Job: Senior Occupational Safety and Health Economist

Location: Geneva 
Deadline: Sunday, 27 October 2013 

Description

Human Resources Development Department

International Labour Office

Vacancy No: RAPS/3/2013/GOVERNANCE/02

Title: Senior Occupational Safety and Health Economist

Grade: P.5

Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment

Date: 25 September 2013

Application Deadline (midnight Geneva time) 27 October 2013

Organization unit: DDG/P GOVERNANCE

Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland

The following are eligible to apply:

- ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 15 and 16 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations.- External candidates.Other staff members with at least five years of continuous service with the Office are encouraged to apply and will be given special consideration at the screening and evaluation stage.Within the context of the ILO's efforts to promote staff mobility, applicants should expect to take up different assignments (field and Headquarters) during their career. The desirable length of the assignment in this specific position is three to five years, following which period the incumbent should be willing to move to another assignment and/or duty station.The ILO values diversity among its staff and aims at achieving gender parity. We welcome applications from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities.Applications from qualified candidates 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 is in Appendix I.Conditions of employment are described in Appendix II.

INTRODUCTION

The position is located in the Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the Tripartism and Governance Department (GOVERNANCE). GOVERNANCE develops advice on labour laws and assistance on labour law reforms based on ILO conventions and recommendations. It provides state-of-the-art technical support and capacity-building to labour ministries and assists labour inspectorates to build capacity and develop strategies to achieve compliance with labour laws, including occupational safety and health (OSH) laws. It advocates and helps constituents to build strong and functional institutions and processes for social dialogue. GOVERNANCE includes ILO programmes to realize fundamental labour rights. It incorporates the following Branches and Units: Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health; Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; Better Work; Labour Law and Reform; and, Social Dialogue and Tripartism.

The overall mandate of the ILO's work on Safety and Health at Work is to promote safe and healthy workplaces and provide support to governments and other constituents to establish laws, systems and programmes to protect workers' health and safety. The Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch contributes to efforts to ensure compliance with labour laws in the field of OSH. It works to create worldwide awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work-related accidents and diseases and to provide support to national occupational safety and health (OSH) systems and programmes. It promotes the primacy of prevention as an efficient and cost-effective way of providing protection to all workers and develops standards, codes and guides at international, national and sectoral levels.

The position will contribute to the ILO's work on OSH by carrying out activities related to strengthening of national OSH systems and expanding technical cooperation projects, as well as contributing to the strategic programming. The position reports to the Chief of the Branch.

Description of Duties

Specific duties

1. Undertake economic and statistical research concerning the impacts of work related accidents and diseases, with the aim of promote national actions and strengthening preventive action.

2. Further strengthen strategic partnerships on OSH with UN agencies, regional organizations, development banks, civil society and other development actors on the topic. Drive the mainstreaming of improving OSH in poverty reduction and major development programmes.

3. Ensure coherence and cohesiveness of the ILO activities in improving OSH under the relevant Outcomes, working in close collaboration with other contributing departments and with the field offices.

4. Engage the ILO as an active and visible partner on OSH and promote ILO policies and positions through high-level contributions at major regional and international events and through continuous networking with the wide range of institutions active in the field.

5. Strengthen networks of researchers, practitioners and leading international institutions, in both industrialized and developing countries, with a view to integrating economic and broader labour market considerations in the global effort to improve OSH.

6. Serve as focal point for technical cooperation project development, coordination and implementation including public-private partnership programmes relating to OSH.

7. Serve as focal point for collaboration and coordination relating to OSH with the ILO Bureaux for Employers' and Workers' Activities.

8. Conduct tripartite reviews on technical cooperation activities and international meetings and conferences.

9. Contribute to the strategic programming of the Branch and the development of relevant action and products to attain the objectives of the Programme and Budget concerning improvement of OSH.

10. Analyse and provide comments on draft documents prepared for Governing Body, the International Labour Conference, regional and sectoral meetings and other official or specialized meetings. Ensure that appropriate briefings and reports are prepared and follow-up action is carried out in coordination with the relevant technical units, particularly within the Department of Governance and Tripartism.

11. Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Chief of the Branch.

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

1. Lead, organize, plan, supervise and control the work of other colleagues involved in the tasks assigned.

2. Design and promote a wide range of special subject-matter-related programmes, including analysis of complex or conflicting data, statistics, information or policy guidelines in a manner requiring the advanced application of principles of a recognized technical specialization.

3. Develop and review an institutional framework, in which social partners can best improve, implement and evaluate efficient and equitable ILO action programmes.

4. Provide policy advice to ILO's constituents on institutional strengthening, the application of ILO standards and the promotion of technical cooperation activities

5. Develop project design, review proposals, formulate, revise and submit project proposals and negotiate funding.

6. Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the project activities.7. Lead and undertake technical advisory missions independently or in collaboration with other specialists.

8. Conduct seminars, workshops and technical meetings.

9. Prepare draft recommendations and guidelines for discussion and adoption as ILO recommendations or Conventions on related technical fields.

10. Disseminate information on action 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, conference reports, Director General's report to ILC).

Required Qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree (in addition to the experience required below) in economics with demonstrated expertise in OSH.

Experience

Ten to fifteen years' experience of which at least seven years at the international level.

Languages

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

Competencies

Technical competencies

The ability to:

• undertake top-quality research concerning the economic implications of OSH and to address broader issues outside the field of specialization and present its findings in technical and non-technical ways;
• provide experienced advice on best practices in the economic research of OSH and strengthen national capacity in this regard; 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 (e.g. reports for regional conferences and ILC, technical publications, training manuals and draft resolutions) and evaluate and monitor technical cooperation activities and projects.
• 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.
• Wide knowledge of OSH principles.
• Good analytical skills to undertake policy analysis and to produce relevant reports.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:

Behavioural competencies

• Takes ownership of tasks assigned with full responsibilities; accepts accountability for outcomes.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment;
• to work in a team and under strict deadlines if needed.
• Discretion, judgment and diplomacy. Gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes.

Additional Information:

Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews are expected to take place between November 2013 and January 2014. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.

More Info and Application