Background
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) is an independent civil society organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a globally dispersed Secretariat working across 43 countries. Founded in 2013, GI-TOC brings together a global network of more than 810 independent experts and a team of over 160 staff dedicated to understanding and responding to organized crime. Through research, analysis, policy engagement and support to civil society actors, GI-TOC works to deepen understanding of organized crime and strengthen effective, rights-based responses.
The GI-TOC works to:
- Identify, analyse and map criminal trends and patterns of regional instability, and their impact on illicit flows, governance, development, security, conflict and the rule of law.
- Connect and support civil society actors working on organized crime and corruption, and on their links to instability and conflict.
- Strengthen local monitoring and analysis of national, regional and international organized crime and insecurity trends.
Job Summary
The Central Africa Observatory (CEA-Obs) of the GI-TOC monitors and analyses developments in organized crime and their impact on governance, security and development in the region. The key objective of this role is to turn the Observatory’s information and analysis into concrete policy and law enforcement action. To this end, the Observatory is seeking a Law Enforcement Liaison Officer to strengthen its engagement with authorities, law enforcement agencies and strategic partners, including regional and international institutions when relevant.
The ideal candidate will have proven experience within, or in sustained engagement with, law enforcement and justice institutions in the region.
The Liaison Officer will serve as a bridge between the research team and regional stakeholders and, where relevant, international strategic partners, ensuring that the Observatory’s information, recommendations and analysis reach the appropriate decision-makers and practitioners. The Liaison Officer will also contribute to the recommendations of the Observatory’s reports, making them actionable by law enforcement. The Liaison Officer will identify and create opportunities for presentations, trainings and briefings with relevant stakeholders, with a primary focus on law enforcement and, to some extent, policy audiences.
The Officer will report to the Director of the Central Africa Observatory and work in close collaboration with the Observatory’s research team.
Main Responsibilities and Specific Tasks
- Engagement strategy: map relevant national, regional and international actors, and develop and implement a country-by-country engagement strategy adapted to political and security contexts.
- Partnerships: establish and maintain strategic partnerships and trust-based relationships with authorities, law enforcement agencies and policy actors, as well as with regional and international institutions relevant to the Observatory’s work.
- Presentations, trainings and briefings: create and organise opportunities to present the Observatory’s findings, deliver trainings and hold briefings with relevant stakeholders, with the aim of translating analysis and recommendations into concrete policy and law enforcement action.
- Collaboration with the research team: work closely with researchers to ensure that findings are communicated effectively to the right audiences; contribute to shaping the recommendations of their reports so that they can be acted upon by law enforcement; relay stakeholders’ needs and feedback to the team; and connect researchers with relevant counterparts according to their areas of expertise.
- Recommendations: contribute to the recommendations of the Observatory’s reports, in particular by making them actionable for law enforcement (clear, targeted, realistic and tied to the competences and mandates of the institutions concerned).
- Tailored notes and analytical support: write notes dedicated to targeted law enforcement audiences, in close collaboration with the research team, so that findings and recommendations are presented in a form practitioners can act on; contribute to analyses of law enforcement challenges and trends, and support research and open-source intelligence (OSINT) activities where relevant.
- Impact and visibility: track how the Observatory’s work is taken up and translated into action (investigations, prosecutions, seizures, policy or institutional reforms), document its contribution to accountability, and contribute to increasing its visibility among strategic audiences.
- Ethics and independence: ensure that engagement activities never influence research findings or compromise sources, and that sensitive information is shared only through validated procedures.
Required Skills and Experience
(R = Required; D = Desired)
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following experience and skills:
- Proven professional experience within, or in sustained engagement with, law enforcement or justice institutions in Central Africa (police, gendarmerie, customs, judiciary, financial intelligence), whether as a current or former officer or as a professional working closely with these institutions (for example as an investigator, advisor, researcher, or within civil society or an international organization); supporting evidence will be requested (R)
- University degree in a relevant field (R)
- At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, including engagement with law enforcement and other institutional stakeholders (R)
- Thorough knowledge of the region’s security and judicial institutions and their cooperation dynamics (R)
- Established network and credibility among security and justice actors in the region (R)
- Excellent command of French and professional proficiency in English (R)
- Strong analytical skills (R)
- Excellent writing skills, including the ability to produce concise, targeted notes for law enforcement and policy audiences (R)
- Ability to translate analysis and research findings into practical, actionable recommendations for law enforcement and policy audiences (R)
- Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, with the ability to collaborate closely with researchers (R)
- Experience in organising workshops, trainings or briefings for institutional audiences (R)
- Strong commitment to confidentiality when handling sensitive information (R)
- Ability to work independently and to travel frequently (R)
- Experience in policy advocacy (D)
- Understanding of international and regional law enforcement cooperation mechanisms (D)
- Proficiency in Arabic (D)
- Experience in open-source research (D)
GI-TOC operates a flexible working environment and encourages staff to achieve a suitable work-life balance and supports professional development and learning.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
The Global Initiatives makes use of BambooHR's ATS system to receive and review your application. All correspondence related to your application will be sent via our domain globalinitiative.bamboohr.com.
