Job: Chief Technical Adviser - Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity

Location: Dhaka
Deadline: Thursday, 14 November 2013

Human Resources Development Department International Labour Office

Vacancy No: DHAKA/2013/06 Title: Chief Technical Adviser, Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity Grade: P.5 Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment Duration of contract: One year (with possibility of renewal)

Date: 31 October 2013 Application Deadline (midnight Geneva time) 14 November 2013 Organization unit: CO-DHAKA Duty Station: Chittagong, Bangladesh

For any questions related to this post, please contact Mr Srinivasa Baki Reddy, reddy@ilo.org. This is a Technical Cooperation position therefore the recruitment process falls outside Annex 1 of the ILO Staff Regulations. Technical cooperation appointments are not expected to lead to a career in the ILO and they do not carry any expectation of renewal or conversion to any other type of appointment in the Organization. A one-year fixed-term contract will be given. Extensions of technical cooperation contracts are subject to various elements including the following: availability of funds, continuing need of the functions and satisfactory conduct and performance. The following are eligible to apply:

• Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 15 and 16 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations.
• External candidates. *** The ILO values diversity among its staff. We welcome applications from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities. Conditions of employment are described in Appendix II. The Office is a non-smoking environment.

INTRODUCTION The ILO has supported the Government of Bangladesh in reforming its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system for the past five years through partnership with the European Union. This work has resulted in the adoption of a National Skills Development Policy and the revitalisation of the National Skills Development Council (NSDC) with the Prime Minister serving as the Chair of the Council. The overall objective of the ILO's partnership in improving the education and training sector is to better link education and training to national employment and development objectives. Additional development partners are linking their support for TVET to the ILO's cooperation programme in a shared commitment to assist the Government implement the National Skills Development Policy and build up the institutional capacity of the NSDC. This reflects a common commitment to the Government's objectives to improve the productivity of the private sector and boost job growth and has included support for labour market information, sectoral industry skills councils, TVET teacher training and curriculum development, gender equality, disability inclusion, and extending the availability of better training opportunities in the informal economy. This has resulted in (a) a new substantial ILO partnership with Government of Canada, (b) targeted collaboration with Sida and H&M in the RMG sector and (c) an extension of the existing ILO- EU technical cooperation programme. In addition, there have been increasing efforts to improve coordination with the other international agencies that provide support to TVET. Bangladesh is a pilot country in the G20 DWG's pillar on Human Resources Development, which has provided a vehicle for inter-agency coordination (especially with the ADB and WB) and has provided opportunities to share information on national policies and industry skills councils and inclusion through many international knowledge-sharing events. Skills development is high on the development agenda of the country reflected in its Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP, 2011 -15) as well as in its recent country submission to the UN on the post-2015 development agenda. 'Mainstreaming TVET and skills education' is articulated as a target in the Post 2015 Development Agenda besides proposing a new goal on 'Increasing employment opportunities and ensuring workers' rights.' In addition, skills development has been identified by ILO constituents as one of the main country outcomes in the ILO Decent Work Country Programme (2012-2015). Thus, ILO's ongoing and future TVET programme will contribute to the achievement of country outcome 'BGD 101 - skills development reforms for employability and livelihoods implemented.' The three projects noted above make up the strategic programme of technical cooperation for the TVET sector to be implemented by the ILO. More information on these projects is available from the ILO Dhaka website. This multi-project programme of support will be led by a single Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). The programme will be staffed by several international specialists/senior specialists and national programme officers leading work in specific project areas, as well as support staff. In addition, the programme includes provision for hiring both national and international short-term consultants. Within the overall national scenario and development priorities mentioned above, the incumbent for this position will be responsible for the management, implementation and coordination of three technical cooperation projects, from different funding sources, which each target various aspects of TVET and skills development. His/her overall task would be to ensure that these efforts lead to a coherent strategy of support, and strengthen mechanisms of inter-agency coordination to support the Bangladesh government and private sector in achieving their goals to improve the quality and accessibility of employment-relevant training. The ILO project team will function under the overall supervision and leadership of the ILO Office in Bangladesh (ILO-Dhaka). The CTA will report to the Director, ILO- Dhaka, who is the ILO responsible official for this programme of work. Technical monitoring and backstopping for this project will be primarily the responsibility of the ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia, located in New Delhi, India. Technical advice and support will be provided by the Skills and Employability Branch, ILO, Geneva. Technical inputs will also be provided by other departments and offices of the ILO in Geneva and Bangkok.

