Senior Counternarcotics Mentor - US Embassy Ghana

BlueForce Inc. is seeking qualified candidates for a Senior Counternarcotics Mentor to support the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana.

INL keeps Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores. Improving Ghana’s capability to counter drug trafficking and to work bilaterally with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) contributes to this mission.

The Senior Counternarcotics Mentor will assist Ghanaian law enforcement, including the Ghana Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and the Ghana Police Service (GPS), to improve their organization, administration, policies, procedures, operations, interagency collaboration, and international cooperation with regard to counternarcotic efforts.

PREFFERED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Demonstrated experience working in West Africa.

• Demonstrated proficiency in oral and written French communication skills.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: 

• U.S. Citizen.

• Ability to obtain authorization to work in Ghana.

• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant law enforcement experience (Federal, State, local, or international missions).

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• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in one of the following areas: Law Enforcement, Public Administration, International Relations, Management, Business Administration, Psychology, or Criminology.

• Five (05) years demonstrated experience working on issues of drug enforcement, drug policy development, law enforcement, and/or criminal justice.

• Possession of a valid driving license for at least one year.

• Must meet security clearance requirments of Top Secret (can begin work with Interim)

• Experience working in a foreign country.

• Demonstrated excellent organizational, analytical, and project management skills.

• Demonstrated excellent oral and written English communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain key relationships in a culturally diverse environment and negotiate the resolution of conflicting views to enable project implementation.

• Demonstrated ability to write clearly and concisely and express complex ideas in a clear and logical way without grammatical errors.

• Demonstrated flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and to re-evaluate priorities in light of new circumstances.

• Demonstrated knowledge and proficiency in Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES  

• Assists in advising senior Ghanaian government officials in formulating and documenting counternarcotic policies.

• Assists in advising the INL Director and senior U.S. Embassy officials on counternarcotic developments in Ghana.

• Provides subject matter expertise in developing and delivering counternarcotic training and instruction in areas to include policy development, management, administration, intelligence collection/documentation/analysis, law enforcement operations, surveillance techniques, drug investigations, security, and public relations.

• Assists in the development, coordination, and implementation of INL projects to improve Ghana’s counternarcotic capabilities.

• Assists in the planning, coordination, and implementation of INL counternarcotic in-country activities, while serving as a central point of contact for relevant engagement.

• Assists the INL Director in coordinating counternarcotic capacity-building activities with other donors and international and regional partners, including UNODC, AFRICOM, DEA, and other relevant civilian or military institutions.

• Provides recommendations on Ghanaian attendees, when capacity-building training opportunities arise.

• Organizes and participates in meetings, seminars, and exercises develop plans and programs to improve Ghana’s capabilities in the counternarcotic sector.

• Provides administrative and logistical support to facilitate capacity-building activities, when requested to do so, such as making arrangements at hotels or Government of Ghana facilities, arranging interpretation and translation services, setting up food services, making local transportation arrangements, facilitating local and international travel, gathering Leahy Vetting information, and reproducing materials for trainings and meetings.

• Communicates frequently with the INL Director, DEA Attaché, and the INL/Ghana Program Officer. Proactively provide status updates on projects and programmatic progress.

• Provides a comprehensive, professional response within 24 hours of receiving an email.

• Provides useful analysis to help the U.S. government know how to most effectively and efficiently achieve program objectives.

• Takes the initiative to encourage Ghanaian counterparts to make continuous improvements.

• Mentors counterparts in NACOB and GPS to make their own sustainable, institutional changes.

• Prepares background materials, talking points, updates, and reports used by U.S. Embassy Accra and INL in preparing reports, speeches, briefings, public messaging, and testimony to articulate U.S. counternarcotic engagement in Ghana.