The ‘PROSPECTS’ Partnership for improving Prospects for host communities and forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), was launched by the Government of the Netherlands in 2019 in response to forced displacement crises, bringing together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. The partnership spans eight countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda.
The PROSPECTS partnership in Iraq supports the national agenda of promoting inclusion and socio-economic development, whilst working closely with local partners in two governorates, namely: Dohuk and Nineveh to identify, maximize, and realize opportunities on the ground. ILO’s efforts in this partnership focus on supporting Iraqi host communities and internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as Syrian refugees to access more and better livelihoods and decent job opportunities. It is doing so through an integrated approach, which includes supporting market-driven skills training, improving public employment services, implementing labour intensive infrastructure projects; and promoting financial inclusion and entrepreneurship.
Specifically, with regards to employment services, the ILO is working on enhancing the institutional capacity of the public employment offices to provide better quality services for job matching and referrals and increase their outreach to job seekers from the targeted communities in the two governorates. Moreover, the ILO is working towards putting in place better referral mechanisms to skills training and work-based learning opportunities, particularly for young people.
The objectives of the National Officer (NOA) is to support ILO’s expanding interventions related to employment services under PROSPECTS Iraq in the governorates of Nineveh and Dohuk. The incumbent will also provide supports to the skills component and identify synergies between the two pillars. They will be directly involved in activities to enhance meaningful youth engagement and employment in Nineveh through the additional funding received from the opportunity fund programmes both in Iraq and at the global level. The latter will also integrate work on young people’s right to work and rights at work.
Reporting lines:
The National Officer (NOA) will work Under the direct supervision of the Regional Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of PROSPECTS Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and in close coordination with the PROSPECTS Skills Technical Officer and the overall technical backstopping from Senior Employment Policy and Skills Specialists at the Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS). The position will be based in the ILO Office in Erbil with frequent visits to both Dohuk and Nineveh governorates where the project activities are being implemented.
Description of Duties
Participate in the preparation and update regularly the component on employment services, and provide relevant information on project matters: the quality technical inputs under the employment services of the PROSPECTS Iraq Multi-Annual Country Programme (MACP) as well as the interventions on developing referral pathways for youth as part of the Opportunity Fund.
Work in close coordination and follow-up with relevant line ministries and directorates in the two governorates, employers' and workers' organizations, NGOs in the planning and implementation of the employment services and skills components in Dohuk and Nineveh as well as the work on youth employment and engagement to ensure timely implementation of project activities and financial delivery in line with the workplan.
Conduct frequent field visits to Dohuk and Nineveh to closely monitor the implementation of relevant activities on employment services and skills and ensure submission of timely and quality reports by implementing partners.
Participate in the preparation and conduct of seminars, workshops, and consultative meetings, and implement capacity building interventions for selected local partner organizations in the relevant areas, including career guidance and counselling, job search, youth rights at work, using ILO tools.
Liaise with PROSPECTS partners, other UN agencies and represent the ILO PROSPECTS Iraq team at meetings related to employment services, as requested by the CTA.
Support the Skills Technical Officer in providing inputs to the skills component of the project work plan, monitoring plan and technical progress reports of the PROSPECTS Iraq (MACP) as well as the skills interventions under the Opportunity Fund. Keep the Skills Technical Officer updated on the developments, studies, statistics, and interventions related to skills in Iraq.
Prepare briefs, background information, technical reports and draft periodic progress reports and statistical data on status of the overall activities of the project.
Coordinate with the Youth Employment Accelerator team (YOUTH) in EMPLOYMENT to ensure a smooth implementation of the youth participation programme under PROSPECTS and secure linkages to the rights work under the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.
Assist in drafting follow-up phases of the project and provide the necessary support for related fundraising initiatives.
Undertake any other duties or tasks requested by the PROSPECTS CTA as needed.
Required qualifications
Education
First Level University degree in economics, social sciences, development studies, education or other relevant field.
Advanced University degree would be an advantage.
Experience
Two to three years of relevant professional experience at the national and local levels implementing and/or supporting career guidance, employment services and livelihoods projects, at least two years of which with the international organizations. Experience in working in the field of vocational skills training and in youth programming would be a major advantage. Experience in working in the targeted governorates of Dohuk and Nineveh would also be considered an asset.
Languages
Excellent command of written and spoken Arabic and very good command of written and spoken English is needed. Proficiency in the Kurdish language is a strong advantage.
