National Consultant for Advancing Inland Waterways Transport and Strengthening Maritime Governance Systems in South Sudan

The National Consultant will support the Government of South Sudan in strengthening maritime administration systems and advancing compliance with international maritime standards. The role involves legal and regulatory assessment, stakeholder consultation on IMO domestication, and support to the development of legislative and regulatory instruments.

Responsibilities

• Compile and review all relevant national legislation, regulations, policies, administrative procedures, and institutional mandates governing inland waterways transport, navigation, vessel registration, safety, port operations, environmental protection, and maritime administration.
• Support the assessment of South Sudan's existing legal and regulatory framework against the requirements of priority IMO conventions and instruments identified by UNECA and the Government of South Sudan.
• Identify legal, regulatory, institutional, and administrative gaps that may hinder accession, domestication, implementation, and enforcement of IMO conventions and instruments.
• Provide analysis of existing regulatory overlaps, inconsistencies, or gaps affecting inland waterways transport governance and maritime administration.
• Undertake a legal gap analysis to assess alignment between existing national frameworks and relevant IMO conventions.
• Advise on South Sudan's legislative processes and requirements for incorporating international conventions into national law.
• Identify and engage institutions responsible for maritime transport, inland waterways transport, legal reform, environmental management, customs, trade facilitation, and transport safety.
• Facilitate consultations with government agencies, legal experts, transport operators, port authorities, private sector representatives, academia, and development partners.
• Support discussions on the implications of accession to and domestication of relevant IMO conventions and instruments.
• Collect stakeholder views on priority areas for legal reform, institutional strengthening, and implementation requirements.
• Document stakeholder recommendations to inform the legal reform and domestication process.
• Support the review of draft acts, regulations, amendments, and other legal instruments prepared under the assignment.
• Verify consistency between proposed legislation and South Sudan's legal framework.
• Support the identification of implementing institutions, mandates, and enforcement mechanisms required for effective implementation of IMO instruments.
• Draft legislative and regulatory instruments (acts, regulations, or amendments) to support the domestication of priority IMO conventions.
• Support the organization of stakeholder consultations and technical validation workshops on IMO accession and domestication.
• Prepare endorsement package, including finalized legal instruments and recommendations, for Government consideration.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Law, Maritime Law, International Law, Legislative Drafting, Business Law, Public Law, or another closely related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in one of the above disciplines, combined with an additional two years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in legal and regulatory analysis, legislative drafting, public policy, regulatory reform, or a related field is required.
• Demonstrated experience in reviewing and analyzing national legislation, regulations, policies, and institutional frameworks is required.
• Demonstrated experience drafting or reviewing legislation, regulations, statutory instruments, legal amendments, or policy frameworks is required.

Skills

• Maritime Law
• International Law
• Legislative Drafting
• Legal Analysis
• Regulatory Analysis
• Public Policy
• Regulation Reform
• Legislation Review
• Policy Frameworks
• Institutional Framework Analysis
• Legal Amendments
• Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
• Maritime Administration
• Compliance with International Maritime Standards

Languages

English