Regional Coordinator for Engagement on Drug Markets in West Africa

Application Deadline : 15 September - 17:00 CET

Start Date: October 2026

Place of work: Accra, Ghana, with regular travel across West Africa and internationally

Salary: Dependent on location and experience

Duration: 3 years

Time Commitment: Full-time (100%)

Background 

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) is an independent civil society organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a globally dispersed Secretariat working across 43 countries. Founded in 2013, GI-TOC brings together a global network of more than 810 independent experts and a team of over 150 staff dedicated to understanding and responding to organized crime. Through research, analysis, policy engagement and support to civil society actors, GI-TOC works to deepen understanding of organized crime and strengthen effective, rights-based responses. 

The GI-TOC works to:

• Identify, analyse and map criminal trends and patterns of regional instability, and their impact on illicit flows, governance, development, security, conflict and the rule of law.
• Connect and support civil society actors working on organized crime and corruption, and on their links to instability and conflict.
• Strengthen local monitoring and analysis of national, regional and international organized crime and insecurity trends.

On 27–28 November 2025, the Governments of Ghana and the Netherlands and the GI-TOC jointly convened the high-level Accra Dialogue on the future of drug markets in West Africa. The Dialogue brought together approximately 160 political leaders, technical experts, regional and multilateral institutions, civil-society stakeholders and representatives from every West African country. It resulted in the adoption of the Accra Call to Action and established momentum for a strengthened regional response to drug markets.

The GI-TOC is undertaking several programmes designed to strengthen the response to drug trafficking in West Africa, including by strengthening the evidence base on drug trafficking, supporting disruption of illicit flows and networks through capacity building and other policy and programmatic interventions, and reducing the overlapping harms associated with drug markets.

Summary of Role 

The Regional Coordinator for engagement on drug markets in West Africa is a senior leadership position responsible for contributing to the strategic direction of GI-TOCs programming on drug markets, and for overall programme delivery of workstreams focussed on strengthening the response to drug markets. The postholder will operate under the strategic oversight of the West Africa Observatory Director, Political Commissions Lead, and Executive Director of the GI-TOC. The Regional Coordinator is expected to coordinate and ensure delivery of a full range of interventions, from data collection and monitoring, capacity building and technical support, and political engagements and convening.

The Regional Coordinator will play a key role in liaising with senior government, diplomatic, regional, multilateral, law-enforcement, public-health, research and civil-society stakeholders working to strengthen West Africa’s response to drug markets, and to mitigate their escalating harms. The role requires exceptional political judgement, programme leadership and regional credibility, together with the ability to translate evidence into high-level engagement and practical collaboration across politically sensitive environments.

The Regional Coordinator will report to the Director of the West Africa Observatory, work closely with the GI-TOC lead responsible for political commissions and relevant thematic leads, and operate under the overall strategic direction of the GI-TOC Executive Director.

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic, programme and team leadership

• Provide contributions to the evolving strategic direction of the GI-TOC’s programming to support strengthened responses to drug markets in West Africa, as part of a wider senior leadership team, and lead in translating the agreed strategic priorities into coherent strategies, workplans and delivery.
• Ensure timely and high-quality programme delivery, including oversight of budgets, expenditure, risks, donor compliance, reporting and resource mobilisation.
• Oversee organisation of events, capacity building programmes, and research workstreams, ensuring that activities are delivered in line with agreed timelines, and providing quality assurance across the programme.
• Oversee monitoring, evaluation and learning, using evidence and lessons generated to inform adaptive programme management and accountability.

Political engagement, diplomacy and partnerships

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior government and diplomatic representatives from West African and European states, together with other strategic partners working in the law enforcement, security, drug policy, and public health space.
• Lead in organisation of high-level dialogues and political summits, consultations and other engagements that sustain political momentum and build consensus around West Africa’s response to drug markets.
• Represent the Platform in relevant regional and multilateral forums, developing interventions and presentations, and overseeing the preparation of calls to action, communiqués, briefings and other high-level materials.
• Strengthen collaboration with regional and international institutions, civil society, academia, the media and technical partners to promote regional ownership and the sustainability of initiatives to support strengthened drug market responses.

Evidence, technical cooperation and policy influence

• Supporting research and monitoring of cocaine and synthetic drug markets, including through engaging with existing networks across West Africa.
• Translate evidence into actionable recommendations, strategic briefings and communications tailored to political, policy and technical audiences.
• Facilitate opportunities for technical cooperation between West African states and European partners, including through tapping into specialist networks and supporting working group structures.
• Briefing regional and international stakeholders on programming priorities, and regional drug market dynamics.
• Oversee the selection and delivery of demand-led technical interventions that strengthen early-warning systems, forensic and investigative capabilities, cross-border cooperation and drug-policy reform.
• Ensure that research and technical activities comply with applicable ethical, safeguarding, information-security standards in line with GI-TOC policies.

The Regional Coordinator will be granted access to the GI-TOC’s email and data storage systems, and will operate in line with the GI-TOC’s ethics, security and data management policies.

Requisite Skills and Experience 

Experience should include:

• An advanced university degree in international relations, political science, security studies, law, public policy, public health, development studies or another relevant discipline. A strong combination of professional experience and a first degree may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in programme leadership, diplomacy, policy engagement, organized-crime or drug-policy programming, security, governance, international cooperation or a closely related field, including substantial responsibility for complex multi-country initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing significant donor-funded programmes, including work planning, budgets, reporting and compliance.
• A strong record of high-level engagement with governments, diplomatic actors, regional or multilateral institutions, and technical or civil-society partners.
• Deep knowledge of West African political and institutional dynamics and demonstrated professional experience working across the region, including engagement with law enforcement, national governments, regional institutions and civil society.
• Substantive understanding of drug trafficking, illicit markets, organized crime, criminal justice, public-health approaches to drugs, or related transnational security challenges.
• Full professional proficiency in English and French
• Existing senior-level networks across West Africa and Europe in fields relevant to drug policy, law enforcement, criminal justice, diplomacy, public health or research.
  

Desirable skill sets, which would also be developed throughout the opportunity include 

• Experience overseeing politically sensitive research, threat assessments, restricted analytical products or evidence-to-policy processes.
• Experience facilitating technical or operational cooperation across jurisdictions and professional siloes.
• Professional proficiency in Portuguese or another West African language.
  

GI-TOC operates a flexible working environment and encourages staff to achieve a suitable work-life balance and supports professional development and learning.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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