Senior partners' engagement expert

​​Requisition ID: 1731 
Grade: ISA-Senior Specialist 
Country: Home Based 
Duty Station: Home Based 
Category: International Consultant 
Type of Job Posting: Internal and External
Employment Type: NonStaff-When Act. Employed
Contract Duration: 25 working days over a period of 2 months
Application Deadline: 01-Feb-2023  

Vacancy Announcement
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OF PROJECT PERSONNEL
Female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development. UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Departments/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.

The directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET) is responsible for the development of innovative UNIDO services in the areas of agro-industry and agribusiness, sustainability standards and fair production, and climate-relevant or climate-improving technologies. It is also, in collaboration with ODG, responsible for developing innovative technical cooperation concepts, identifying new sources and means of finance and entering into new partnerships with a broad range of relevant stakeholders.
 

The Division of Public Private Partnerships (IET/PPP) promotes strategic partnerships to increase the impact potential of UNIDO projects, PCPs and CPs and regional and global cooperation programmes. Such partners would include private sector associations, individual firms, think tanks, development agencies and financing partners, the latter to be attended in coordination with IET/IFI. It designs, negotiates and coordinates partnerships with global initiatives, fora and development partners engaged in sustainable industrial development. Based on related good practice, the Division also articulates the corporate strategy for partnerships, identifies potential strategic partners and facilitates the negotiations as a service to the Organization's Divisions, acting as a one-stop shop.
 

Promoting women’s empowerment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development in the MENA region (170136)

Upon request of National Women Business Associations (NWBA) and the Ministries of Industries of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, UNIDO has designed and implemented the technical assistance project “Promoting women empowerment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development in the MENA region” (PWE Phase I). The project that was funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation  - Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) has been implemented between February 2015 and May 2018. 
 

Based on the lessons learned and the needs identified during the project’s implementation and upon request of the counterparts, a second phase was designed in collaboration with FAO and UN Women.
 

The overarching goal of Phase II of the project is to empower women in both rural and urban areas of 7 MENA countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia) by supporting the development of women-led MSMEs in selected gender-sensitive value chains to provide working-age women with increased business and job opportunities. Looking at value chain development through a gender-sensitive lens, the project aims at addressing the main challenges faced by women-led MSMEs - included self-employed women - that are access to finance (including through mobilization of FDIs), markets, technology and networks.
 

The project’s ultimate beneficiaries are hence the women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, including the self-employed, as well as the female workers in selected value chains of both urban and rural areas of 7 MENA countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
 

The project’s focus on improving access to finance as well as market integration at national, regional and international levels, while developing strategic value chains with high growth and job creation potential, is in line with the respective national priorities, and will contribute to economic well-being at national and regional levels.
 

The intervention strategy aims at the following immediate objectives: (1) Creating a business climate conducive to women entrepreneurship, (2) Alleviating the financial barriers to women’s entrepreneurship development, (3) Improving market access for women-led MSMEs and (4) Increasing quality and quantity of products/services in selected gender-sensitive value chains. The latter 3 objectives being pursued at national level through dedicated projects.
 

In February 2019, UNIDO was granted a EUR 1,3 million funding (incl. PSC) from the Italian Government - Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) - to implement the regional component of the PWE 2 project (Outcome 1). In order to scale up the ongoing, expand on the successfully implemented activities and extend PWE’s reach at national, regional and global levels, additional resources of 456,520 EUR were granted in July 2022 and the project was extended until 30th of June 2023.
 

In addition, in 2020, the Principality of Monaco allocated additional EUR 198,020 (incl. PSC) to a pilot component of the regional project aiming at improving access to market for women-led businesses in the natural cosmetics value chain of Tunisia.  
 

While the regional component is coming to an end, fund raising efforts will be geared towards country-level PWE projects building on pilot initiatives and lessons learned, with a specific focus on Tunisia and Palestine.
 

Opportunities for Youth in Africa (OYA) Programme (190143):

The “Opportunities for Youth in Africa” (OYA) programme was developed jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in response to a dedicated call for accelerating efforts in the area of job creation for African youth, especially through agribusiness and entrepreneurship development. FAO and UNIDO launched this joint programme at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in Yokohama, Japan, on 29 August 2019. By joining forces, FAO and UNIDO will leverage on their comparative advantages, technical expertise and best practices in the areas of decent employment creation and entrepreneurship, as well as agriculture and agribusiness value chain development.
 

