Skills and Employability Specialist

Vacancy No: RAPS/2/2015/AS/01 Title: Skills and Employability Specialist Grade: P.4 Contract type: Fixed-term Appointment	Date: 21 May 2015 Application Deadline (midnight Geneva time) 21 June 2015 (14 day(s) until closing deadline) Currently accepting applications   Organization unit:   DWT/CO-NEW DELHI Duty Station:  New Delhi, India
General introduction The following are eligible to apply: - ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 31 and 32 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations. - External candidates. Staff members with at least five years of continuous service with the Office are encouraged to apply and will be given special consideration at the screening and evaluation stage. In accordance with the Staff Regulations and letters of appointment, successful candidates for positions in the Professional category would be expected to take up different assignments (field and Headquarters) during their career, the desirable length of an assignment in any specific position being two to five years, following which the incumbent should be willing to move to another assignment and/or duty station. Within the context of the Office's renewed efforts to promote mobility, staff members seeking mobility are encouraged to apply to vacancies. Mobility will be given special consideration at the screening and evaluation stages. The specific language requirements for this position are detailed hereunder. Candidates whose mother tongue is not one of the ILO working languages (English, French and Spanish) shall possess a fully satisfactory working knowledge of at least one of the working languages in order to apply. If appointed, and if so required as per the position requirements, they may be required to acquire a working knowledge of a second working language during their initial years of service in the Office. The ILO values diversity among its staff. We welcome applicants from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. If you are unable to complete our online application form due to a disability, please send an email to erecruit@ilo.org. Applications from qualified candidates from non- or under-represented member States, or from those member States which staffing forecasts indicate will become non- or under-represented in the near future, would be particularly welcome. A list of these countries is in Appendix I. Successful completion of the Assessment Centre is required for all external candidates. Conditions of employment are described in Appendix II.
INTRODUCTION The position is located in the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South-Asia (DWT-Delhi). DWTs provide high-quality, timely, and integrated technical support to country offices in the design and implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCP) in response to their requests within the framework of outcome-based work plans. The position will be responsible for policy advisory services to constituents and helping to integrate skills development into broader employment promotion strategies, and for the design and technical backstopping of technical cooperation projects in the field of skills development which includes targeting both formal and informal skills development systems. Significant emphasis will be given to addressing the training and skills needs of women, youth, persons with disabilities and informal economy workers. The incumbent is expected to generate networks with partner and constituent organizations, leverage the growing technical expertise already in the countries to serve Decent Work programme priorities, and provide advice for up-scaling projects to policy levels. The position contributes to a regional cluster of skills specialists within the Asia-Pacific region. The position reports to the Director of DWT-Delhi and receives technical guidance and advice from the Skills Branch of the Employment Policy Department in Geneva.
Description of Duties Specific duties 1.Analyze trends and developments in the countries covered which have a direct bearing on the formulation of skills development policies, employment promotion, and poverty reduction strategies; identify possibilities for integrating social, economic, gender and other human resources development concerns in line with the ILO Decent Work Agenda with special reference to the promotion of relevant international labour standards. 2.Provide advice on focusing skills development policies and provision on meeting the needs of workers and operators in rural areas and the informal economy, as well as the special needs of women, youth, persons with disabilities and migrant workers 3.Develop and support the implementation of coherent Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCP) and UN development assistance frameworks (UNDAF) in partnership with specialists in other technical fields. 4.Support constituents in undertaking needs assessment and comparative policy analyses. Build constituents' capacity to design policies, implement them, and monitor their implementation and impact. Facilitate the effective participation of employers' associations and trade unions in policy design, implementation, and evaluation. 5.Assist the countries concerned in the development, design, implementation and evaluation of competency based vocational education and training systems and institutions, involving national vocational qualifications, skill standards and curriculum, skills assessment and recognition, recognition of non-formal and informal learning and encouragement of workplace training. 6.Advise constituents on various approaches to extend accessibility of relevant training in the formal and informal economies, including apprenticeship systems and linking entrepreneurship and vocational training, with special emphasis on the financial and institutional sustainability of programmes and coherence with broader employment promotion and poverty reduction strategies and policies. 7.Provide advice on policies and programs designed to strengthen the involvement of enterprises and employer and workers' organisations in skill development systems, including through sectoral approaches and tripartite sector skills bodies. 8.Provide advice on building systems to sustain cooperation between public and private training systems, industrial sectors and other important stakeholders and on systems linking training provision to needs of employers and emerging employment-creating industries and sectors. 9.Support inter-ministerial coordination to link basic education, vocational training, employment services and lifelong learning and to integrate skills development in the work of line ministries (agriculture, industry, environment, enterprise development, youth employment, etc.). 10.Support the mainstreaming of gender issues in national skills development policies and systems, and where appropriate promote policies and programmes targeting women's access to quality and relevant training. 11.Ensure that extending access to quality, relevant and employable skills is integrated into local development initiatives, linking skills development to entrepreneurship, business services and micro-credit schemes to expand livelihoods, self-employment and wage employment. 12.Contribute to regional activities which include regional workshops, research on skills and training, disability inclusion and employment services, and to the effective functioning of the on-line Community of Practice for the Regional Skills and Employability Programme. These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties: 1.Design and promote a wide range of special subject-matter-related programmes, This involves: re-analysis of complex or conflicting data, statistics and information or policy guidelines, in a manner requiring the advanced application of principles of a recognised technical specialisation. 2.Develop and review an institutional framework, in which social partners can best improve, implement and evaluate efficient and equitable ILO action programmes. 3.Provide policy advice to ILO's constituents on institutional strengthening, the application of ILO standards and the promotion of technical cooperation activities. 4.Formulate and submit project proposals and seek funding. 5.Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the project activities. 6.Undertake technical advisory missions independently or in collaboration with other specialists. 7.Conduct seminars, workshops and technical meetings and training courses. 8.Prepare draft recommendations and guidelines for discussion and adoption as ILO Recommendations or Conventions on related technical fields. 9.Write manuals and/or training guides on related topics. 10.Disseminate information on programmes through publications and, press releases, as well as ensuring representation at donors' meetings, international, regional and national fora and advocacy campaigns. 11.Monitor and coordinate research carried out by junior technical officers and external collaborators. 12.Provide technical inputs to office documents (sectoral meetings, technical committees, regional meetings and conference reports). 13.Participate in tripartite reviews on technical cooperation activities and international meetings and conferences.
