Grade: P5
Vacancy no.: RAPS/1/2022/EMPLOYMENT/02
Publication date: 17 June 2022
Application deadline (midnight Geneva time): 18 July 2022
Job ID: 8642
Department: EMPLOYMENT
Organization Unit: SKILLS
Location: Geneva
Contract type: Fixed Term
The following are eligible to apply:
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: https://jobs.ilo.org/content/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.
This position is located in the Skills and Employability Branch (SKILLS) within the Employment Policy Department (EMPLOYMENT). EMPLOYMENT is responsible for promoting full and productive employment by developing integrated employment, development and skills policies that maximize the employment impact of economic growth, investment and development and which are inclusive, gender-sensitive, productive and sustainable. Guided by relevant Conventions and Recommendations and by the conclusions of committee discussions at the International Labour Conference (ILC), the Department develops new approaches and policy tools and disseminates them through policy advisory, capacity building and development cooperation activities in a range of inter-related areas at the global and country levels.
SKILLS assists governments and the social partners in developing skills development strategies and policies and reviewing and reforming their vocational and education and training systems and institutions. It supports ILO field offices in the development and implementation of skills and employability development components of Decent Work Country Programmes, and in the application of international labour standards and policy instruments on skills for employment. Its mandate is to enable constituents to improve skills development so as to enhance the employability of workers, the productivity of enterprises and the inclusiveness of economic growth.
The Senior Skills and Lifelong Learning Specialist will be responsible for the Branch’s work on national skills development policies and strategies.
The position will report to the Chief of SKILLS.
1.Design and implement high-level policy guidance documents to support Member States in applying and adapting ILO policy frameworks and international labour standards on skills for employment to their circumstances and integrating skills development into their employment strategies and policies as part of a comprehensive employment framework.
2.Support Member States in developing and/or adapting national skills and lifelong learning policies and strategies in line with ILO standards, particularly the Human Resources Development Recommendation, 2004 (No. 195), ILC conclusions and other relevant tripartite guidance documents.
3.Manage a global programme of work on skills policies, strategies and digitalisation of skills development systems including the adaptation of skills policies and systems to service the priority economic sectors such as the green, care and digital sectors.
4.Plan, develop, lead and manage high-quality research products, new tools, methodologies and guidance documents to promote skilling, reskilling and upskilling of workers to enable their smooth transitions (including from school to work, informality to formality and work to work).
5.Plan, develop, lead and supervise comparative research and the subsequent development of policy advisory services and tools aimed at building national capacity to improve the outreach of quality education and training and flexible learning options to disadvantaged groups including workers and operators in the informal economy and rural areas, persons with disabilities, women, youth, migrant workers and refugees. This work puts a premium on analysis and policy guidance to facilitate the effective involvement of social partners in the design, implementation and impact assessment of skills development policies and programmes.
6.Develop and strengthen internal and external partnerships to design, produce and utilise research on skills and competitiveness and to ensure policy coherence by integrating skills development in the promotion of employment growth and development.
7.Devise strategies on financing skills development and manage their implementation, including through building effective cooperation at a high technical level with other international agencies, particularly with international financial institutions, regional banks, other multilateral organizations and networks active in the area of skills development and lifelong learning.
8.Mobilise resources for scaling up ILO services by proactively engaging in new programme development, developing project ideas and concept notes, leading development of project documents, log frames, theories of change. Proactively collaborate with the Global Programme on Skills and Lifelong Learning team and field specialists and ensure involvement in a wide range of resource mobilisation activities including through networking with development partners and external partners. Collaborate with the Partnerships and Field Support Department and other departments and units within ILO and other UN and multilateral agencies.
9.Perform other relevant duties as assigned.
These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties:
Advanced university degree in human resources development, skills or training policy, labour economics, labour sociology, or economic development or other related social sciences discipline with demonstrated expertise in skills and lifelong learning.
Ten to fifteen years of experience, of which at least seven years of experience at the international level, in skills development systems and policies and in policy-related research. Experience related to the application of the above in middle-income or lower-income countries would be an advantage.
Excellent command of one official language (English, French, Spanish) of the Organization and a working knowledge of a second official language.
In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:
Technical competencies -
Demonstrated and recognized technical and /or managerial leadership in carrying out the objectives and policies of the related work unit, demonstrated technical expertise to devise new methods, concepts, approaches and techniques, leading to development of ILO standards and technical guidelines and ability to prepare ILO strategy reports in the related field for programme development, the ability to provide policy advice and the ability to manage large projects to coordinate activities among projects.
Strong analytical capabilities and ability to adapt methods of policy and programme impact assessment methods to work in middle- and low-income countries; demonstrated ability to define research methods, conduct and manage comparative and policy-related research, and ensure the quality of publications; ability to approach skills development as part of labour market and employment policies and systems (as opposed to only part of education systems)
Behavioural competencies - Ability to conduct discussions and negotiate with governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, multinational companies, non-governmental and other UN agencies and bilateral donors. Ability to coordinate activities and work well in multi-disciplinary teams. Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.
Conditions of employment
For more information on conditions of employment, please visit: https://jobs.ilo.org/content/International/
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 at https://jobs.ilo.org/. 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.
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.
This vacancy is archived.