Description of Duties 1. Provide strategic leadership to the multi-project programme of support on TVET. Take responsibility for teamwork and synergy across projects and within projects across their various components. Focus the efforts of the programme team on meeting the agreed development objectives and put in place a transparent process for maintaining effective team communication and decision-making. Coordinate the work of the international project staff responsible for various components of the project so that activities are properly sequenced and aligned and in order to maximize synergies. 2. Plan, direct and monitor implementation of project activities. Provide leadership to the project team in preparing detailed work plans, regularly checking progress of deliverables and budget expenditures against work plans, and proposing any needed adjustments to the NPD and project steering committee for all the three projects viz., Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity project (B-SEP), Sida and TVET Reform Projects. 3. Manage project staff. Put in place a transparent process for maintaining effective team communication and decision-making. Coordinate recruitment of international staff with ILO-Dhaka. Brief new staff and consultants about the overall programme and the specific project components. 4. Manage the project office, ensuring smooth administrative and accounting operations, coordination with ILO-Dhaka, and completion of all financial transactions according to ILO financial rules. Maintain a clearly defined and fair division of responsibilities and work load for all office staff. Set up and maintain effective management of; record-keeping and correspondence, schedules for staff performance appraisals, and vehicle records. 5. Provide support to the programme steering committee (PSC) and to the NSDC. Coordinate programme planning and project activities with government ministries and representatives of the social partners. Ensure that all stakeholders are kept up to date on progress and can contribute to problem solving and implementation of the project. Provide secretariat support to the PSC for the holding of regular monitoring and coordination meetings so that they can carry out their project guidance and monitoring functions. Ensure that the programme of support strengthens the capacity of the NSDC to coordinate inter-Ministerial implementation of the National Skills Development Policy. 6. Strengthen mechanisms for inter-agency coordination with a view to sharing lessons learnt, maximizing synergies, and avoiding duplication of efforts or inconsistency of policy advice. Coordinate project activities with other donor-funded projects in the TVET sector through the skills development working group of the Local Consultative Group and through the G-20 initiative to enhance inter-project coordination among ADB, WB and ILO supported skills projects. Also maintain communication and coordination with ILO projects in related fields. 7. Put in place and maintain mechanisms to monitor project implementation and assess its impact. Put in place appropriate benchmarking, monitoring and evaluation systems. Ensure financial and performance accountability of the project before the ILO, the donor, and the government, providing timely reporting on the project performance and outputs against the project document and work plan. 8. Regularly monitor project activities, spending and results in the logframe, working closely with component advisors and the project financial administration staff, to keep the project on track and to ensure fiduciary responsibility. Manage budgets and financial transactions to ensure timely budget reviews, budget line changes, and funds availability. Provide all updated reports on project performance in accord with agreed deadlines in project documents. 9. Devise and carry out an advocacy and communication strategy through traditional and innovative media and knowledge-sharing means. Define and share key messages of the TVET programme of support and of the various project components with all stakeholders and target audiences, ensuring the recognition of and ownership by project work by the Government and private sector partners. 10. Increase the visibility of the project activities in the media so that the objectives, activities and impact of the project are well known and appreciated Ensure opportunities for the programmes' financial partners to fully participate in the advocacy and communication strategy and events. Capitalise on opportunities of events organised by stakeholders and other agencies to demonstrate cooperation and coordination and to extend the outreach of knowledge-sharing and advocacy. 11. Support the ILO Country office in matters relating to providing technical advice to the government, employers and workers organizations on skills development issues. 12. Undertake other tasks as entrusted by the Country Office from time to time on skills related matters including new project development, policy papers, etc.

Required Qualifications

Education University degree in human resources development, education, skills development, economics or labour economics, or related field. An advanced degree in a relevant field would be an advantage.

Experience

• At least ten years of work experience in senior management positions in national education and training agencies, departments, TVET institutions and specific management experience in managing international technical cooperation projects. Considerable knowledge of TVET systems and institutions in developed and developing countries and successful project management is required.
• Experience working with ILO technical cooperation policies, rules and regulations and relevant work experience in Bangladesh or other South Asian countries would be a significant advantage. Proven record of producing and publishing applied research in the area of skills and employment development would also be an advantage.

Languages English fluency. Knowledge of the local language - Bengali would be an additional advantage.

Competencies

• Management of human and financial resources, including transparent communication and conflict resolution.
• Orientation to change - Ability to live and work in a developing country; ability to appreciate and support a TVET system in transition
• Collaboration - work effectively with a large team of the international and national professionals, various government agencies, funding and development partners, such as CIDA and the EC, NGOs, and ILO technical units
• Communication - write and edit reports and publications; lead workshops, conferences and working teams
• Sensitivity to diversity - work effectively with multi-national, multi-ethnic project team members
• Client orientation - understands and responds to needs of various government agencies, representatives of employers and of trade unions, other international agencies, NGOs, and financial partners.
• Orientation to learning and knowledge - teach national staff, assess progress and recommend them or training and other professional development activities
• Takes responsibility for performance - manage the staff, funds, time and other resources efficiently in order to achieve results

More Info and Application