Specialist in Skills and Lifelong Learning

Grade: P4

Vacancy no.: RAPS/3/2022/EMPLOYMENT/01
Publication date: 25 October 2022
Application deadline (midnight Geneva time): 28 November 2022

Job ID: 10045
Department: EMPLOYMENT
Organization Unit: SKILLS
Location: Geneva  
Contract type: Fixed Term

The following are eligible to apply:

• ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 31 and 32 of Annex I of the ILO Staff Regulations.
• External candidates.

Staff members with at least five years of continuous service with the Office are encouraged to apply.

Applications from officials who have reached their age of retirement as defined in Article 11.3 of the Staff Regulations on or before 31 December 2017, or who have already separated from ILO service upon retirement or early retirement, will not be considered.

The ILO values diversity among its staff and welcomes applications from qualified female candidates. We also encourage applicants with disabilities. If you are unable to complete our online application form due to a disability, please send an email to ilojobs@ilo.org.

The ILO welcomes applicants with experience in working within ILO constituents (governments, employers’ and business membership organizations, and workers’ organizations).

Applicants 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 can be found here: ILO Jobs: Non- and under-represented Member States

In addition to the interviews and tests that any candidate may be required to take, successful completion of the ILO Assessment Centre is required for all external candidates and any internal candidate applying to a higher category.

Notwithstanding the general considerations set out in the ILO Staff Regulations, this vacancy announcement is the only authoritative document pertaining to the qualifications required for this position. The minimum required qualifications were determined in view of the specific duties and responsibilities of this position.

The specific language requirements for this position are detailed hereunder. However, candidates applying for the professional category vacancies who have not already successfully completed their probationary period within the ILO and whose mother tongue is not one of the working languages of the Office (English, French and Spanish), shall be required to possess a fully satisfactory working knowledge of at least one of the ILO working languages. If appointed they may be required to acquire a knowledge of a second working language of the Office during their initial years of service.

Please note that in the context of the new ILO organigram, the naming of the departments may be subject to change.

Introduction

The position is located in the Skills and Employability Branch (SKILLS) of the Employment Policy Department (EMPLOYMENT) at ILO headquarters. The SKILLS Branch provides high-quality, timely, and integrated research, technical and policy advisory services on skills development in key thematic areas, namely national skills policies and systems, skills strategies for future labour markets and apprenticeships and skills for social inclusion.

The position will be responsible for policy advisory services, project management, resource mobilization and research under the thematic area of national skills policies and systems that are primarily related to work-based learning, especially quality apprenticeships, and the involvement of social partners in skills development systems. The position will undertake this work as part of broader employment promotion strategies targeting both formal and informal skills development systems. Significant emphasis will be given to further development of ILO tools, resource mobilization and technical assistance to development cooperation projects related to quality apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning that engage social partners more fully in the design, implementation and evaluation of training and learning in the workplace. The incumbent is also expected to provide technical support to ILO skills and employment specialists based in Decent Work Teams in the field.

The incumbent will generate networks with partner and constituent organizations, leverage the growing technical expertise already in the Skills and Employability Branch and amongst skills and employment specialists in the field.

The position will report to the Chief of SKILLS.

‍

Specific Duties

1. Analyse economic and labour market trends and broader national development and employment priorities in order to help align skills development policies and programmes with the broader policy frameworks and employment creation potential.
2. Develop or update existing policy and programme-related tools and knowledge products that support ILO constituents and skills and employment specialists in implementing and enhancing work-based learning and quality apprenticeship programmes. Support constituents in the application of the tools in cooperation with ILO field specialists.
3. Upgrade and maintain a global knowledge sharing platform on skills and lifelong learning. Enrich the platform by providing technical inputs including useful tools for practitioners and lessons learned from development cooperation projects, and awareness raising materials.
4. Identify opportunities for resource mobilization and contribute to formulating project concept notes and proposals on skills and lifelong learning.
5. Support ILO constituents and skills and employment specialists in undertaking needs assessments and comparative policy analyses on skills and lifelong learning, in particular on quality apprenticeships.  Contribute to efforts that build constituents’ capacity to design skills and lifelong learning policies and programmes, implement them, and monitor their implementation and impact.
6. Support ILO constituents and skills and employment specialists in facilitating the effective participation of employers’ associations and trade unions in skill development systems, especially skills policy design, implementation, and evaluation.
7. 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.
8. Plan and conduct comparative research and the subsequent development of policy advisory services and tools aimed at building national capacity to improve the outreach of skills and lifelong learning options to disadvantaged groups, including workers and operators in rural areas and the informal economy, women, youth, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and refugees.
9. Provide advice on how skills and lifelong learning, including quality apprenticeships, can meet 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 and refugees.
10. Contribute to Office-wide efforts to analyze, document and disseminate good practices on conducive national policies and local initiatives on skills development and employment strategies as part of regional and global knowledge-management systems.
11. Promote the ratification and implementation of ILO standards on skills and lifelong learning, including apprenticeships.
12. Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties:

‍

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 development 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 development cooperation activities and international meetings and conferences.

‍

Required qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree in vocational education and training, human resources development, labour economics, social sciences or other relevant field.

A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in one of the afore-mentioned fields or other relevant field with an additional two years of relevant experience, in addition to the experience stated below, will be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience

At least seven years of experience, including at the international level, in skills development, work-based learning especially quality apprenticeships, employment and skills development policies. Experience in resource mobilization.

Languages

Excellent command of one official language (English, French, Spanish) of the Organization and a working knowledge of a second official language.

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 monitor and evaluate development cooperation activities and projects.  Good negotiation skills. Proven ability to effectively engage with ILO tripartite constituents, non-governmental organizations, development banks and with other stakeholders. Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.

Conditions of employment

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to ILO Staff Regulations and other relevant internal rules. Any offer of employment with the ILO is conditional upon certification by the ILO Medical Adviser that the person concerned is medically fit to perform the specific inherent requirements of the position offered. In order to confirm an offer from the ILO the successful candidate will be required to undergo a medical examination.
• The first contract will be issued for a twenty-four month period.
• 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.

For more information on conditions of employment, please visit the ILO Jobs International Recruitment page.

Important Information

Any officials of the General Service category interested in applying to this position are hereby informed that, if selected, they will be offered the salary and allowances applicable to the grade of the position applied for, which may result in substantial changes in their take-home remuneration. In accordance with Article 3.4 of the Staff Regulations, the salary of an official, upon promotion, shall in no case be greater than the maximum salary of the grade to which he or she was promoted. For any questions or clarifications, please contact your HR partner at hrpartner@ilo.org

Recruitment process

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application form. To apply, please visit the ILO Jobs website. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.

Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews will tentatively take place during the 3 to 4 months following the application deadline. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.

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.

The ILO has zero tolerance for acts of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and is determined to ensure that all staff members and all beneficiaries of ILO assistance do not suffer, directly or indirectly, from sexual exploitation and abuse.
To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organisation, the ILO may conduct a background verification of candidates under consideration.

Fraud warning

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.

‍