Project Manager P4

Introduction: general information about the context in which the official will work:

Many countries of the Southern Neighbourhood of the European Union (EU)  continue to suffer from the enduring effects of important past crises — the global recession of 2008 and the Arab Spring in 2011 — coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, that are affecting the potential and aspirations of their populations. Although several countries have witnessed sustained economic growth over several decades, this has failed to create enough opportunities in the form of decent jobs. While conditions differ between countries, employment creation was often concentrated in the public sector or in low-productivity sectors, including in the expanding informal economy. Socioeconomic reforms have largely failed to promote job-rich, private-sector growth at a time when public sector employment is contracting. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), between 40 and 67 per cent of workers in the Southern Neighbourhood countries are in the informal economy, where they often lack job security, social protection and other fundamental rights. 

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The project (SOLIFEM), funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG-NEAR), will support the transition from the informal to the formal economy through tripartite social dialogue in the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood^[1], with a particular focus on Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It will pursue this objective through strengthening the capacity of the ILO tripartite constituents to take action, through social dialogue, on two fronts – first, the development of integrated strategies on formalization and second, the development of skills training and recognition systems, with a particular focus on women and youth in the informal economy.

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The project strategy is built on the solid foundation of tripartism and social dialogue, in line with the ILO’s overall mandate and with Recommendation No. 204 on the transition from the informal to the formal economy. The consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, and especially its devastating impact on the livelihoods and incomes of vulnerable workers and enterprises in the informal economy, add even greater urgency to the promotion of sustainable formal employment opportunities in the region. The project will support the strengthening of national skills training and skills recognition systems to enable young people and women in the informal economy to access formal employment. At the regional level (involving countries from the whole Southern Neighbourhood), the project will promote the sharing of knowledge and lessons learned between countries and seek to strengthen mechanisms for regional social dialogue. The project will coordinate closely with a linked project  “Towards an inclusive and structured social dialogue in the Southern Mediterranean Neighbourhood” (SOLiD II), being implemented by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and funded by DG-NEAR, in order to maximise synergies and ensure the continuous sharing of knowledge and experience.The project aims to achieve the following two outcomes:

Outcome 1: Enabling national policy frameworks to facilitate the transition of informal economy workers and economic units to the formal economy in place, developed through dialogue between the tripartite constituents

Outcome 2: Strengthened skills development systems that enable young people and women in the informal economy to access formal employment

Main duties and responsibilities:

The Project Manager will work under the supervision of the Director of the ILO Country Office for Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia (CO-Algiers) in Algiers. He/She will be backstopped technically by technical specialists in the Decent Work Technical Support Teams (DWT) in Cairo and Beirut and by HQ specialists from DIALOGUE, SKILLS, DEVINVEST and INWORK.
The Project Manager (PM) will be responsible to lead the project for the achievement of all project results at national level in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and the OPT, and at regional level. He/she will be responsible for the design, supervision and monitoring of all activities required for the achievement of project outcomes and their related outputs, in accordance with the project Implementation Plan and a detailed Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan that shall be established during the inception phase. Under the overall supervision of the respective field office directors, the PM will provide technical supervision of the National Project Officers in Cairo and Ramallah, who will provide technical and coordination functions with respect to the implementation of the project in Egypt and the OPT respectively. Under the overall supervision of the respective field office directors, the PM also supervises administrative and finance assistants in Algiers, Cairo and Beirut.

The incumbent will be specifically required to:

• Establish and maintain strong working relations with governments, employers and workers’ organizations and other relevant actors in the socio-economic field in the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood region and foster their ownership of project processes and results.
• Provide technical, programming, administrative and financial management of the development cooperation project, in compliance with the requirements of the donor, ILO internal procedures and results-based management framework. Design the project implementation plan and M&E plan and ensure their approval in cooperation with ILO constituents, concerned ILO Country and Regional Offices and programming units, and backstopping specialists;
• Supervise and provide technical inputs in the reports and documents, related to social dialogue, transitions to formality and skills and lifelong learning produced by the project;
• Support the establishment and functioning of Tripartite Working Groups on formalization and on skills at national level in each of the target countries/territory to support project activities and validate results, as well as of Project Advisory Committees (PAC) in each target country/territory.
• Facilitate capacity building of tripartite constituents at the national and regional levels to strengthen social dialogue on transitions to formality and skills development, including gender responsive national formalization  strategy, upgrading of informal apprenticeships and recognition of prior learning, and contribute to sustainability of project results. This will include implementing training workshops and providing technical assistance as required to key stakeholders of the project;

Also ;

• Commission and manage service providers and consultants to undertake research, prepare documents and undertake other activities in support of the project.  Provide the necessary support to ensure the quality of research methods and draft reports. Supervise the work of project staff involved in the implementation of the project;
• Lead the design, implementation and monitoring of all project activities required for the timely achievement of all project outputs;
• Prepare timely narrative and financial reports (in English) as required by the donor and the ILO, ensuring completeness of the information provided, extracting lessons-learned and swift implementation of mitigation measures; participate in meetings of the Project Steering Committee and the PACs, and undertake effective coordination with partners responsible for implementation of SOLiD II;
• Assist the ILO country offices and Decent Work teams to contribute effectively to the implementation of the project; Coordinate with relevant technical specialists within DWT/Cairo and DWT/Beirut (ACTRAV, ACTEMP, skills, employment, social dialogue); ensure coordination with other related development cooperation projects, in particular those funded by the DG NEAR. Coordinate with relevant units at HQ especially DIALOGUE, SKILLS, INWORK, DEVINVEST from the Policy Portfolio, PARDEV and the appropriate financial services as needed;

Finally ,

• Ensure efficient workflows in processing administrative, financial and programming tasks of the project;
• Ensure effective communication of the activities and results achieved by the project in accordance with a comprehensive communication and visibility plan to be elaborated during the first 6 months of project implementation

Qualifications requirements: education, language, experience and competencies:

Education

Advanced degree in economics or social sciences, complemented with demonstrated expertise in the relevant technical field(s).

Experience

At least eight years of relevant working experience out of which at least 5 years in international development cooperation, and at least three years of experience in the areas of informality/transition to formality, social dialogue, skills development or policy development.

Prior experience in delivering development cooperation within a UN organization, and ideally the ILO, will be a particular asset; work experience in North Africa and/or the Middle East is essential.

Languages

Excellent command of either English or French, and a good working knowledge of the other language, is required. A good command of Arabic will be a strong advantage.

Competencies and Critical Success Factors

• Ability for planning and establishing priorities, coordinating and monitoring the work of others, and delegating responsibility where appropriate;
• Knowledge of project planning, monitoring, management and financial procedures;
• Proven ability to engage effectively and sensitively with project stakeholders and partners, including at high levels;
• Ability to produce descriptive and analytical reports to an excellent standard and to critically assess research methods and results;
• Positive attitude and openness to accept different viewpoints and guidance from higher levels;
• Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgment;
• Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships;

• Proven ability to mainstream and address gender equality concerns, as well as sensitivity to cultural, age, disability and other diversity issues.
• Excellent computer/information application skills.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes are also required.

Management and Leadership Competencies

• Strong results orientation;
• Effective problem-solver;
• Demonstrated capacity-building and facilitation skills;
• Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment;
• Effectively manages teams and creates an enabling work environment;
• Flexible and responsive with a client-oriented approach.

Ref

[1] The nine countries of the Southern Neighbourhood are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia, plus the Occupied Palestinian Territory.