The programme proposes an integrated approach for the creation of quality on- and off- farm employment and self-employment opportunities for African youth in agriculture and agribusiness. It highlights the central role of agriculture for Africa’s development, while emphasizing the need for continuous empowerment of African youth to be the engine of this growth. The multi-level approach (continental, sub-regional, national) reflects the need for a concerted effort between public institutions and the private sector on capacity development, access to resources, improved coordination and linkages, and knowledge generation and dissemination. Based on specific criteria, the programme carefully selected six (6) pilot countries: Cabo Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia and Zambia.
 

Furthermore, the OYA programme aims at mobilizing a total financial contribution of USD 50 million during the period 2020-2024 for its continental, regional and in-country activities. Thus, UNIDO and FAO have developed a roadmap that defines strategic milestones and options to mobilize resources both internally and externally and at the different geographical levels: national, regional, continental and global.
 

As a result, the OYA programme was able to secure a total contribution of €1.25 million since April 2021, from the Italian government. These funds were utilized in addition to FAO’s Technical Cooperation Project -TCP (July 2020 – June 2022) for OYA’s implementation phase.
 

A Country Action Plan (CAP) has been developed in Tunisia and submitted for endorsement by the national government. The total estimated budget of the OYA Tunisia intervention is approx. EUR 4 million which include interventions under 5 identified outcomes. Discussions with the AICS Tunisia office and a presentation of the Tunisia OYA programme have been ongoing since October 2022.
 

Synergies between PWE and OYA programmes have been identified and detailed in the Tunisia CAP. Therefore, both programmes are collaborating to move forward when it comes to technical interventions in Tunisia in youth agripreneurship in identified value chains.
 

Under the supervision of the project manager, the Senior partners’ engagement expert will be responsible for the following duties:

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

Core Values

WE LIVE AND ACT WITH INTEGRITY: work honestly, openly and impartially.

WE SHOW PROFESSIONALISM: work hard and competently in a committed and responsible manner.

WE RESPECT DIVERSITY: work together effectively, respectfully and inclusively, regardless of our differences in culture and perspective.

Key Competencies

WE FOCUS ON PEOPLE: cooperate to fully reach our potential –and this is true for our colleagues as well as our clients. Emotional intelligence and receptiveness are vital parts of our UNIDO identity.

WE FOCUS ON RESULTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: focus on planning, organizing and managing our work effectively and efficiently. We are responsible and accountable for achieving our results and meeting our performance standards. This accountability does not end with our colleagues and supervisors, but we also owe it to those we serve and who have trusted us to contribute to a better, safer and healthier world.

WE COMMUNICATE AND EARN TRUST: communicate effectively with one another and build an environment of trust where we can all excel in our work.

WE THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND INNOVATE: To stay relevant, we continuously improve, support innovation, share our knowledge and skills, and learn from one another.

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Education: Advanced university degree in political sciences, economics, engineering or other relevant discipline with a specialization in development studies required.

Technical and Functional Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of practical experience in the field of development assistance, dealing with partnerships and resource mobilization, including experience at the international level involving technical cooperation in developing countries, is required.
• Previous experience with women empowerment and overall gender issues in the MENA region is required.
• Experience in evaluating the needs, conditions and problems in developing countries is required. 

Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency and/or working knowledge of French or another official UN language is required.

This appointment is limited to the specified project(s) only and does not carry any expectation of renewal.
Employees of UNIDO are expected at all times to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity, both at work and outside.
Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for jobs at UNIDO.

All applications must be submitted online through the Online Recruitment System. Correspondence will be undertaken only with candidates who are being considered at an advanced phase of the selection process. Selected candidate(s) may be required to disclose to the Director General the nature and scope of financial and other personal interests and assets in respect of themselves, their spouses and dependents, under the procedures established by the Director General.

Visit the UNIDO website for details on how to apply: www.unido.org
NOTE: The Director General retains the discretion to make an appointment to this post at a lower level.
 
Notice to applicants:
UNIDO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. If you have received a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Vacant positions within UNIDO are advertised on the official UNIDO website. Should you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of UNIDO and requesting payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unido.org