Required Qualifications
Education Advanced university degree in vocational education and training, human resources development, labour economics or other social sciences
Experience Eight years' experience at the national level or five years experience at the international level in human resources development, vocational education and training and skills development policies and programme implementation, including for the informal economy. Experience in design and implementation of technical cooperation projects in skills development and relevant work in developing countries would be an advantage.
Languages (See also above) An excellent command of English is required. Proficiency in one of the other working languages of the ILO would be an advantage.
Competencies  In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires: Ability to synthesize research and reach empirically based conclusions on related subjects; provide seasoned advice on adapting best practices to local needs and circumstances, address broader issues outside the field of specialization within coherent national policies that include skills development; integrate gender analysis and indicators in design, implementation and evaluation of programmes and projects, including research; formulate new concepts and methodologies; develop training materials, alternative courses of action, project proposals, policy, procedural matters and present them at high-level meetings; design and synthesize strategies for programme development in member States; produce reports, technical publications, training manuals, and design, monitor and evaluate technical cooperation activities and projects. Ability to conduct discussions and negotiate with governments, employers' and workers' organizations, non-governmental organizations, development banks and with other agencies as well as top-level professionals in related fields. Proven communication and drafting skills, both written and verbal and the ability to work productively and cooperatively in a multi-cultural team environment. Gender sensitive behavior and attitudes are also required.
Additional Information: Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews will tentatively take place between August and October 2015. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.
APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED DIRECTLY IF SELECTED FOR WRITTEN TEST.
APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED DIRECTLY IF SELECTED FOR AN INTERVIEW.
APPENDIX I
Angola Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belize Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Cabo Verde, Republic of Cambodia Chad China Congo Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Gabon Gambia Georgia Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Iceland Indonesia Iraq Japan Kazakhstan Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Liberia Libya Maldives, Republic of the Malta Marshall Islands Montenegro Mozambique Namibia Nicaragua Oman Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Poland Qatar Republic of Korea Russian Federation Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Solomon Islands Somalia South Sudan, Republic of Suriname Swaziland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu United Arab Emirates United States of America Uzbekistan Vanuatu Yemen
APPENDIX II CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
- Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to ILO Staff Regulations and other relevant internal rules. - The first contract will be issued for a twelve-month period (for Geneva-based positions) and a twenty-four month period (for non Geneva-based positions) - A successful external candidate will be on probation for the first two years of assignment. - Any extension of contract beyond the probation period is subject to satisfactory conduct and performance. Grade: P.4 Salary and post adjustment (with dependants) US$ Salary Minimum 72605 rising to Maximum 94720 Post adjustment for New Delhi Minimum 29695 Maximum 38740 Salary and post adjustment (without dependants) US$ Salary Minimum 67611 Maximum Maximum 87613 Post adjustment for New Delhi Minimum 27652 Maximum 35833
Please note that the above salary levels are determined according to the criteria established by the International Civil Service Commission. The ILO is international public sector employer and salary and other employment conditions are not negotiable. Other allowances and benefits subject to specific terms of appointment: Children's allowance (except for the first child if the dependent rate of salary is paid in respect of that child); Children's education grant (per child per year); Pension and Health Insurance schemes; 30 working days' annual leave; Assignment Grant; Entitlement to transport expenses of personal effects; Repatriation Grant; Home-leave travel with eligible dependants every two years; Rental subsidy (if applicable). Recruitment is normally made at the initial step in the grade. Salaries and emoluments are exempt from taxation by the Swiss authorities and, on the basis of international agreements or national law relating to presence or residence abroad, are generally exempt from taxation by other governments. In the absence of exemption, in most cases tax paid will be reimbursed in accordance with an ILO document which will be supplied upon request. While the successful candidate will be initially working in New Delhi, he/she may be assigned to any duty station designated by the Director-General of the ILO.
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application form. To apply, please visit ILO's e-Recruitment website at: erecruit.ilo.org. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.
The ILO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process whether at the application, interview, processing or training stage. Messages originating from a non ILO e-mail account - @ilo.org - should be disregarded. In addition, the ILO does not require or need to know any information relating to the bank account details of applicants. Depending on the location and availability of candidates, assessors and interview panel members, the ILO may use communication technologies such as Skype, Video or teleconference, e-mail, etc for the assessment and evaluation of candidates at the different stages of the recruitment process, including assessment centres, technical tests or interviews.