Counternarcotics Mentor - Senior

The Celestar Corporation has been issued an IMMEDIATE Task Order to provide support to the Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). As a result, we’re looking for an INL/AME Senior Counternarcotics Mentor who will be seated in Accra, Ghana . If interested and qualified, we welcome you to post for this challenging opportunity. SECURITY CLEARANCE : A Secret security clearance is required for the position; however, the contractor may begin work with an interim Secret clearance PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE : One (1) Year from the Date of Award with the potential for four (4) follow-on Option Years. BACKGROUND The U.S. Department of State is the lead institution for the conduct of American diplomacy and the Secretary of State is the President’s principal foreign policy advisor. The Department of State’s mission is to advance U.S. national security interests, fight terrorism, protect U.S. interests abroad, and implement foreign policy initiatives that build a freer, prosperous and secure world. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (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. The Office of Africa and the Middle East (INL/AME) works to improve Ghana’s capability to counter drug trafficking and to work bilaterally with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). INL/AME is seeking the subject matter expertise of an in-country Senior Counternarcotics Mentor to help Ghanaian law enforcement, including the Ghana Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and the Ghana Police Service (GPS), improve their organization, administration, policies, procedures, operations, interagency collaboration, and international cooperation regard counternarcotics efforts. The Senior Counternarcotics Mentor will work in close coordination with U.S. Embassy Accra and INL/Washington. LEVEL OF EFFORT Hours for this full-time position will be the core hours of U.S. Embassy Accra, Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. LOCATION The physical work location is the INL Section at the U.S. Embassy Accra. However, an alternate location would be at the Narcotics Control Commission and/or the Ghana Police Service. TRAVEL Travel for this position is authorized in accordance with the award. TRAINING There is mandatory training required for DOS-specific equipment, systems, and processes (reference 13 FAM 300 Agency Mandated Training), which shall be completed promptly and in accordance with Department policy. Travel related training (i.e. FACT (CT650), HTSOS-C etc.), may be required, if applicable. PRE-DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT Pre-deployment support is required for this position. The Senior Counternarcotics Mentor must participate in INL pre-deployment training for eight (08) days and conduct consultations in Washington, DC, for two (02) business days. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Provide advice to senior Ghanaian government officials in formulating and documenting counternarcotics policies (particularly the new Ghana Narcotics Control Commission, but also the Ghana Police Service, Criminal Investigation Department, Drug Law Enforcement Unit). Provide advice to the INL Director and senior U.S. Embassy officials on counternarcotics developments in Ghana. Provide subject matter expertise in developing and delivering counternarcotics training and instruction in areas to include policy development, management, administration, intelligence collection/documentation/analysis, law enforcement operations, surveillance techniques, drug investigations, security, interagency coordination, and public relations. Assist in the development, coordination, and implementation of INL projects to improve Ghana’s counternarcotics capabilities. Assist in the planning, coordination, and implementation of INL counternarcotics in-country activities, while serving as a central point of contact for relevant engagement. Assist the INL Director in coordinating counternarcotics capacity-building activities with other donors and international and regional partners, including UNODC, AFRICOM, DEA, and other relevant civilian or military institutions. When capacity-building training opportunities arise, provide recommendations for Ghanaian participants who should be included. Organize and participate in meetings, seminars, and exercises to develop plans and programs to improve Ghana’s capabilities in the counternarcotics sector. When directed, provide administrative and logistical support to facilitate capacity-building activities, which could include 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. Communicate frequently with the INL Director, DEA Attaché, and the INL/Ghana Program Officer. Proactively provide status updates on projects and programmatic progress. Within 24-hours of receiving an email, provide a comprehensive, professional response. Provide useful analysis to help the U.S. government know how to most effectively and efficiently achieve program objectives. Take the initiative to encourage Ghanaian counterparts to make continuous improvements. Mentor counterparts in NACOC and GPS to make their own sustainable, institutional changes. Prepare 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. counternarcotics engagement in Ghana. Participate in domestic and international meetings regarding counternarcotics as related to Ghana. Participate in and/or lead assessments, monitoring site visits, and evaluations (as requested by INL) of Ghana’s counternarcotics sector and of U.S. program efforts and impact. Brief findings to senior U.S. Embassy, INL, and interagency officials and, on the basis of those findings, propose future projects, activities, diplomatic engagement, and/or other actions. Participate in outreach activities to increase awareness of INL programs and policies and solicit greater cooperation and participation. Gather, consolidate, and analyze information related to drug seizures, drug trafficking related arrests, and drug enforcement activities. Maintain a map showing locations of Ghana drug enforcement units, personnel, and contact information along with areas of known and suspected drug production and drug trafficking activities. Maintain a calendar of significant events for the next six (06) months to include trainings, workshops, meetings, conferences, and engagements related to counternarcotics efforts in Ghana. Professionally document in writing the activities that take place to achieve Embassy and INL objectives, including who participated, what was discussed, what happened, the outcomes of the activity, any useful metrics for demonstrating programmatic progress, the next steps, as well as digital photos to capture the essence of the activities, consistent with applicable security policies and bilateral sensitivities. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS U.S. Citizen. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in international relations, law enforcement, public policy, or related field (10 years professional law enforcement experience can be substituted). A minimum of eighteen years of experience with U.S. law enforcement or military, experience briefing in English. Three years of experience working overseas in an Embassy environment. Three years specialized experience depending on the position (e.g. intelligence, firearms, gangs, kidnapping, drugs, internal affairs). Knowledge of, and skill in, correct usage of English grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and style. PREFERRED QUALIFICATION Ability to obtain authorization to work in Ghana. Five years of demonstrated experience working on issues of drug enforcement and/or drug policy development in a foreign country. Demonstrated experience working in West Africa. Demonstrated excellent organizational, analytical, and project management skills. Possession of a valid driving license for at least one year. 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, to express complex ideas in a clear and logical way and without grammatical errors. Flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances and to re-evaluate priorities in light of new circumstances. Demonstrated working knowledge and proficiency in Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. IMPORTANT NOTE : This is a Best Athlete Selection Process! With this in mind, please ensure that the required and/or desired experience is reflected on your resume to receive fair and competitive consideration. Come onboard with a company that Values its Employees! Celestar, a Veteran Owned Company, is Very Competitive with Salaries and Benefits. As an example, we offer Company Paid Benefits that include Employee and Family Dental Insurance, Employee Health Insurance, Life Insurance and Disability Insurance as well. We also offer a 401k retirement company match, paid Holidays and Personal Time Off. Celestar is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, protecte