KEY EXPERT – OPERATIONAL COORDINATOR

• Type of posting:Long-term
• Duration of Posting: 27 months, starting approx. May 2026

Context

The project “Securing a robust AML/CFT Framework Against Illicit Financial Flows in Sub-Saharan Africa (SecFin Africa)” aims to contribute to the fight against illicit financial flows linked to transnational organised crime, money laundering and terrorist financing with the ultimate goal of increasing domestic resource mobilisation, stabilisation and security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

To achieve this general objective, the action offers to work in an integrated manner at all relevant levels of intervention: at national level, regional level and with civil society organisations. Consequently, the Specific Objectives (Outcomes) of this action are:

• National capacities, including law enforcement and judicial capacities to prevent and counter IFFs linked to transnational organised crime, money laundering and the financing of terrorism are strengthened and Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-compliant;
• Effective regional and inter-regional cooperation and information sharing in the fight against IFFs, money laundering and the financing of terrorism is enhanced;
• Increased public awareness and civil society’s role promote greater transparency and hold States accountable to take action against IFFs and organised crime.

These objectives will be implemented through the deployment of five teams: a Project Management Unit (PMU) based in Brussels, Belgium and in charge of steering the action, as well as four regional hubs, in Yaoundé/Cameroon, Dakar/Senegal, Pretoria/South Africa and Dar es Salam/Tanzania, tasked with the delivery of the activities. Addressing the large number of countries targeted under this action will require varied levels of intensity, in particular for engagement at national level, outlined as follows:

• A common training programme, offering standard trainings to all requesting beneficiary countries under the mandate of the Action;
• A facility option to support requesting countries featuring systemic deficiencies in their AML/CFT framework to improve technical compliance with FATF standards;
• A high-intensity programme to provide specific longer-term support to selected countries, answering a specific, wide-reaching issue faced by the jurisdiction, notably with regards to major FATF recommendations and/or immediate outcomes.

Regional engagement will be conducted in support of existing processes between peer-jurisdiction or through supporting key organisations, such as FATF-Styled Regional Bodies (FSRBs). Finally, the civil society will be mainly supported through grants, targeted to civil society organisations (CSO), consortiums of investigative journalists, whistle-blowers and/or research labs to support investigations and research on the fight against IFF.

The present Action is expected to be a substantial building block of the continental Team Europe Initiative to support Africa in Combatting Illicit Financial Flows and related Transnational Organised Crime (TEI IFF-TOC). It will contribute to all three associated components and be implemented in coordination with TEI’s members parallel initiatives.

The Operational Coordinator, as part of the project management unit in Brussels, will have the primary mission of coordinating law enforcement missions under the auspices of the SecFin project. The expert will support the Project Director in the technical coordination of the network of regional experts and to ensure coordination with other European and international projects working in the domain of Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) Anti-Money Laundering and the Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT). A polyvalent role, the coordinator will, in direct collaboration with the four regional hub coordinators, identify opportunities for collaboration with beneficiary country institutions across 49 sub-Saharan African countries, and encourage concrete collaboration with EU law enforcement institutions with the aim of increasing concrete law enforcement actions (asset forfeiture, arrests, joint task forces, etc.).

The coordinator will also take charge of the project’s “knowledge management” under the Common Training Programme, piloted by CIVIPOL. Concretely, the expert will oversee and coordinate the archiving and analysis of activity deliverables with the assistance of the Monitoring and Evaluation team.

The coordinator will report to CIVIPOL via the project manager in Paris, and will liaise with project partners via the project management unit (PMU) in Brussels to respond to the various requirements of the project.

Primary Tasks

Coordination of operational activities

• Identify opportunities for operational cooperation between beneficiary institutions across partner countries.
• Liaise with relevant operational stakeholders and initiatives, in pa