Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1446843
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JANUARY 2022 NEWS www.planningauthority.com VACANCY DEPUTY DIRECTOR (COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT) The role entails responsibilities for compliance and enforcement services that are required to enact campaigns including compliance with all the planning legislation, surveillance, enforcement, direct action, and imposition of fines. Successful candidates must be in possession of the following: Qualifications At least a first degree or a comparable professional qualification as recognized by the MQRIC, preferably in Architecture and Civil Engineering, or Law, or Enforcement, or Environment, or Land Use Planning, or other related subject, or a post-graduate degree or a Master's degree in Management or a Master of Business Administration. Experience At least 5 years' experience in compliance and enforcement, or 7 years' experience in a management position, with a track record of achievements and exposure to strategic policy making, including setting of objectives and implementation of effective change projects. Skills Highly developed interpersonal and leadership skills, communication, business analysis, service focus and strategic thinking skills. A demonstrated track record of goal and achievement orientation. Abilities Ability to formulate recommendations and solve problems. Ability to work under pressure as part of the Planning Authority Management team. Candidates are to present scanned copies of all qualifications with their application together with proof of local equivalence, for certificates which are not issued by the University of Malta or MCAST, which equivalence documentation is issued by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA). Candidates who are in possession of a foreign degree/s, are also to present a translated copy of their degree/s in English. All certificates and equivalence documentation are to be presented with the application, by the closing date for submissions. The above post is for a definite period of three (3) years. Interested candidates are advised to submit their application via email on ceooffice@pa.org.mt together with a detailed curriculum vitae in PDF format, by not later than 3rd February 2022 and addressed to: The Executive Chairman Planning Authority Ref: Deputy Director (Compliance and Enforcement) Jobsplus Permit No 54/2022 For further information visit our website www.pa.org.mt/en/vacancies recalled a major decrease in drug seizures at the start of the pandemic. "During the shutdown, when the airport closed, imported supplies almost stopped com- pletely. And since there were no parties for a while seizures also almost stopped entirely." A study on drug supply dur- ing the pandemic suggested that COVID-19 disrupted the illicit drug market. Published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, the study used over 250 self-reported submis- sions on illicit drug transac- tions, tracking the date of the purchase and whether the drug successfully shipped to its in- tended location. While the pre-pandemic suc- cess rate on deliveries stood between 60% to 100%, things changed after March 2020. The study says that successful de- liveries represented only 21% of all transactions at the peak of the market disruption. The United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime already re- marked on the shift in drug use experienced throughout the pandemic. MDMA, LSD and cocaine were less in demand as the party scene shut down, while the stress and boredom of the pandemic nudged more people towards cannabis Last year, European officials warned that drug traffickers are adapting to COVID-19 travel restrictions by opting for shipping containers and com- mercial supply chains instead of human couriers. This was highlighted in the European Drug Report 2021. Globalisation and technolo- gy fostered new ways of doing business, and Europe's illicit drug market was no exception. The European report men- tions that innovation in drug production and trafficking al- lowed for the establishment of new trafficking routes and the growth of online markets. "In the global context, Europe is an important market for drugs, supplied from both do- mestic production and traffick- ing from other world regions. South America, West Asia and North Africa are important source areas for illicit drugs entering Europe, while China is an important source country for new psychoactive substanc- es, drug precursors and related chemicals," the European Drug Report reads. nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt mt NEWS COMMENT ARTS & COMMERCIALS