Ref.
2026/ETPDLCLTDBC/15479
Job offer type
Experts
Type of contract
Service contract
Activity sectors
Global threats and organized crime ; Culture and heritage
Deadline date
2028/11/30 15:00
Duration of the assignment
Beaded expertise
Contract
Freelancer
Duration
10 jours
Technical Experts / Fighting Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods project (MENA) (M/W)
Département Paix, stabilité, sécurité - P2S > Pôle Menaces globales et criminalité organisée
Published on : 2026/05/18
NORTH AFRICA / MIDDLE EAST
TUNISIA
Mission description
External consultants shall be recruited to provide technical expertise on ad-hoc topics related to combatting illicit trafficking of cultural goods.
Project or context description
This project, jointly implemented by Expertise France agency and Italian Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri), represents a comprehensive initiative aiming at supporting the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural goods in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. Anchored within EU strategic framework towards both the protection of cultural heritage and regional stability, the proposed initiatives aim at offering a response to critical challenges facing EU Southern Neighbourhood countries, particularly Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. These nations are as much source countries as they are critical transit hubs for smuggled cultural goods. They are also, impacted in various degrees by instability, resources scarcity for law enforcement agencies and inadequate border control systems.
This project intend to provide an answer to the destruction and increasing pillaging of cultural heritage within the MENA region. Such acts not only erode cultural identity, but also contribute to the financing of serious organised crime and terrorism. Despite international conventions and political regulatory mechanisms, illicit trafficking of cultural goods remains marginal in national agendas. This project propose to address the problem with a comprehensive approach focusing on enhancing institutional capacities, improving cooperation across borders and organisations, as well as mobilising cultural stakeholders for cultural property protection (CPP); in the hope that ultimately, the project shall contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the MENA region and in Europe.
The project is split into two phases over 36 months period, across three interconnected components:
- Reinforcement of prevention and detection of illicit trafficking with art market stakeholders and cultural institutions,
- Capacity development for law enforcement agencies and judiciary,
- Promotion for regional and inter-regional cooperation.
Activities will include the development of digitised cultural data bases, suites of training modules, and setting-up of formatted operational processes at scale with regional focal points.
The overall objectives of this initiative are to create sustainable and localised solutions to effectively address the trafficking of cultural goods, integrating CPP in security national strategies with dedicated infrastructures or teams, and to build robust mechanisms for transborder cooperation. This ambition is aligned on peace, stability and prosperity objectives from the EU external action.
Required profile
Actions
Depending on their field of expertise, recruited consultants shall apply their specialised skills to:
- Capacity building and awareness raising to current challenges brought about by trafficking of cultural goods such as objects identification and provenance analysis at institutional, academic and operational levels,
- Capacity building into archaeological heritage preservation, including site management and archaeological museum collections,
- Desk-based analysis of judicial and legal landscapes including but not limited to evidence collection, chain of custody, jurisdiction admissibility, judicial system assessment,
- Investigation techniques and analysis for preventative measures, detection systems, case and file building, evidence and record keeping for witness statements,
- Architecture building, usage and management of digitised cultural data base, GIS analysis, collection records management, identification and provenance research,
- Mapping of sites, risk and vulnerability assessment as per specific needs identified,
- Methodology for financial investigations and assets recovery
Tasks and Responsibilities
Depending on identified needs, the consultant expert shall (non-exhaustive list):
- Be involved in field mission in any partner countries,
- Organise and run training sessions and capacity building workshops,
- Draft reports and blue print documents,
- Run and/or manage trainers training,
- Contribute to methodology documents such as modules format, tool kit, information briefs,
- Provide logistical support to partners institutions
Methodology
The chosen methodology applied shall be determined on ad hoc basis with the consultant expert as per proposed objectives.
Required profile
Qualifications & experience
- University degree
and/or
- At least 5 to 10 years of professional experience commensurate with expertise,
- Significant experience in sector related to protection and/or valorisation of cultural heritage or combatting illicit trafficking of cultural goods,
- Willingness to travel in Europe and/or MENA region
- Experience and working knowledge of MENA region highly sought after, particularly for roles involving cross-border transactions and navigating complex regulatory landscapes
Technical experience
- Understanding of international laws, regulations and conventions pertaining to CPP,
- Experience in capacity building and running training workshops with multi-stakeholders,
- Solid grasp of institutional and operational challenges in the MENA region,
- Strong ability to adapt and adjust best practices to local context.
Soft skills
- Excellent communication skills,
- Ability to operate in multi-cultural environment with ease,
- Analytic and problem-solving skills,
- Team-player and adaptability and self-starter with minimum supervision.
Language skills
- Professional proficiency in English, orally and in writing,
- Knowledge of French and/or Arabic optional
Contract type & delivery
- Short- or long-fixed-term consultant contracts available,
- Regular visits to countries in MENA region to be expected,
- Close collaboration with and support from permanent project team.
Reporting/deliverable schedule
- Short term contract (+/- 7 days): before and after contract
- Long-term contract (20 days and more): progress report at mid-point
Additional information
The consultant expert shall deliver the objectives (report, analysis, workshops etc) as per the defined mission goals in the contract. Validation of the deliverables and reporting by the contracting party will be required to enable payment of fees to the contractor.
Selection criteria for applications
The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :
- Candidate’s skills linked with the expert mission
- Candidate’s experiences linked with the expert mission
- Candidate's knowledges related to local context (country or region intervention)
Deadline for application : 2028/11/30 15:00
Expertise France is the public agency for designing and implementing international technical cooperation projects. The agency operates around four key priorities :
- democratic, economic, and financial governance ;
- peace, stability, and security ;
- climate, agriculture, and sustainable development ;
- health and human development ;
In these areas, Expertise France conducts capacity-building initiatives and manages project implementation, leveraging technical expertise and acting as a project coordinator. This involves combining public sector expertise with private sector skills to drive impactful results.