Senior Social Protection Specialist

Introduction

The position is located in the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Central and Eastern Europe (DWT/CO-Budapest). DWT/CO-Budapest provides technical support and guidance related to the ILO agenda in 19 countries of Central and Eastern Europe (www.ilo.org/budapest).
The main role of the position is [to provide policy advice and technical assistance to governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations on social protection with a view to ensuring that more people have access to better-managed, more adequate and gender-responsive social security benefits. Confronted with a rapidly ageing population and the need for fiscal consolidation, social security systems in Central and Eastern Europe face the difficult challenge of ensuring adequate benefits while restoring long-term sustainability. A further challenge is to extend social security systems to currently uncovered populations, in particular workers in the informal economy, migrant workers, farmers, as well as the growing number of workers in non-standard forms of employment. The incumbent provides technical advisory services to ILO constituents, national social security institutions and other relevant bodies concerned with the concepts, design and implementation of social protection and social security policies and strategies, programmes, action plans and mechanisms formulated to establish universal, comprehensive, and adequate and sustainable social protection systems including national social protection floors, guided by the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No.102), the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No.202) and other relevant international labour standards. 
As a member of the DWT/CO-Budapest team, the incumbent will promote and support the development and implementation of integrated policies to achieve universal social protection in line with international labour standards, including in the framework of the ILO’s Global Flagship Programme on Building Social Protection Floors for All, the UN Secretary-General’s Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions and the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes promoting minimum standards of social security benefits including national social protection floors, analysing the fiscal space for financing comprehensive and shock-resilient social security systems, and providing management support to social security institutions for improving the efficiency of administration and contribution collection through IT innovations.
The incumbent works under direct supervision of the Director, DWT/CO-Budapest. The incumbent receives technical guidance and advice from the Director of the Social Protection Department at ILO headquarters. 
The Specialist will be a member of the ILO Global Technical Team on Social Protection. The incumbent will work in close cooperation with the other specialists and staff in the DWT/CO team, ILO National Coordinators at the country level, and the respective UN country teams.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

1.     Plan, manage and coordinate a broad programme of work on social protection in the sub region. Lead work streams/teams involved in this work and manage staff and consultants as applicable. 
2.    Lead the design, development, implementation, monitoring and promotion of related programmes, strategies, approaches and policies with a view to enhancing and positioning the Organization’s technical leadership in these areas. Lead, manage and coordinate high-level advocacy and technical and policy advisory services at the regional, subregional and national levels to advance the Decent Work Agenda and social justice, fostering the integration of cross-cutting policy drivers, including international labour standards, social dialogue, gender equality and non-discrimination, and a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies.
3.    Provide thought leadership in areas of importance to ILO constituents and other concerned stakeholders, including through the continuous strategic positioning of the Organization and its mandate within the United Nations system. Act as a catalyst in formulating policies on critical issues related to the promotion of decent work across ILO’s strategic objectives and build bridges and synergies between strategic policy areas. Coordinate cross-organizational teams/initiatives to ensure integration and policy coherence to advance broad programme development. 
4.    Review and facilitate the strengthening and effective implementation of inclusive institutional, legal and policy frameworks. Provide authoritative policy and technical advice in the area of social protection to ILO constituents and other concerned stakeholders with a view to promoting the formulation of inclusive and gender-responsive policies and programmes, and their impactful implementation and monitoring to ensure equitable outcomes. Promote relevant international labour standards.
5.    Support ILO constituents in identifying their needs and provide adequate technical support, including through comparative policy analyses. Facilitate the effective participation and advocacy role of employers’ and workers’ organizations in policy design, implementation and evaluation of decent work programmes and projects.

6.    Provide technical inputs to the design and implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) as well as UN and other development cooperation frameworks. Build and stimulate multidisciplinary initiatives, plans and activities with a view to ensuring an integrated approach for the delivery of the Decent Work Agenda.
7.    Lead innovative gender-mainstreamed regional and country specific research projects on decent work issues, in particular related to social protection, that provide clear and operational policy recommendations, including at sectoral level and ensure an integrated approach, with a view to influencing policy agendas of countries and recommendations of other international agencies and multilateral organizations. Contribute to the development of the Social Protection Department's country briefs and the regional companion report of the World Social Protection Report for the sub-region. Identify, review and document relevant information pertaining to initiatives extending social security, achievements and impact of the various social security systems within the sub-region.

