(CMR) Charles Clifford is expected to retire as the director of Customs and Border Control in July 2024; as a result, recruitment is already underway for his replacement.
“We are starting the recruitment process for my replacement early to appoint a Director of CBC (Designate) who will work directly alongside me for the next 12 months in order to ensure a smooth transition of the leadership of CBC in July 2024,” Mr. Clifford explained.
The job listed on the government's website as Director designate has a Salary Range of CI$136,440 – $158,256 per annum. According to the job description, the purpose of this post is to deliver strategic leadership to enable the coordination and integration of security, trade facilitation, and trade enforcement functions of the CBC, and to enable the expedited flow of legitimate travelers and goods at ports of entry while interdicting persons and goods illegally entering or exiting the Cayman Islands.
Mr. Clifford was appointed as the Director of Customs and Border Control in January 2019. However, he has been serving the Cayman Islands in various capacities since he was 16 years old when he was a cadet.
He started his career in 1980 with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and served with them for 17 years, reaching the position of Chief Inspector in charge of Police Administration. During his policing career, he trained with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Scotland Yard, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In 1997, Mr. Clifford was appointed Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and was promoted to Permanent Secretary in 2001. In 2004, after 24 years of public service, Mr. Clifford resigned from the Cayman Islands Government and joined the law firm of Quin & Hampson.
In 2005, Mr. Clifford was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly – 2nd Elected Member for the District of Bodden Town and was subsequently appointed as the Minister of Tourism, Environment, Investment, and Commerce. He served in that post until 2009 and gained considerable experience in representing the Cayman Islands at international forums involving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the United Nations, CARICOM, and other Overseas Territories.
Mr. Clifford has held appointments on a number of boards and committees in the Cayman Islands' public and private sectors, including Chairman of the National Tourism Management Policy Steering Committee; Chairman of the Air Transport Licensing Authority; Deputy Chairman of the Port Authority; Member of the Cayman Airways Board of Directors; Member of the Cayman Turtle Farm Board of Directors, and Member of the National Hurricane Committee.
Mr. Clifford holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Degree from the University of Liverpool and a Professional Practice Certificate from the Queen's University of Belfast. He was admitted to the bar as an Attorney-at-Law in 2012 and consequently opened his own law firm, Clifford Law Associates, and partnered with two other local attorneys.
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