Requisition ID: 4924
Grade: ISA-Specialist
Country: Philippines
Duty Station: Cotabato City
Category: International Consultant
Type of Job Posting: Internal and External
Employment Type: NonStaff-Regular
Contract Duration: 3 months with possibility of extension
Application Deadline: 06-Jan-2025, 11:59 PM (Vienna, Austria time)
Vacancy Announcement
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OF PROJECT PERSONNEL
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development. UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.
Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.
Under the overall direction of the Director General, and in close collaboration with all organizational entities within UNIDO, in particular the Office of Change Management (ODG/CHM), the Office of Legal Affairs and Compliance (ODG/LEG), the Office of Strategic Planning and UN Engagement (ODG/SPU), and the Office of Evaluation and Internal Oversight (EIO), the Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET), headed by a Managing Director, is responsible for the development of innovative UNIDO services in the areas of agro-industry and agribusiness, sustainability standards and fair production, and climate-relevant or climate-improving technologies. It is also, in collaboration with ODG, responsible for developing innovative technical cooperation concepts, identifying new sources and means of finance and entering into new partnerships with a broad range of relevant stakeholders.
The Directorate houses the Divisions of Quality, Impact and Accountability (IET/QUA), Agribusiness and Infrastructure Development (IET/AGR), Innovative Finance and International Financial Institutions (IET/IFI), Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade (IET/PST), Public-Private Partnerships (IET/PPP), and Climate and Technology Partnerships (IET/CTP). The Directorate also ensures close coordination and collaboration among the Divisions and relevant entities in the Directorate of Global Partnerships and External Relations (GLO) and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS).
Division of Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade (IET/PST)
Under the overall guidance of the Director General, the direct supervision of the Managing Director, Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET), and in close coordination with other organizational entities within UNIDO, the Division of Fair Production, Sustainability Standards and Trade (IET/PST) develops and implements an innovative service package in response to UNIDO's mandate for fair and responsible local industrial production and trade with a particular focus on building the required skills and capacities and foster a conducive business operating environment to ensure that such production and trade are as inclusive as possible, promoting – among others – the development of human capital through vocational training and industrial skills development. In collaboration with IET/IFI, IET/PPP, TCS/SME, TCS/CPA, and GLO/MSR, the Division will conceptualize and negotiate such services and raise funds from Member States, development partners, IFIs, and the private sector to coordinate their effective implementation and devise ways in which their implementation can be brought to scale. This will include cross-cutting and sector-specific initiatives for sustainable supply/value chain and skills development in industrial sectors where UNIDO has, over the years, accumulated expertise, such as agro-industries, fisheries, textiles, leather, light manufacturing, health, mining, automotive and pharma and others. It will do so through close engagement with Member States, private sector associations, industrial enterprises, international quality, standards and trade-related governing bodies, other UN Agencies (e.g. ILO), development partners, NGOs and consumer associations, as appropriate, ensuring solid and operational partnerships.
Skills Development, Entrepreneurship and Fair Production Unit (IET/PST/SEF)
The Skills Development, Entrepreneurship and Fair Production Unit supports Member States in integrating into the emerging global systems of fair and sustainable trade and supply chains. It aims 62 to increase employability, strengthen access to decent employment, augment job retention, and increase access to qualified workforce by the industry, through modern technical and vocational education and training (TVET), professional education and entrepreneurship systems essential for driving sustainable transition. Central to its mandate is the commitment to provide the skills required to enabling sustainable supply chain practices, ensuring resilience, particularly at the firm level, and addressing the challenges and opportunities arising from new due diligence regulations. To this end, it provides specialized and country-tailored assistance to Member States to skill, upskill, and/or reskill their labour force and enhance their entrepreneurship capacity, it implements demand driven educational approaches, leverages partnerships with the private sector and strengthens institutional and firm-level capacities that fortify sustainable supply chains, with emphasis on the most vulnerable. It places importance on mitigating unintended consequences stemming from due diligence regulations, ensuring that all actors, especially at firm-level, are equipped to navigate through these changes. The Unit promotes innovation in learning, concepts and norms to augment the quality, relevance, attractiveness and accessibility of TVET for sustainable industrial employment and self-employment for the most vulnerable. The Unit also deploys foresight and planning instruments to guide Member States in developing industrial skills of future employees and respond to re-skilling and up-skilling requirements tailored for sustainable supply chains.
PROJECT CONTEXT
The Island of Mindanao in the Philippines has undergone social unrest in the past decades due to the Moro Conflict. Since 1960s, political tensions and open hostilities have developed between Philippines’ Government and Moro Muslim rebel groups. To defuse these tensions, lengthy peace negotiations have led to the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2019. Philippines’ and BARMM’s political commitment will be fundamental to ensure Bangsamoro’s institutional strengthening. Collaboration of foreign donors to ensure institutional strengthening and delivery of peace dividends will also be fundamental in the coming years to enhance BARMM’s socio-economic conditions & human security.
The UNIDO action fits in this context by supporting the development of BARMM’s Agribusiness Sector. The action aims to support agribusinesses in post-conflict Bangsamoro to increase their sales to the Filipino market and their exports to the market of Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)
General Objective
To contribute to the achievement of this objective the action will aim to ensure that:
To achieve these outcomes the support will be threefold:
1. Institutional support is provided to BARMM to review and to implement Halal and sea products’ standards and relevant agreements (Output 1);
2. Capacity development program is carried out to help local testing laboratories to be upgraded (Output 2); and
3. Skills development and technology transfer program is delivered to selected local agribusinesses to comply with Halal and sea products’ standards (Output 3).
4.Capacity development activities for the relevant stakeholders will include an integrated skills development and a technology transfer program.
UNIDO’s intervention will be part of a larger EU intervention: EU Bangsamoro Agri-Enterprise Programme (EU BAEP) - towards peaceful, cohesive, secure & inclusive development in Bangsamoro. EU BAEP is designed to deliver on two major outcomes:
Outcome 1: Local agricultural production is improved in quality, diversity, consolidation and its response to the needs of the market;
Outcome 2: BARRM has an elaborate policy and strategy for further development and investment promotion in Agri-business. Outcome 2 will include:
FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The CTA will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Project Manager (PM) and the Industrial Development Expert (IDE) at UNIDO HQ and assume responsibility for implementing all project activities in close coordination with project partners.
The incumbent will undertake the following duties:
Main duties
Concrete/
measurable outputs to be achieved
Expected duration
Location
SAP ID 210124
Project implementation
Project work and budget plan implemented
Quality project implementation maintained and project outcomes achieved in line with agreed timeline and budget
45%
Cotabato City, Philippines
Key technical inputs
presentations to project beneficiaries and key partners.
Effective technical support and advisory services provided
5%
Team management
Effective management of project personnel/service providers in the field
15%