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8.    Develop and lead/coordinate the development of social protection policies, initiatives, strategies and a range of original and evidence-based technical and policy knowledge products and tools responding to constituents’ needs and priorities and advancing the Decent Work Agenda. Promote and facilitate their dissemination at the regional and country  levels. Provide advice and technical support to constituents and other stakeholders on effectively using such tools. Contribute to Office-wide efforts to analyse, document and disseminate lessons learned and information on innovative practices.
9.    Lead the development, review and quality control of major reports, publications, documents and other office documents, including for the Governing Body, International Labour Conference and regional, sectoral and expert meetings.
10.    Support the strengthening of ILO constituents' capacity to design and implement policies and measures, monitor the impact of policies and measures, refine and improve policies and measures as required in the area of social protection , taking into account the need for policy coherence and an integrated approach to decent work. Oversee the design of tools and learning materials, pilot new guidelines, lead/coordinate workshops, meetings and other events, using innovative methods, digital platforms and communication tools. Develop and run/implement global and/or regional capacity development programmes, knowledge sharing and training events, including in collaboration with the International Training Centre in Turin (ITC-ILO) and/or with other relevant partners as applicable.
11.    Identify opportunities for technical and strategic partnerships and broker collaborative relationships to benefit the broad areas of the Decent Work Agenda with traditional and non-traditional partners, entities of the UN system, other international organizations, regional and national actors, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, academia, and other key stakeholders  with a view to advancing ILO’s strategic objectives and ensuring policy coherence as well as joint programme design and implementation, and resource mobilization. 
12.    Convene and represent the ILO at major international/regional meetings and events, including with strategic players, national and international development partners, international financial institutions and multilateral and regional institutions of the UN system and other key stakeholders/organizations. As the ILO’s technical representative, play a key role in promoting and advocating the Decent Work Agenda.   
13.    Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

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Required qualifications

Education

Advanced level university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, social policy or other relevant field.
A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in one of the afore-mentioned fields or other relevant field with an additional two years of relevant experience, in addition to the experience stated below, will be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience

At least ten years of experience in the field of social protection, advising governments and/or employers' and/or workers' organisations, and developing development cooperation programmes, including at the international level.
Experience in both qualitative and quantitative research and analysis is required. Experience in project cycle management, fundraising, and working with the EU would be an advantage. Relevant professional experience in Central and Eastern Europe would be an advantage.

Languages

Excellent command of English. A working knowledge of a second working language (Spanish or French) of the Organization, or a language of the sub-region would be an advantage.

In addition to the ILO core competencies, the following are required:

Knowledge and technical/behavioural competencies

Excellent knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches in the area(s) of social protection with the ability to lead and oversee their development and implementation suited to evolving needs and priorities. Detailed and comprehensive expertise in own area to serve as the reference expert across the Organization. 
Excellent knowledge of the full range of policy areas and advanced understanding of the ILO’s mandate. Ability to maintain a comprehensive wealth of knowledge of related external issues.
Technical leadership skills.
Managerial skills for the effective management of human and financial resources. Ability to provide clear direction and to develop, inspire and encourage high-performing, pioneering and motivated individuals and teams, specialized in the technical area of work.
Excellent research and analytical skills. 
Excellent communication skills, negotiation, promotion and advocacy skills.
Excellent drafting skills. 
Ability to adapt quickly to new software and systems.
Ability to build and negotiate strategic partnerships and alliances with a wide range of key stakeholders and to create innovative opportunities for promoting synergies and ensure organizational results and success over the immediate, mid-term and long-term horizon.
Ability to represent the Organization with authority and credibility and position it as a leader in social protection. Ability to articulate the Organization’s mandate/strategic objectives/programmes when formulating and delivering information and presentations and adapt presentation methodology to address the needs of different audiences. 
Ability to mobilize resources.
Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate and model gender-responsive, non-discriminatory and inclusive behaviour and attitudes.