Internship on Digital economy and inclusive employment interventions

Department

The position is in the Employment Strategies for Inclusive Transformation Unit (STRATEGIES) of the Employment, Labour Markets and Youth Branch (EMPLAB) within the Employment Policy Department. 

EMPLOYMENT is responsible for promoting full and productive employment by developing integrated employment, development and skills policies that maximize the employment impact of economic growth, investment and development, and which are inclusive, gender sensitive, productive and sustainable.

EMPLAB has the primary responsibility for the organization of integrated country employment policy diagnostics and reviews, facilitation of tripartite policy dialogue on employment policy, and support to policy development and implementation.

EMPLAB/STRATEGIES has the primary responsibility for the organization of integrated country employment policy diagnostics and reviews, facilitation of tripartite policy dialogue on employment policy, and support to policy development and implementation. The unit leads technical assistance on Future of Work challenges and related policies are a core area of the Unit’s work in the context of the new generation of gender-responsive National Employment Policies (NEP 2.0) and youth employment strategies.  

The internship is to support the STRATEGIES unit in implementing a new Opportunity Fund for the “Promotion, Inclusion and Protection of Refugees in the Gig Economy: Realising rights at work and mitigating digital risk”. 

The Opportunity Fund’s objective is to support conducive and inclusive national and local employment strategies in the digital and gig economy, while improving the working conditions and rights at work of forcibly displaced people and their hosting communities. The Opportunity Fund is jointly implemented with UNHCR under the umbrella of the ILO’s PROSPECTS Partnership funded by the Dutch Government and operating in eight countries in two regions: MENA and the Horn of Africa. The ILO’s vision within the Partnership is to strengthen decent work in countries impacted by forced displacement to mitigate stress factors at all levels and support inclusive socioeconomic enablers for access to labour markets and empowerment of host communities and of forcibly displaced populations. The Opportunity Fund objectives will be achieved through three main outcome areas:

• Outcome 1: Policy solutions developed to promote employment opportunities, improve rights at work and mitigate risks for digital workers;
• Outcome 2: Enhancing capacity through tool development and technical guidance;
• Outcome 3: New models for safe, secure refugee inclusive digital platform work or digital-enabled livelihoods are tested, documented, and put on a pathway to scale.

Within the policy and procedural requirements established by the ILO and the global plan of the PROSPECTS Partnership, the internship position will support the day-to-day management of this new programme area and be directly involved in the execution of the activities at global level and links to pilot countries.

Learning areas

As an intern in the STRATEGIES unit, you will be directly involved in the implementation of the new Opportunity Fund for the “Promotion, Inclusion and Protection of Refugees in the Gig Economy”. You will be working under the guidance of the Specialist on Employment Strategies in the Digital Economy, who is responsible for the overall technical backstopping activities and for the development of employment strategies that promote inclusion and protection of host communities and refugees in the gig economy. 

You will gain exposure to a range of technical areas in a range of technical areas involving:

1. Policy advisory services for the formulation of gender-responsive national employment policies, employment diagnostics and research, including on national employment policies as a response to future of work challenges; and
2. Development of capacity building, including diagnostic tools, advocacy and training materials for gig workers, digital employers and platform companies engaging with refugees and disadvantaged populations in hosting communities affected by forcibly displacement.
3. Preparation of technical missions as part or multi-disciplinary teams relating to the OF project implementation.
4. Liaising activities on operational matters related to the OF project with UNHCR and other external partners such as UNDP as well as ILO technical specialists in the field and at Headquarters, in conformity with ILO policies and project strategies, and in accordance with ILO country/action programmes.
5. Global operations of the ILO PROSPECTS Partnership to promote collaboration and synergy of interventions with the other ILO relevant projects at global, regional and country level in the targeted countries of the OF project.
6. Organization of global, regional and country level events of the OF project, including the global forum in Africa and thematic events with a newly created expert policy network.
7. Communication and visibility of ILO’s work on employment strategies related to the digital economy, including in the context of the PROSPECTS Partnership.  

Main tasks

By joining the Opportunity Fund project and the STRATEGIES unit you would be gaining experience in working with specialists who are involved in global level policy design and country level interventions in coordination with field teams in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon and Uganda. You will be directly supporting the following tasks: 

1. Contribute to the development of policy briefs and other advocacy materials on digital risk and labour market inclusion of refugees and host communities in the digital and gig economy. 
2. Coordinate interventions with UNHCR global and field operation teams. 
3. Actively participate in the collection of good practices to create digital jobs and improve working conditions, especially on digital labour platforms. 
4. Promote innovative practice for the protection of worker’s rights and the extension of social protection in the gig economy as relevant. 
5. Adapt resources and providing technical inputs in the preparation of analytical materials, training and draft technical discussion papers to build national and regional institutional capacities and enhance the available knowledge.
6. Management project related-tasks such as the design, implementation, monitoring, results reporting and evaluation of the OF project activities, in coordination with ILO Field Offices and HQ, including other relevant implementing partners such as UNHCR. 

Interns should expect to devote 10% to 20% of their time to administrative tasks.

Required profile

Education

University degree in economics, international development or social sciences. 
The candidate should be enrolled in their final year of graduate degree programme or should have completed such a programme no longer than 1 years ago (mandatory).

Experience

Relevant experience involving analytical work and research in the digital economy and innovation through digital technology. Knowledge of implementation and monitoring of development cooperation projects, including with international development agencies will be an advantage.  

Languages

Excellent spoken and written knowledge of English. Working knowledge of French is desirable. 

Competencies

Adaptable to an international, multicultural, and multilingual environment, good communication skills, openness to new ideas and be able to work in a team.

Additional requirements

Good knowledge of Microsoft Office. Knowledge of basic statistical packages is desirable.