(STCE) Project Manager

World Customs Organization

Hours
37.40 hours per week

Length of contract
2 year

About the Organisation

World Customs Organization (WCO) is an independent intergovernmental body, established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), whose mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs services across the globe. The WCO represents 186 Customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters.

As a forum for dialogue and exchange of experiences between national Customs delegates, the WCO offers its Members a wide range of conventions and other international instruments, as well as technical assistance and training services provided either directly by the Secretariat or with its participation. The Secretariat also actively supports its Members in their endeavours to modernise and build capacity within their national Customs administrations, as well as fostering international cooperation among them.

About the role

This WCO STCE Project was initiated in 2026, building on the STCE Programme that in the last ten years has developed a range of tools and instruments to support Customs effectively detect, deter and interdict illicit shipments of controlled strategic goods and commodities. In addition to these tools and instruments, the WCO has an STCE training curriculum and delivers capacity-building support to its Members using this curriculum.

Responsibilities

Delivery Management:

• Manage project staff in accordance with the WCO's values, Staff Manuals and policies, including management of leave and attendance, recruitment, onboarding, offboarding and associated knowledge transfer, as well as staff welfare, liaising with the Human Resources (HR) Service and other relevant services, as required.
• Assign tasks to project staff, ensuring alignment with individual skills and capacities, balancing workloads to the extent possible, and setting deadlines and expectations.
• Provide guidance and direction to project staff, ensuring ongoing two-way feedback, setting objectives and development plans, conducting performance evaluations, and identifying opportunities for development.
• Ensure effective communication and knowledge-sharing within the project, and in coordination with other managers in the WCO.

Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Preparing, managing and monitoring a work plan to outline the schedule for the delivery and review of each Project activity, as well as logframe, risk register and other project management documentation;
• Working closely with WCO Accounting, Legal and Project Management Office where relevant;
• Managing the project budget using WCO financial systems and tools;
• Completing regular internal and donor reporting, including producing a final project report, as well as a financial report at the end of the Project;
• Implementing and assuring adherence to WCO personnel, accounting and travel policies;
• Coordinating input from other WCO project activities in the security domain to ensure and prevent any duplication of effort and conflicts of interest;
• Supporting external audits, evaluations and monitoring activities.

Production of Project Outreach and Communication Materials and Implementation:

• Drafting social media and web articles, and other Project communication and visibility activities in cooperation with the Communications Service.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience & Essential Qualifications:

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in Project Management;
• Excellent knowledge of budget management;
• Risk mitigation experience in the project environment;
• Good analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Proven experience in procurement and organising capacity building events in different beneficiary countries;
• Experience in Customs enforcement or strategic trade control;
• Experience in and/or knowledge of the functioning of international organisations would be an asset.
• Project management certification (Prince2; PMP, Agile/Scrum) would be an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in English.
• Knowledge of French would be considered an asset.

Competencies:

• Ability to work constructively in a small team and in a multinational environment;
• Strategic mindset;
• Ability to motivate a team;
• Excellent organisational skills;
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written);
• Ability to work under pressure and adhere to tight deadlines;
• In-depth knowledge of Microsoft Office 365; and
• Ability to adapt to the administrative and financial tools used by the WCO.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor's level degree or an equivalent combination of education, skills and experience.

Compensation & Benefits

• 30 days of annual paid leave
• Remuneration is exempt from income tax in Belgium
• Probationary period: six months
• WCO retirement fund or pension scheme

Conditions of employment

• Compulsory WCO health insurance is deducted from the salary (approximately 71 EUR/month).

Working locations

• Brussels, Belgium

How to apply

• Interested candidates should submit their application for review no later than 16th March, 2026, including a CV and motivation letter in English. This application should be sent by email to: [email protected]
• The subject line of the email sent by each candidate should clearly indicate the project title and job vacancy for which they are applying.
• The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application, according to the criteria for the position and the applicable WCO rules.

Interviews

• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an assessment, which may include a written test and an interview. 
• All short-listed candidates may be requested to provide copies of their original diplomas, certificates and proof of relevant experience. Pre-selected candidates may also be subject to reference checks to confirm the information provided in their application.

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