Project Manager, Employment and Resilience

Under article 4.2, paragraph (e) of the Staff Regulations, the filling of vacancies in technical cooperation projects does not fall under Annex I of the Staff Regulations and is made by direct selection by the Director-General.

In order to support the best informed process in the filling of the present vacancy by direct selection, the ILO invites interested candidates to submit their candidature online by the above date.

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:

• ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 31 and 32 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations.
• External candidates.

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 [email protected].

Introduction

Lebanon continues to face a serious and increasingly challenging employment and labour market situation, exacerbated by the financial and economic crisis starting in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country in 2020, bringing the economic activity to a halt. The multiple crises endured by Lebanon have worsened already fragile socio-economic conditions, resulting in heightened levels of vulnerability, poverty and informality and social tensions. This disproportionately affects marginalized groups including refugees but also increasingly the host communities.

The country has weak labour market institutions, coupled with a deficient demand for labour and low levels of job creation, particularly in high productivity/ high value-added sectors. Other structural challenges, such as skills mismatch, and a highly deficient social protection system that does not facilitate the transition from social assistance to decent employment opportunities have also hindered progress towards full and productive employment in the country, with the skills provided by training and education institutions not adequately and fully responding to the labour market needs.

Refugees and host communities have become increasingly subject to poor living and working conditions, requiring further support through urgent and well-targeted measures.

The ILO responds to these challenges by providing alternative livelihoods to selected Syrian refugees and host communities, particularly women. This will be done through employment-related services and skills training for enhanced employability, as well as through short-term employment in local employment intensive infrastructure programmes. A further track will be through entrepreneurship development for self-employment.

The incumbent will lead the ILO “Improving living conditions and resilience of refugees displaced by the Syrian crisis and vulnerable hosting communities in Lebanon” project.

The project team is comprised of the (P4), three National Skills Officers (NOA), one Communication Assistant (G5) and one Project Assistant (G6).

Reporting lines

The incumbent reports to the Deputy Regional Director/Decent Work Team (DWT) Director of the Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS) and is backstopped by the Senior Resilience and Crisis Response Specialist, in coordination with other ROAS technical specialists.

Description of Duties

• Responsible for effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all project activities in conformity with ILO policies and project strategies, and in accordance with ILO programming guidelines and country/action programs, and administrative and financial procedures, in consultation with the responsible Field Office.
• Interact with all relevant stakeholders and donors at national level and establish synergies regarding project activities with other interventions as part of the UN Strategic Framework for Lebanon and the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan.
• Provide support to socio-economic development, decent work and employment promotion as required in relation to Lebanon.
• Ensure coordination and delivery of project outputs relevant to other ILO projects in an effective manner and is able to properly support and represent the ILO in respective coordination meetings with partner agencies and donors respectively.
• Responsible for design, development, and presentation of proposals for new projects, and contribute to further resource mobilization under leadership of the Partnerships Officer.
• Ensure that gender equality is appropriately mainstreamed in all activities and documents produced by the project.
• Manage the budget of the project(s) and ensure adequate coaching and performance management of staff under his/her supervision.
• Review the efficiency and effectiveness of the project activities through regular monitoring; identify bottlenecks to timely implementation of the projects and select alternative strategies, after internal consultations.
• Liaise with ILO constituents and ensure their involvement in project implementation and relevant consultations in coordination and communication with the respective DWT specialists.
• Prepare and conduct capacity development seminars, workshops and technical meetings and build networks and alliances with employers, trade unions, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Director of the DWT/Beirut.

Required qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree (Master‘s or equivalent) in international development studies, social sciences, public administration and governance, economics or other relevant technical fields, or first level degree with nine years of relevant in experience.

Experience

• At least Seven years including at the international level of relevant experience of professional experience in the management, implementation, evaluation or funding of technical cooperation programmes.
• Knowledge of and experience in working on socio-economic matters related to employment, skills and decent work.
• Proven experience in the design, development and presentation of project proposals, and fundraising.
• Proven experience in refugee crisis response, in areas such as access to work for refugees and livelihoods support. Experience in livelihoods refugee crisis response in Lebanon is an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge of crisis response related to livelihoods, in particular labour issues.
• Demonstrated experience in running projects in conflict or crisis affected areas.
• Knowledge and experience of working with ILO constituents, and in Arab states, is an advantage.

Languages

​​​​​​Excellent command of English. Knowledge of Arabic would be a further asset.

Competencies

• Demonstrated capacity to provide relevant and effective technical advice on the technical area and related topics.
• Ability to conceptualise, design, plan and implement research work including analysis of complex cross-national practices and data sets.
• Ability to participate effectively in technical missions and decent work teams.
• Ability to guide and coordinate the work of external collaborators, general service staff and young professionals in the area of specialization.
• Ability to formulate new concepts and methodologies.
• Excellent writing skills to draft reports and prepare guidelines relating to programme development and implementation. Ability to provide technical support to senior specialists carrying out research, project formulation and implementation.
• Excellent analytical skills and knowledge of analytical tools, and qualitative and quantitative techniques.
• Good computer skills.
• The ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.

optional section (if needed)

Candidates assessed by the Panel and considered to be eligible for appointment but who are not selected for this vacant post may be offered an assignment to another position at the same or lower grade provided that they meet the minimum qualifications required.

Conditions of employment

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to ILO Staff Regulations and other relevant internal rules. Any offer of employment with the ILO is conditional upon certification by the ILO Medical Adviser that the person concerned is medically fit to perform the specific inherent requirements of the position offered. In order to confirm an offer from the ILO the successful candidate will be required to undergo a medical examination.
• Any extension 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.

For more information on conditions of employment, please visit the ILO Jobs International Recruitment page.

Recruitment process

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application form. To apply, please visit ILO Jobs. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.

Applicants will be contacted directly if selected for a written test and/or an interview.

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 technical tests or interviews.

The ILO has zero tolerance for acts of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and is determined to ensure that all staff members and all beneficiaries of ILO assistance do not suffer, directly or indirectly, from sexual exploitation and abuse. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organisation, the ILO may conduct a background verification of candidates under consideration.

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.