and Location

• Duration: 16 months (extendable)
• Working Arrangements: International consultant with frequent remote engagement and periodic in-country missions to challenging / at times insecure operating environments.
• It is expected that total effort for this will not exceed 280 person days.

9. Reporting Line

The successful applicant will report to the Alliance Head of Portfolio and work closely with:

• Alliance Management, M&E / M&B and Communications teams
• UNICEF (globally and locally)
• Donors
• Local stakeholders
• Local consultants
• Private-sector partners

10. Submission of Proposals

Interested consultants should submit a Technical and Financial Proposal in PDF format to: Christopher Holden (christopher.holden@iccwbo.org) with the subject line: “Request for Consultancy Services: ADEPT Programme Lead [YOURNAME]” by 11:59pm on 02-Aug-26.

Please note that submission of a proposal in the manner described above will deem all terms and conditions of this Request for Services have been accepted by the Bidder and incorporated into its proposal unless specifically notified otherwise.

11. No Obligation to Award

The issuance of this Request for Services (RFS) does not constitute a commitment by the Alliance to award a contract to any respondent. The Alliance reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any or all proposals, to cancel the RFS process at any time, and to take no action based on the proposals received.