Project Officer-Private Sector Liaison and Partnership

Introduction

The ILO seeks to recruit a Private Sector Liaison and Partnership-Building Officer at the NO-A level for an upcoming US DOL project on Worker Rights in Rural Sectors with a focus on Women.

This selection and recruitment is part of an ongoing application process for a competitive tender for the grant. Therefore, the ILO will only be able to offer employment to the successful candidate should the ILO’s application be selected for the award. Award decisions are expected to be made by end of 2020. The chosen candidate is to start work within 45 days of the signature of the project award.

The project, if awarded to the ILO at the end of the bidding process, will be implemented in the Philippines and another Asian country to be determined later in consultation with the donor.

Project outcomes include:

1. 1. Increased awareness among employers, workers, and other local stakeholders in selected rural communities of the requirements and benefits of adhering to the labour standards in the agriculture, fishing, and mining sectors.
   2. Improved administration and capacity of government and other relevant stakeholders to monitor and remediate the labour standards in the rural sectors of agriculture, fishing, and mining, and
   3. Improved enforcement by government to address wage inequality and workplace discrimination against women in workplaces in targeted rural areas, including in the agriculture, fishing, and mining sectors.

The project falls under the technical responsibility of the ILO Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health (LABADMIN/OSH) Branch.

Reporting Lines

The Private Sector Liaison and Partnership-building Officer will be under the overall supervision of the Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila) and the direct supervision of the Project Manager.

Description of Duties

• Maintain external contacts with government, employers’ and workers’ organizations, including their gender focal points, United Nations (UN) agencies and other international organizations and donors to exchange information and partnerships, in the Philippines.
• Strengthen partnerships (National and sub-national), including coalition building, to accelerate progress in achieving the project goals, including the promotion of compliance as well as private sector supply chain social compliance, and corporate social responsibility/responsible business conduct.
• Strengthen efforts of stakeholders to coordinate and leverage resources and carry out promotional and advocacy campaigns. Support awareness raising and capacity building activities targeting the private sector as well as other project stakeholders.
• Lead the Project’s communications, advocacy and promotional activities, including monitoring, documentation and reporting, highlighting good practices and successes. Communications activities include drafting of press releases, engagement with the media, including social media platforms, technology and community media, feature articles, development of IEC materials, and development and implementation of communications capacity building of partners.

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• Support and strengthen existing collaboration and coordination mechanisms and platforms. Propose new mechanisms where needed. Work in cooperation in the preparation of draft Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) or similar instruments, when required. Ensure that these are consistent with requirements and timelines for project implementation.
• Support preparation and deliver capacity building for stakeholders, private sector, tripartite constituents, and project partners on national and international Labour Standards and relevant Guidelines, Due Diligence Guidance, etc.
• Prepare briefings, policy briefs and other documentation.
• Participate in meetings, consultations, and conferences with a view to identifying areas of common interest and promote collaboration and partnership. Organize and manage conferences, seminars, workshops, training sessions and meetings.
• Identify and document good practices of partnerships in promotion of compliance, corporate social responsibility or private sector supply chain social compliance.
• Carry out other duties as may be assigned by the Project Manager and the Director of  CO-Manila.

Required qualifications

Education

University Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Management, Social Sciences, International Development or a related field with demonstrated expertise. A specialization on standards compliance, corporate social responsibility/responsible business conduct or social compliance in supply chains, or closely related field, preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of two years of professional experience in the area of corporate social responsibility, communications and advocacy or private sector supply chain social compliance program.
• Understanding of key labour issues, including OSH and gender equality
• Minimum of five years of experience in a consultative/advisory position responsible for building partnerships of public and/or private organizations to achieve common goals, identify institutional problems and challenges, develop focused strategies, lay out actionable plans and recommendations, and define and identify roles and responsibilities.
• Familiarity with ILO policies and procedures would be an advantage.
• Expertise and experience working on standards compliance, decent work and gender particularly OSH in a sector-specific setting such as agriculture, fisheries and mining would be an advantage.

Languages

Excellent written and spoken command of English is required.

Competencies

• Proven ability to maintain working relationships with all project stakeholders (government, civil society, workers, unions, and employers), including coalition building and partnership promotion.
• Proven success in negotiating, with an ability to build consensus and gain cooperation from others to obtain information, provide resources, and accomplish goals.
• Experience in effective public speaking and advocacy, with the significant ability to explain issues to diverse audiences, advocate for solutions, and build consensus around a proposed plan of action and a set of deliverables.
• Proven success in facilitating meetings among a wide range of stakeholders, with the significant ability to align different sets of interests, identify common goals, develop agreed-upon next steps and deliverables, define and identify roles and responsibilities, and hold stakeholders accountable.
• Demonstrated experience in, and knowledge of, the promotion of compliance as well as private sector supply chain social compliance, and corporate social responsibility/responsible business conduct.
• Decision-making and problem-solving skills.

optional section (if needed)

• Excellent drafting skills, negotiation skills and organisational and management skills.
• Ability to work under time and political pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently with a minimum of supervision.
• Proven ability to take ownership of all responsibilities, to act with integrity and transparency by maintaining social, ethical and organisational norms, and to meet all commitments within the prescribed time, cost and quality standards.
• Excellent leadership skills, ability to work effectively in a team and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write accurate reports and to build networks to obtain cooperation with partners.
• Ability to plan and support the development of individual’s skills and abilities for a more effective fulfilment of job/role responsibilities.
• Ability to maintain effectiveness when experiencing major changes in work tasks or environment, and to adjust effectively to work within new work structures, processes, requirements or cultures.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.