## 1. INTRODUCTION
The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an independent intergovernmental body, established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs services across the globe. The WCO represents 187 Customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters.
As a forum for dialogue and exchange of experiences between national Customs delegates, the WCO offers its Members a wide range of conventions and other international instruments, as well as technical assistance and training services provided either directly by the Secretariat, or with its participation. The Secretariat also actively supports its Members in their endeavours to modernize and build capacity within their national Customs administrations, as well as fostering international cooperation among them.
## 2. PROJECT BACKGROUND
This WCO STCE Project was initiated in 2026, building on the STCE Programme that in the last ten years has developed a range of tools and instruments to support Customs effectively detect, deter and interdict illicit shipments of controlled strategic goods and commodities. In addition to these tools and instruments the WCO has a STCE training curriculum and delivers capacity building support to its Members using this curriculum.
## 3. MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
This Project is the next phase of the STCE Programme and is focused both on the development and refreshing of tools and instruments and on the delivery of Member focused capacity building. Specific deliverables include:
– Up to nine national STCE capacity building workshops, with beneficiaries to be selected based on needs and requests, in coordination with the Donor;
– Two refresher training workshops for active STCE Accredited Experts focused on new and emerging technologies and the international controls that relate to them;
– Train-the-Trainer accreditation workshop(s) for new experts from regions currently underrepresented within the trainer pool (Europe, Asia/Pacific);
– Work with WCO regional entities to develop self-sustaining regional networks of STCE Accredited Experts to support activities beyond the life cycle of this project;
– Development of up to two e-Learning Modules in relation to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) risks from emerging technologies;
– Scoping missions to Southeast Asia to address STCE implementation and how Customs can more effectively apply the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and STCE Implementation Guide recommendations in Free Trade Zones (FTZs) that are built on RKC’s Specific Annex D, Chapter 2 on Free Zones;
– Publication of the Southeast Asia Free Trade Zones Best Practices Guide;
– Collaboration with other international organizations to allow for WCO trainers and staff to support Customs focused capacity building activities organized by the UN and other international organizations;
– Production of analyses to inform WCO analytical and intelligence products.
## 4. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Under the supervision of the Head of Unit – Security, the Project Manager will focus on the following key activities:
### i. Delivery Management
– (a) Manage project staff in accordance with the WCO’s values, Staff Manuals and policies, including management of leave and attendance, recruitment, onboarding, offboarding and associated knowledge transfer, as well as staff welfare, liaising with the Human Resources (HR) Service and other relevant services, as required.
– (b) Assign tasks to project staff, ensuring alignment with individual skills and capacities, balancing workloads to the extent possible, and setting deadlines and expectations.
– (c) Provide guidance and direction to project staff, ensuring ongoing two-way feedback, setting objectives and development plans, conducting performance evaluations, and identifying opportunities for development.
– (d) Ensure effective communication and knowledge-sharing within the project, and in coordination with other managers in the WCO.
### ii. Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation
– (e) Preparing, managing and monitoring a work plan to outline the schedule for the delivery and review of each Project activity, as well as logframe, risk register and other project management documentation;
– (f) Working closely with WCO Accounting, Legal and Project Management Office where relevant;
– (g) Managing the project budget using WCO financial systems and tools;
– (h) Completing regular internal and donor reporting, including producing a final project report, as well as a financial report at the end of the Project;
– (i) Implementing and assuring adherence to WCO personnel, accounting and travel policies;
– (j) Coordinating input from other WCO project activities in the security domain to ensure and prevent any duplication of effort and conflicts of interest;
– (k) Supporting external audits, evaluations and monitoring activities.
### iii. Production of Project outreach and communication materials and implementation
– (l) Drafting social media and web articles, and other Project communication and visibility activities in cooperation with the Communications Service.
### iv. Any other Project-related duties as may be assigned by the line manager
## 5. EDUCATION
– Minimum Bachelor’s level degree or an equivalent combination of education, skills and experience.
## 6. EXPERIENCE AND ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
– A minimum of 7 years of experience in Project Management;
– Excellent knowledge of budget management;
– Risk mitigation experience in the project environment;
– Good analytical and problem solving skills;
– Proven experience in procurement and organizing capacity building events in different beneficiary countries;
– Experience in Customs enforcement or strategic trade control;
– Experience in and/or knowledge of the functioning of international organizations would be an asset.
– Project management certification (e.g. Prince2; PMP, Agile/Scrum) would be an advantage.
## 7. LANGUAGES
– Fluency in English.
– Knowledge of French would be considered an asset.
## 8. COMPETENCIES
– Ability to work constructively in a small team and in a multinational environment;
– Strategic mindset;
– Ability to motivate a team;
– Excellent organizational skills;
– Excellent communication skills (oral and written);
– Ability to work under pressure and adhere to tight deadlines;
– In-depth knowledge of Microsoft Office 365; and
– Ability to adapt to the administrative and financial tools used by the WCO.
## 9. CONTRACT AND CONDITIONS
– Staff member under short-term contract of up to two (2) years;
– Probationary period: six (6) months;
– Full-time employment (thirty-seven (37) hours and forty (40) minutes weekly) at WCO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium;
– Thirty (30) days of annual paid leave;
– Salary starting from 7,800 EUR/month depending on experience and qualifications all-inclusive (remuneration exempted from income tax in Belgium);
– Compulsory WCO health insurance deducted from the salary (approximately 71 EUR/month).
This position is subject to the Manual for Short-Term Contractors. The successful applicant shall not acquire the right subsequently to occupy a permanent position within the WCO. The successful applicant will not be affiliated to any WCO retirement fund or pension scheme. If a candidate is related to current WCO staff members (spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister), they are required to specifically indicate this in the application.
## 10. APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Interested candidates should submit their application for review no later than 16 March, 2026, including a CV and motivation letter in English. This application should be sent by email to:
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
The subject line of the email sent by each candidate should clearly indicate the project title and job vacancy for which they are applying.
The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate how they meet each of the essential qualifications and requirements. Applicants are encouraged to describe tangible achievements in their CV and motivation letter, as well as to include contact details for referees.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an assessment, which may include a written test and/or an interview. All short-listed candidates may be requested to provide copies of their original diploma, certificates and proof of relevant experience. Pre-selected candidates may also be subject to reference checks to confirm the information provided in their application.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application, according to the criteria for the position and the applicable WCO rules.
**Position Availability: This role is subject to donor funding confirmation**
