Legal and Policy Expert – Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria

Aninver Development Partners SL (www.aninver.com) is looking for a Legal and Policy Expert for a trade consultancy assignment financed by TradeMark Africa in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria.

Aninver Development Partners is seeking an expert Legal and Policy Expert for an upcoming trade consultancy initiative in West Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso) supported by TradeMark Africa. The overarching objective of the assignment is to enhance regional integration, streamline trade procedures, and improve operational efficiencies by addressing regulatory bottlenecks, non-tariff barriers, and complex border procedures.

As part of a multidisciplinary team, the Legal and Policy Expert will play a critical role in evaluating existing regulatory frameworks and institutional arrangements. The successful candidate will help formulate actionable recommendations and implementation roadmaps to guide future corridor efficiency reforms and support seamless intra-regional trade.

Aninver is preparing a proposal for this assignment. The selected expert will be part of the proposed team; the engagement is conditional on the contract being awarded to Aninver. The full Terms of Reference for the position are shared with shortlisted candidates.

Objectives of the assignment

• Conduct a comprehensive business process review of trade processes and actors along key regional transit routes.
• Map end-to-end trade and transit procedures to identify bottlenecks, delays, and non-tariff barriers.
• Review and assess existing regulatory frameworks, institutional arrangements, and digital trade systems.
• Develop an actionable implementation roadmap, quick wins, and an M&E framework to guide future corridor efficiency reforms.

Scope of work

• Corridor Mapping and Diagnostic: Mapping end-to-end trade and transit procedures, identifying operational bottlenecks, delays, and non-tariff barriers across the target trade corridors.
• Business Process Re-engineering: Reviewing existing trade processes, institutional roles, and actor interactions using structured process mapping methodologies.
• Legal, Policy, and Digital Review: Evaluating national and regional legal frameworks, customs procedures, risk management practices, and digital trade systems against international and regional standards.
• Roadmap and Action Plan Development: Formulating practical recommendations, prioritized quick wins, an implementation roadmap, and a monitoring and evaluation framework to support institutional coordination and trade facilitation.

Your role as Legal and Policy Expert

• Review and assess national and regional legal and regulatory frameworks governing trade and transit.
• Align national legislation with regional and international trade frameworks and standards.
• Evaluate institutional arrangements and actor interactions along the trade corridors.
• Contribute to the identification of legal bottlenecks, non-tariff barriers, and gaps in current trade procedures.
• Collaborate with team members to integrate legal insights into business process re-engineering and digital trade assessments.
• Contribute to the formulation of actionable recommendations, quick wins, and implementation roadmaps.
• Draft comprehensive reports and inputs for institutional coordination and trade facilitation.

Requirements

• Education: Master’s degree in International Trade Law, Law, Public Policy, Economics, or related discipline
• At least 7 years’ professional experience in legal/regulatory review, trade policy or alignment of national legislation with regional/international trade frameworks
• Languages: Working professional proficiency in both English and French

Desirable

• Prior experience working on trade facilitation reforms in Africa.
• Familiarity with regional economic communities and international trade agreements.

A legally trained trade policy professional with at least 7 years of experience in regulatory review and international trade frameworks, fluent in both English and French.

Assignment details

• Location: Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria
• Financed by: TradeMark Africa
• Sector: Trade
• Estimated duration: 10 months
• Expected input: 29 days
• Contract: individual consultancy (conditional on award)

About Aninver Development Partners

Aninver is an international development consulting firm headquartered in Spain. It supports governments, development banks, UN agencies and bilateral donors with feasibility studies, technical assistance, evaluations and capacity building across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Asia-Pacific, working with a network of international and national experts.

Why apply

• Join a multidisciplinary team on a TradeMark Africa-financed project in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria.
• Individual consultancy: flexible, output-based engagement with an experienced proposal team.
• Your CV stays in Aninver's expert network for future assignments that match your profile.

How to apply

Sign in (or create a free account) and upload your CV in English. Add your LinkedIn profile, indicative daily rate and availability to speed up the assessment. Aninver will contact the shortlisted candidates.

Frequently asked questions

Is the position confirmed? The engagement depends on the contract being awarded to Aninver. Shortlisted experts are included in the proposal with their consent.

Can I apply if I am not based in the country? Yes, unless the requirements say otherwise; relevant regional experience is an asset.

What happens with my CV? It is used to assess your fit for this and future positions and is not shared with third parties without your consent.