Company Profile

Nathan, a Cadmus Company is a leading provider of analytic and economic consultancy services worldwide. In the past decade, we have implemented more than 120 projects in more than 50 countries leveraging our global presence in Washington DC, London, and India. From improved transparency and deeper stakeholder engagement to more effective policies and more resilient businesses, we deliver results that impact economic growth, human development, and poverty reduction. We are passionate about applying our deep analytical expertise and advanced proprietary tools to generate economic solutions tailored to our clients’ unique challenges.  Nathan focuses on a range of economic development subject matter areas including Trade & Logistics; Economic Policy & Governance; Private Sector Development; Women’s Economic Empowerment; and Financial Solutions. 

Job Description

Background

The Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment (GTI) Activity seeks to improve the enabling environment for Ghana’s economic growth by (1) facilitating trade (2) improving and developing product standards; (3) catalyzing investments in private enterprises related to high-value commercial crops; (4) promoting job creation, particularly among women and youth; (5) promoting economic diversification; and (6) increasing foreign exchange revenues from high-value export crops. GTI will facilitate investing in firms that trade goods across borders, spur innovation, and build the capacity of the entire trade sector.  To support trade facilitation, GTI seeks to identify and tackle time-in-trade costs through robust and integrated risk management systems, streamlined clearance procedures, and improved policy formulation through public-private dialogue.

In 2023, GTI provided technical and financial assistance to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)-Customs Division to conduct Ghana’s first Time Release Study (TRS), a baseline study to identify bottlenecks that impede efficient clearance and release processes at ports and borders. Specifically, the study sought to (i) measure the average time from arrival to release of goods from selected customs clearance offices (Tema Seaport, Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Aflao Customs Border Post, and Paga Customs Border Post); (ii)  measure the performance of trade facilitation processes of Customs, other government agencies and private sector operators involved in the clearance and release of goods; and (iii) identify areas to improve clearance processes and enhance facilitation to reduce time and cost to trade.

Among the key findings and recommendations from the study are the challenges faced by GRA-Customs to process customs Bill of Entries (BoEs). Currently, the Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTSB) is the unit that is mandated to determine customs classification, valuation and determination of origin of all goods (imports, export and transit goods) to be cleared at all the 16 Custom Stations in Ghana.  The centralization of BoEs within the CTSB is meant to ensure uniformity, fairness and certainty in the assessment of duty, which is consistent with the theory of taxation which seeks to avoid discrimination (conforms to basic tenets of taxation). However, the study identified that the centralization of BOEs processing within CTSB is fraught with delays and recommends, amongst others, the need to decentralize BoE processing. This calls for the need to provide capacity building to selected customs officers from the 13 Customs Stations (outside Tema Port, Kotoka International Airport and the Headquarters) to equip them with both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for determination of customs classification, valuation and origin of goods required for the processing of BoEs. This is expected to reduce the workload on the CTSB at the GRA-Customs headquarters, facilitate a faster turn-around time in the processing of BOEs and in turn reduce the clearance time for imports, export, and transit goods.

The report also stressed the need for some basic education/awareness creation for the private sector freight forwarders and traders (importers and exporters) on the need to avoid wrong classification and valuation of goods that tend to attract queries which cause delays in customs clearance.

Position Summary:

GTI is seeking a local consultant to work with the GRA-Customs Technical Services Bureau (CTSB) to design and train selected GRA-Customs officers from 13 out-stations in customs valuation to process Bill of Entries (BOEs) at the point of entry. The consultant will collaborate with GRA-Customs, the Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment (GTI) Activity. and with the designated consultant on customs classification to train private sector operators (freight forwarders, importers and exporters) to enable them to comply with the requirement of ensuring the appropriate valuation of goods for customs clearing.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

Key responsibilities and tasks to be performed include but are not limited to the following:

• Work closely with the head of the CTSB and other key officials to deliver training on customs valuation for BOE processing at customs point of entries for an estimated 100 GRA-Customs officers, particularly, those officers from the 13 customs outstations.
• As needed, develop training materials, including presentations, case studies, and practical exercises, to engage participants effectively.
• Conduct interactive and participatory training sessions involving the use of adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding and retention of materials presented to trainees.
• Incorporate simulations to enhance the learning experience and provide practical insights.
• Develop and administer pre-test and post-test as assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of the training and ensure that learning objectives, including improved compliance in customs documentation, and procedural changes with regards to tariff and classification and valuation are met.
• Consultant is also required to interview private sector freight forwarders and clearing agents’ associations, key importers and exporters associations to design, develop and implement training program and awareness creation sessions to improve their compliance with valuation of goods for clearance. These trainings should also aim at helping the private sector operators to minimise the incidence of common errors that create delays in clearance.
• Prepare reports detailing the training activities, participant performance, and any recommendations for improvements.
• Monitor training outcome and collaborate with GRA-Customs and GTI to measure the impact on time taken for officers to conduct valuation.

The goal of the training would focus on providing the requisite knowledge, understanding, and skills to build the competencies of customs officers to deal with all aspects of valuation of goods for faster clearance.  Key technical components of the training may cover WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation.

Deliverables

• Inception report with an implementation plan
• Training materials such as training manual, power point presentations, case studies, practical exercises, and assessment questions on customs valuation for GRA-Customs officers for processing of BOEs at point of entries, freight forwarders, clearing agents and traders (importers/exporters) associations.
• Conduct customs valuation training workshops for an estimated 100 GRA-Customs officers from 13 customs outstation/collections, and an estimated 200 freight forwarders/clearing agents and importers/exporters, based on agreed areas and schedules with GRA-Customs and GTI. 
• Progress report after completing training for GRA-Customs officers and the private sector (freight forwarders/clearing agents, and traders (importers/exporters) associations and a final report detailing the training activities and recommendations as needed.
• Report that measures the impact on time taken for officers to conduct customs valuation 

Level of Effort

The expected Level of Effort (LOE) of this assignment is 68 days for all tasks. The activity is proposed to take place between June and October 2024 with the commencement and completion dates to be agreed upon between GTI and the consultant.

Required Skills or Experience

• A master’s degree in international trade, law, economics, development studies, business administration, international marketing or a related field. A bachelor’s degree with more than 10 years of experience in relevant field would be acceptable.
• Five to ten years with knowledge and experience in customs law and operations including customs valuation and documentary requirements for clearance of goods.
• Experience in conducting short course training, and delivering agreed outputs on time.
• Good team management capacity and excellent verbal and written communication in English are required.
• Good drafting skills and familiarity with IT Software tools such as Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, etc.