Training Officer - NOA (DC)

Introduction

Better Work is a unique partnership programme between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Launched in 2007, it aims to improve labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains. Better Work involves the development of both global tools and country level projects. The focus is on developing scalable and sustainable solutions which build cooperation between government, employer and worker organizations, and international buyers.
The project has several components:

(1) stakeholder engagement and sustainability which aims to ultimately create national ownership and accountability;
(2) enterprise assessments against (a) the principles of the ILO Declaration core international labor standards and Bangladesh labor law;
(3) enterprise advisory and training services to support practical improvements and increased social dialogue at the factory level; and
(4) an influencing agenda with the goal of using programmatic learnings to impact national legislation and policies.

The ready-made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh has experienced rapid growth over the past 20 years; it is now the country’s largest export earner and employs over 4 million workers - of which 60% are women - in approximately 4,000 active factories. It is currently the 2nd largest exporter of RMG in the world.

It is generally considered though that problems related to a lack of skilled workers, infrastructure, social compliance and labour-management relations hamper growth. There exist significant issues in many factories around occupational health and safety (OHS), working conditions, wage payments, freedom of association, and the lack of effective human resource management. In addition, weaknesses in national labour administration, industrial relations and social dialogue systems exacerbate and prolong non-compliance with national laws and regulations.

In order to address these challenges, BWB aims at building the necessary capacity so that stakeholders are able to identify, prevent, and address relevant problems. In practical terms this means that BWB operates on two levels: (1) Factory-level: build in-factory capacity to improve working conditions and establish management systems and (2) institutional level: assist in building constituent capacity to achieve structural, sustainable change in labour administration, industrial relations and social dialogue systems.
For more information about the project please visit www.betterwork.org.

Function
To manage training and capacity building services for Better Work Bangladesh. The incumbent will assist in the sustainability and transitioning of strategies under this programme. The position is based in Dhaka.

Supervision and Guidance
 

Under the overall guidance of the Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, and the general supervision of the Better Work Bangladesh Programme Manager, the Training Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Training and Partnerships. Judgement, initiative and creativity are required in translating project tools and approaches into training materials. The work product is controlled by the supervisor for technical soundness and appropriateness.

Description of Duties

• Coordinate the development of training and capacity building activities and support materials and ensure that they are  applicable to the Bangladesh garment sector needs;
• Oversee, coordinate and deliver a range of remediation training and capacity building initiatives including classroom based training activities for improvement purposes;
• Participate in the preparation of periodic implementation reports, work plans, and technical progress reports;
• Liaise with the Better Work Global Training Unit to ensure quality of service provision and sharing of materials and best practices;
• Liaise and maintain contacts with consultants, training partner organizations, and other programme partners on a range of training and capacity building related matters;
• Monitor the quality of delivery of the training progammes and provide regular feedback to the service provider;
• Provide high quality enterprise level consultancy services designed to improve enterprise performance including coaching, facilitating management and union improvement committees, and providing technical advice;
• Establish and help maintain relevant databases, and collect, organize and collate information and disseminate information when required;
• Assist with monitoring and evaluation of project implementation;
• Other duties as required by the Programme Manager.

Required qualifications

Education

University degree in adult education, international development, human resource management, law or other relevant fields. A post-graduate qualification will be an advantage.
 

Experience

At least two years’ work experience in a training or capacity building role, including one year with an international agency or in the private sector, corporate social responsibility (particularly in the field of labour standards compliance and remediation) or other relevant field.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken English and Bengali.
 

Competencies

• Understanding of issues and principles of social dialogue and the local labour law and regulations;

• Thorough knowledge of programme planning, implementation, and evaluation principles, practices and procedures;

• Very good knowledge of training techniques and methods, ability to develop training materials, and conduct training courses;

• Ability to work with word processing and computer software packages required for work and other software packages for producing information materials;

• Good drafting skills and demonstrated ability to prepare reports;

• Ability to work on own initiatives as well as a member of a team;

• Ability to work under pressure and with minimal supervision;

• Very good analytical and organizational skills;

• Strong understanding of principles of gender equality and principles of gender mainstreaming;

• Demonstrated ability to work and communicate with people in a polite, courteous and cooperative manner, with high
standards of ethical conduct.