National Project Officer - Employment

Introduction

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1919 to promote social justice and brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 Member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, launched in September 2021 by the UN Secretary-General, signals the UN system’s collective response to multiple challenges that threaten to rewind development progress. The initiative aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the creation of decent jobs, primarily in the green, digital and care economies, and to extend social protection to people who are excluded. The Government of Uzbekistan has committed, at the highest levels, to implementing the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions (GA). Through policy analysis and stakeholder dialogue, national stakeholders have identified four key areas for the GA country roadmap: formalisation, inclusion, transitions to a green and digital economy. As per the ILO mandate to promote jobs and social protection, the ILO has been nominated as the lead UN agency to support the GA in Uzbekistan. 
The Global Accelerator Uzbekistan project is a two-year initiative financed by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG Fund), which is a UN development cooperation mechanism specifically established to implement the 2030 Agenda. The project focuses on one the priorities of the GA in Uzbekistan, formalisation. The project aims to reduce informal employment, by formalising enterprises and jobs, expanding social insurance to informal and migrant workers, and piloting integrated approaches between employment, social protection and social services.
The ILO National Project Officer – Employment will implement the employment part of the ILO components within the UN’s joint project and promote employment, following the policy and procedural requirements established by the ILO. The incumbent coordinates actions with the ILO’s tripartite constituents, relevant UN agencies and other actors. He or she will be integrated in the ILO’s GA project team which is led by the National Project Coordinator who will manage the overall project implementation and supported by a Finance and Administrative Assistant. The project team is guided by technical specialists at DWT and HQs and higher-level managers. The incumbent will work closely with other UN colleagues involved in the joint project as well. 
This position is located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and reports to the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (DWT/CO-Moscow).

Reporting lines

The National Project Officer – Employment will report to and be technically supervised by the Senior Employment Specialist of the Decent Work Team for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (DWT/CO-Moscow). The DWT/CO Director will be the Responsible Chief. The incumbent will work under the general coordination and guidance of the National Project Coordinator (NPC) and collaborate with the Social Protection Specialist. The incumbent will be also guided by the National Coordinator for Uzbekistan and other relevant DWT/CO- and HQ-based specialists. The incumbent will also receive technical advice and support from various units and departments of the ILO HQ, especially the Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods (EMPLOYMENT), and Social Protection (SOCPRO) departments, as well as the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (RO-EUROPE). 

Description of Duties

1. Gather, review and analyse Uzbekistan’s development and employment policies and priorities, relevant socioeconomic data, reports, plans and activities of ILO’s tripartite constituents and other development partners including sister UN agencies, and other information that may help or affect the implementation of the project. Provide written analysis on the findings to the supervisor and the DWT.
2. Work in close collaboration with DWT specialists, NPC, and colleagues based in Tashkent to develop and update quarterly and monthly work plans, as well as preparation of budget proposals for activities. Coordinate with the ILO tripartite constituents and partners in planning and implementing activities. Promote the inclusion of gender equality and non-discrimination in all aspects of the project. Maintain written records of project activities and achievements including lists of beneficiaries and participants.
3. Prepare and conduct conferences, seminars, workshops, training sessions, and consultative meetings. Speak on behalf of the project when attending these gatherings alone. Generate a written summary of meetings and events to the supervisor and relevant colleagues. Draft web articles on major achievements of the project. Undertake necessary missions upon approval of the supervisor.
4. Review and monitor progress of the project against plans and suggest remedial actions where appropriate. Follow-up with relevant partners and contractors of the project to meet performance targets. This includes receiving information and decisions from partners on matters pertaining to the implementation of the project (e.g., a list of participants or names of speakers in an event) and assuring on-time and quality delivery of goods and services from contracted providers. 
5. Draft a biannual progress report of the employment part of the project focusing on a log of activities, budget execution, performance indicators including gender-disaggregate number of beneficiaries and other relevant data, known impact of the project, and media coverage of the project. Contribute to the preparation of any other required technical progress reports and ad-hoc reports on the status of project planning and implementation for submission to the ILO, Joint SDF Fund, the GA Global team and the GA’s Steering Committee as required.
6. Serve as liaison between the ILO and the Working Group on Employment under the UN’s Result Group II in order to align ILO joint programme outputs with UN’s plans and contribute to effective coordination and implementation of UN system wide employment interventions in close coordination with the regional and HQ-based employment specialists.
7. Prepare contracts of suppliers by precisely describing deliverables and setting contractual terms. Monitor progress of suppliers and verify delivered goods and services. 
8. Identify opportunities for fund-raising (e.g., call for proposals, donors’ interests) and draw attention of relevant DWT-specialists.
9. Brief ILO specialists and visiting officials and provide relevant information on project matters. Draft, edit, or translate into local language or into English official correspondence, documents, presentation slides, speeches, and other public information materials. 
10. Guide the work of Finance and Administrative Assistant based in Tashkent so that financial transactions, administrative tasks, and support work are performed to implement project activities in accordance with ILO rules and regulations in a timely manner.
11. Perform other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor and/or Responsible Chief.

Required qualifications

Education

First level university degree in economics, public policies, development studies, sociology, or a relevant field. An advanced degree in a relevant field would be an advantage.

Experience

Two years of professional experience at the national level in the area of project management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Proven experience in working effectively with government bodies in charge of policy making and with development partners would be an asset.

Technical requirements:Good knowledge of Uzbekistan’s socio-economic and policy contexts.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Uzbek. Working level of Russian is an advantage.

Competencies

• Knowledge of project management, including programme and budget, project administration, and evaluation concepts and procedures.
• Ability to understand and follow the office’s financial rules and regulations. 
• Good knowledge of the context and challenges for the project, refugee crisis response and transition from the informal to the formal economy.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to justify requirements and approaches to problem resolution, and good drafting skills.
• Good ability to interpret project information and to identify and analyse problems with implementation.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. Ability to clarify information.
• Demonstrated collaborative and teamwork experiences and ability to work effectively with a multicultural and interdisciplinary team, as well as to work on his/her own initiative.
• Ability to work independently, quickly, precisely, and take initiative and responsibility.
• Ability to work under pressure and to meet the deadline.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, and web-browsers. 
• Ability to deal with people with tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes are also required.