1. Background and purpose

The Government of Iraq, through its National Development Plan (2024–2028), has identified the establishment of a National Public Works Programme as a vital measure to reduce poverty, enhance human development, create assets, and improve public services.

Thus, under the Building Equitable and Inclusive Transformation (BEIT) project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the ILO has initiated technical cooperation to support the establishment of a National Public Works Programme. This programme is sector-focused and designed to leverage governmental investment funds to ensure sustainability of decent work opportunities while creating synergies with various social protection systems in order to advance national development and economic objectives.

During 2024 and 2025, the ILO has managed to make significant progress in four fields of action:

1. Engaged relevant stakeholders in a broadened national consultation at policy and technical levels to draft a comprehensive road map process for the national public work programme.
   1. Establish the governance structure, consisting of Steering Committee and TWG to provide strategic and technical guidance and orientation on the National Public Work Programmes design and implementation.
   2. Straightening national capacities at technical and policy making levels on good practices on designing and implementing Public Works programmes through trainings and study tour.
   3. 1. Identify recommended priority sectors for piloting the Public Works Programme, with particular emphasis on the Construction and Reforestation sectors.

The purpose of this assignment is to engage a national economist to provide technical review, advise, lead the validation process and refine based on collected feedback of the draft comprehensive roadmap report for the National Public Works Programme

1. Scope of work

The overarching goal of this assignment is to technically review, refine, and validate the National Public Works Programme (NPWP) Roadmap Process draft Report to ensure its coherence, analytical soundness, and alignment with Iraq’s national development and employment strategies. The assignment aims to produce a finalized, validated version of the roadmap that is practical, evidence-based, and nationally owned.

The National Economist will review the draft NPWP Roadmap Process Report, identify and address analytical and policy gaps, enhance the structure and content where necessary, and facilitate a validation process with relevant stakeholders. The consultant will also prepare and deliver a presentation summarizing the key aspects of NPWP report and recommendations emerging from the refined report.

The review and validation process will be conducted in close coordination with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Governance Structure of the NPWP, and other relevant national institutions and social partners engaged in the design of the NPWP. The assignment will be implemented over a period of three months, corresponding to 20 working days.

1. Detailed tasks

▶ Inception and Review Preparation

• Hold an inception meeting with the ILO to clarify objectives, scope, and expectations of the assignment.
• Review relevant background materials, including the draft NPWP Roadmap Process Report, the National Development Plan (2024–2028), and other related policy documents.
• Develop and submit an Inception Note outlining the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, review methodology, work plan, and timeline.

▶ Technical Review and Analysis

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the draft NPWP Roadmap Process Report to assess: 1) Analytical soundness, internal consistency, and completeness. 2) Alignment with the National Development Plan (2024–2028) and relevant employment, infrastructure, and social protection frameworks. 3) The feasibility and coherence of each aspect of the NPWP road map process report.

• Identify technical, policy, and institutional gaps and provide detailed

  recommendations for improvement.

• Ensure coherence and complementarity with the broader economic context and institutional ecosystem, promoting synergies and alignment with national development frameworks and priorities.

▶ Refinement and Enhancement of the Roadmap

• Revise and refine the NPWP Roadmap Process Report based on the review findings and feedback from the ILO.

• Strengthen the roadmap’s analytical foundation, structure, and

  presentation to ensure clarity, practicality, and policy relevance.

▶ Validation and Stakeholder Engagement

• Prepare and deliver a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the key elements of the refined roadmap report.
• Facilitate a validation session with government institutions, social partners, and relevant development partners.
• Gather and document feedback received during the validation session and ensure it is systematically incorporated into the final version of the report.

▶ Finalization and Reporting

• Finalize the validated version of the NPWP Roadmap Process Report, incorporating all agreed revisions and stakeholder inputs.
• Prepare an End-of-Assignment Note summarizing the process undertaken, main outcomes, and key recommendations for next steps.

IV. Expected deliverables

Deliverable Estimated Working
Days
Description

Deliverable 1: Inception and Technical Review Preparation

Up to 3 working Days By the 1st of February 2026• Hold inception meeting with the ILO to clarify scope, objectives, and expectations.
• Review the draft NPWP Roadmap Process Report, the National Development Plan (2024–2028), and related documents.
• Submit an Inception Note outlining methodology,
analytical approach, and work plan.

