UNITED NATIONS

OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER / 03-CON-14
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS / 10 February
TITLE / Consultant / Coordinator confiscated assets management
ANTICIPATED DURATION
/ Twenty three (23) work months (twenty (20) working days per month)
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT / Conference Support Section, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, Division for Treaty Affairs, UNODC
DUTY STATION / Reggio Calabria, Italy, with several missions to Vienna, Austria
ESTIMATED REMUNERATION* / USD - to be determined

* This assignment does not carry any entitlement to social benefits such as medical insurance, pension, sick leave, etc.

BACKGROUND AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Transnational crime is one of the world’s most sophisticated and profitable businesses. Transnational criminal organisations, including mafias, have amassed vast wealth, which is often manifested in real assets and businesses. Such assets are often held in jurisdictions away from where the groups are located and beyond the jurisdictional reach of law enforcement agencies in the host country. This necessitates the development of strategies and operational practices to trace, identify and then freeze, seize and confiscate such assets. Once this is achieved, policies and practices to manage frozen and seized assets are necessary whilst action is taken to ultimately confiscate and, where appropriate, return the assets to their rightful point of origin.. The issue of asset tracing, forfeiture and recovery, particularly in the area of recovery of the proceeds of corruption, are well covered in most aspects by a number of initiatives, most notably the joint UNODC-World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative. One aspect of this topic that has been less well canvassed is the management, use and disposal of criminally derived and stolen assets at the practical/practitioner level. The objective of the initiative is to develop a comprehensive package of knowledge products in the area of management, use and disposal of seized and confiscated assets. Under the guidance of UNODC/CEB senior officers and in close coordination with relevant staff members, the consultant will conduct in-depth research to compile existing measures, practices and experiences and concrete cases on the management, use and disposal of criminally derived and stolen assets. This includes the preparation of a first draft compilation to be reviewed by an international group of experts and, based on information gathered through the desk review and the international expert group meeting, the development of a comprehensive package of knowledge products. The consultancy will include in particular the following activities:

a)  Undertake a desk-based compilation and analysis of existing measures, practices and experiences;

b)  Contribute to the planning and organization of and actively participate in the international expert group meeting in Reggio Calabria to present the first draft compilation of good practices and discuss possible follow-up activities, in particular the development of a comprehensive package of knowledge products;

c)  Contribute to the written outputs of the initiative, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications;

d)  Conduct further work on the first draft and map out a framework (including a common methodology on the cooperation and coordination process) to develop relevant knowledge products, based on the outcome of the international expert group meeting;

e)  Contribute to the establishment of a group of experts by identifying experts from various regions with expertise in different legal systems and in specific areas related to the management, use and disposal of criminally derived and stolen assets, to be part of the representative group of experts;

f)  Liaise with the group of experts with a view to receive additional material, comments and feedback for the topics of the comprehensive package of knowledge products, as well as collect and incorporate all necessary changes and adjustments requested by the experts and finalise the different knowledge products;

g)  Assist in the selection of modalities for the dissemination of good practices among relevant stakeholders;

h)  Liaise with the authorities of the Region of Calabria and provide advice on the local institutional set-up and good practices, which may be useful for the implementation of the initiative.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Advanced university degree in Law, Economic, Social Sciences or any other relevant field of study. Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in the field of good governance and transparency issues especially in the field of preventing and combating corruption. Fluency in English and Italian (oral and written). Knowledge of transnational organized crime and asset recovery. Experience in research and analysis related to crime prevention and criminal justice with a focus on economic crime and corruption related issues, including their international dimensions is highly desirable. Familiarity with challenges posed by confiscated assets management.

All applicants are requested to complete a United Nations Personal History form (P.11), available online (www.unvienna.org/documents/P11.doc) or send a complete Curriculum Vitae, a list of publications for the last five years and names and contacts of three references. Applicants should also outline in a cover letter why they consider themselves qualified for the position. Due to the expected high volume of applications, only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted. All applications should be sent to , by e-mail with PHP/P.11 in pdf format attached, or to fax No. : (+43-1) 26060-5886. Preference will be given to equally qualified women applicants.

VA 03-CON-14 HRMS/RPU/VP 30.01. 2014