National Project Officer - NOA (DC)

Some of the major impediments to rapid growth and improvement of micro and small enterprises in Iraq include the lack of positive attitudes and initiatives geared towards entrepreneurship, absence of entrepreneurship education targeting youth, the lack of required basic business start-up and management skills, absence of financial literacy, difficult access to start-up capital and finance and the absence of an effective service infrastructure for start-ups. It is particularly important that business skills training providers ensure small enterprises receive the training which could enhance their sustainability, expand their business, and achieve economies of scale in a business environment context often characterized by little physical support infrastructure and limited access to financial services and markets.

The private sector in Iraq is underdeveloped due to the economy's heavy reliance on oil exports (99% of all exports), an abundance of cheap imports, and competition from state-owned enterprises. Private sector development is a central government priority. Still, a lack of productive investment in the formal private sector has resulted in inadequate creation of decent jobs for Iraq's growing labor force. The need to promote entrepreneurship among Iraqis, including women and youth, and build the national capacity for the provision of non-financial business development services (BDS) and financial literacy were depicted as priority areas of intervention in the transition to sustainable employment. In fact, during the last few years and within the framework of the transition from the humanitarian response to a more development-oriented phase, a number of projects funded by foreign governments and international agencies, targeting livelihoods and MSME development, have already been providing BDS. These services, however, were not needs based and remained mostly generic without being provided in a common and standardized manner.

It is against this backdrop that the GIZ-funded project entitled “Improved business development services targeting MSMEs for the creation of Decent Work opportunities in KR-I” focuses on strengthening the provision of needs-based standardized business support services and financial literacy. The project will introduce and institutionalize the ILO Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme and its financial literacy/inclusion package in selected local and national partners who in turn will provide these quality support services to existing and potential Iraqi/Kurdish entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the project will introduce ILO Know About Business (KAB) program in response to the requests received by GIZ and the ILO from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Erbil in 2019-2020 to continue the provision of the required support for the promotion of an entrepreneurship culture among youth in KR-I. It will focus on strengthening the provision of entrepreneurship education in vocational and technical institutions and will facilitate the school-to-work transition for youth in Iraq.

Reporting lines:

The National Project Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Project Technical Officer, the overall technical guidance of the ILO ROAS Enterprise Development Specialist and the general supervision of the DWT Arab States Director. The position will be based in the recently established ILO office in Erbil, Iraq.

Main duties and responsibilities:

1. Support the technical officer in the application of KAB programme quality assurance in close coordination with MoLSA KAB Coordinator and supervisors.
   
2. Regularly monitor and liaise with KAB supervisors and facilitators to ensure the quality of delivery is met, and certification processes are followed.
   
3. Assist and participate in the ILO process of selecting potential KAB teachers for the pilot project.
   
4. Assist and facilitate the organization of the Training of Facilitators’ workshops as well as any other related workshops such as Refresher Workshops and Awareness Workshops targeting supervisors and participate actively in all of them to learn about the KAB programme and its implementation modality.
   
5. As per the KAB programme guidelines, implement the monitoring and evaluation system and ensure that all trained teachers abide by the system and submit their reports in a timely manner. 

 6. When instructed, undertake field missions in relation to project implementation/monitoring visits to KAB classrooms, to: a) collect data from the KAB pilot test and this entails numbers of students attending classes, number of business plans submitted and number of hours taught as well as number of teachers delivering the KAB programme in their classrooms; b) to ensure that delivery is made according to the standards of the KAB Programme.

7.  Provide the necessary support to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to ensure that required approvals/clearances are granted in a timely manner to avoid any delays in the implementation of the KAB activities. The same support and follow-up is required at selected vocational and technical schools level to ensure that all Directors facilitate and support the delivery of the KAB programme in the classrooms.

8. Collect information and prepare technical reports in Arabic and Kurdish to be shared with national partner organizations and trainers/facilitators.

9. Assist in the preparation of progress reports for submission to donors and other partners.

10. Draft Terms of Reference for various consultancy assignments and support in the identification and selection of consultants.

11. Perform any other duties as assigned by the project manager and related to the project.

First level degree in economics, business administration, development studies or other relevant social sciences.

At least three years of relevant professional experience at the national level involving entrepreneurship education for youth, as well as business development, and financial and non-financial business development service provision.

Excellent command of written and spoken English and Arabic. Kurdish is a must.

• Ability to carry out assignments in accordance with instructions and guidelines on time
• Ability to use analytical tools and qualitative and quantitative techniques
• Ability to conceptualize, plan, coordinate and conduct straightforward research work and activities
• Ability to draft reports, terms of reference, concept notes, and press releases
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as a team member
• Good interpersonal and communication skills
• Good computer skills.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and gender-sensitive behavior and attitudes are also required.