Deliverable 2: Technical Review, Refinement, and Validation Preparation

Up to11 working Days By the 20 of March 2026 • Conduct a comprehensive technical review of the draft NPWP Roadmap Proces Report for analytical soundness, coherence, and alignment with national frameworks.
• Identify gaps and provide recommendations for
improvement.
• Revise and refine the roadmap based on findings
and ILO feedback.
• Ensure complementarity with the broader
economic and institutional ecosystem.
• Prepare a PowerPoint presentation summarizing
the refined roadmap for validation.
Deliverable 3: Validation, Finalization, and Reporting
Up to 6 working Days By the 15th of April 2026• Facilitate a validation session with government institutions, social partners and development partners.
• Incorporate stakeholder feedback and finalize the
validated NPWP Roadmap Process Report.
• Submit a concise End-of-Assignment Note summarizing key outcomes and next-step
recommendations.
All deliverables must be in (Arabic and formatted according to ILO reporting standards).

V. Reporting arrangements
The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the ILO BEIT Project in close technical coordination with the BEIT Technical Project Officer and the BEIT National Project Coordinator. A detailed timesheet for the working days will be a responsibility of the consultant to be validated by the ILO BEIT teams.
VI. Detailed qualifications, experience and skills required

1. Advanced university degree (PhD or equivalent) in Economics, Development Economics or related field).
2. At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in Active Labour Market Polices, Public Works/Employment Programmes and Employment Intensive Investment Programmes
3. Proven knowledge of Iraq’s labour economy, policy making process, and national development planning.
4. Experience in drafting analytical and provide technical review of governmental policy reports in Arabic.
5. Excellent analytical, writing, and presentation skills in Arabic.
6. Demonstrated experience in designing and promoting economic policy reforms and advancing collective consensus around institutional change initiatives.
Indicators for evaluation of outputs

1. Timeliness and quality of deliverables, including adherence to the agreed work plan and submission schedule.

2. Analytical rigor and relevance of the review, ensuring the NPWP Roadmap Process Report is technically sound, coherent, and aligned with national development priorities.

3. Accuracy, completeness, and clarity of documentation, findings, and recommendations.

4. Effectiveness in facilitating the validation process and integrating stakeholder feedback into the final version of the NPWP Roadmap Process Report.

5. Quality of coordination and consultation with government institutions, social partners, and the ILO technical team throughout collecting and incorporating the feedback after the validation workshop under this assignment and final delivery of the report.

6. Payment terms

7. Progress payments:

Payments will be made in instalments against deliverables, as follows, with a note that the consultancy includes 20 working days during a period of three months. All deliverables are subject to ILO approval prior to payment:

Deliverable

Estimated Days

Payment (%)

Deliverable 1: Inception and Technical Review Preparation

Up to 3 workingdays

15 % (equivalent to the actual number of workingdays approved and accepted)

Deliverable 2: Technical Review, Refinement, and Validation Preparation

Up to 11 working days

55 % (equivalent to the actual number of working daysapproved and accepted)

Deliverable 3: Validation, Finalization, and Reporting

Up to 6 workingdays

30 % (equivalent to the actual number of workingdays approved and accepted)

Total

20 days

100%

1. In case of progress payments, payment schedule and timeframe shall be based on the number of days corresponding to the deliverables.
   1. The daily fee shall be established within the fee range corresponding to the complexity of assignment and the

external collaborator’s country of residence, as per the ILO Daily Fee Range Table.

1. If the external collaboration contract is to be established in local currency, the amount will be converted from USD to local currency using the United Nations Operational Rate of Exchange effective at the time of establishing the contract.

2. Travel arrangements (ifapplicable)

• The consultant may be required to travel to Erbil for stakeholder consultations, training delivery, and validation workshops.

• ILO will afford the cost for flight ticket for the shortest and most economic route from the country of residence to Erbil and the way back, and as per the confirmed need of the ILO team

• The ILO will afford the cost of VISA issuance to Erbil in case needed

• All movements within Erbil are under the full responsibility of the consultants

• In case movement is required between Erbil and other governorates

  i.e Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk, then ILO will arrange the movement

• For applicants who reside outside Erbil, Daily Substantial Allowance shall be provided by ILO and subjected to the UN rules and regulations.

UNGM: Call for External Collaborator – National Economist – Technical Review, Refinement, and Validation of the NPWP Roadmap Process Report, ILO Iraq Office / BEIT Project (EU-funded).