Senior Specialist for Employers Activities, Yaounde, Cameroon

Human Resources Development Department

International Labour Office

Vacancy No: CALL/P/2012/08
Title: Senior Specialist for Employers Activities

Grade: P level

Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment

Date: 6 July 2012
Application Deadline: 3 August 2012

Organization unit:   ACT/EMP

Duty Station:  Yaounde, Cameroon

ILO is issuing a call for expression of interest for the position of Senior Specialist for Emplyoers Activities.
The selection process is not subject to the rules and procedures defined in Annex 1of the ILO Staff Rregulations.

The following are eligible to apply:

- Internal candidates

- External candidates.

The ILO values diversity among its staff. We welcome applications from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities.

INTRODUCTION
The Senior Specialists for employers' activities (Senior Employer Specialists) are members of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Teams (DWT) that provides ILO technical support and guidance to a particular geographical area.

ACT/EMP consists of a Bureau at ILO HQ in Geneva and a network of Senior Employer Specialists in each of the DWT in the different regions. Its principal work is to manage the relationship between the ILO and employer organisations (EOs) and the business community so that there is mutual understanding, shared values and a desire to work together. This is done in close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Employers' Group of the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). Additionally, through its programme of technical cooperation it seeks to strengthen EOs so that they are more representative and can increase their value to their members and potential members. This work also enhances social dialogue in the countries concerned.

The post is a senior level post and the incumbent is expected to manage technical activities focusing on high-level technical and policy advisory services and of advocacy of new strategies, policies, approaches and programmes within their area of specialisation. The incumbents need to work with a high level of autonomy and take authoritative technical decisions independently whilst being accountable for the efficient management of funds.

The incumbent is expected to achieve objectives which are set by the ILO Governing Body concerning the strategic management of the programme. Targets for a given number of results corresponding to objectives in the ILO Programme and Budget are set for each biennial budget cycle of the ILO, and the incumbent will be responsible for a certain number of results set in agreement with ACT/EMP management. In addition the incumbent should have the necessary advocacy and technical skills to be able to insert the employer/business concerns and priorities into major ILO policies and programmes.

Description of Duties
The work of the Senior Employer Specialist is to act as an interface between the ILO, EOs and the employer community in the sub-region concerned and to develop and maintain good working relations with them. More particularly he /she is to help EOs meet more effectively the needs of enterprises. Finally, the Senior Employer Specialist should be able to articulate the views of employers within the ILO so that their priorities and concerns are taken on board in the formulation and implementation of ILO policies and programmes and also to be able to communicate ILO policies and programmes to the employer community.
In addition, the Senior Employer Specialist is an Office-wide source of reference for information on key developments and challenges facing EOs in the region and more generally.

Main Tasks

The Senior Employer Specialist is responsible for designing and implementing the ILO's entire programme of work with each EO within his or her jurisdiction, whatever the source of funds or other units involved. This involves being able to follow procedures laid down by ACT/EMP and the ILO as a whole within a results based management framework which contains needs analysis, work planning, reporting and evaluation.

The objective of the ACT/EMP programme is to develop independent, representative and strong EOs which can effectively represent employers' interests in national economic and social development policy making and implementation and to provide quality services to their member enterprises. To this end the Senior Employer Specialist may need to provide advice and consultancy, organise training courses, produce publications and organise workshops, seminars, conferences or study missions etc. Whilst a set allocation of financial resource is available each biennium in order to carry out the programme, increasingly it is the responsibility for the Senior Employer Specialist to seek and secure alternative donor funding for projects.

The Senior Employer Specialist will be responsible for drawing up a work plan which outlines the proposed cooperation with each EO for which she/he is responsible This is done bi-annually in dialogue with each EO concerned and done on the basis of a needs assessment to be carried out by the specialist (taking account of the budget allocation available to each specialist and the likelihood of attracting any extra funding resources). Attention needs to be paid to the operating environment of each EO concerned and strategic thinking is essential. The work plan states the problem to be solved, or objective to be achieved, the activity which should lead to the result envisaged and the indicators which would prove the extent to which the result has been achieved. Technical expertise can be resourced from both within the ILO and externally, depending on the task to be achieved, resources available and the availability of specific knowledge.

The work plan is finalised in dialogue with an allocated regional "Desk Officer" in Geneva and ACT/EMP management.

Once agreed, Senior Employer Specialists are responsible for the implementation of the agreed work plan and progress is reported and reviewed in a monitoring exercise every quarter. Wider reporting is also needed on assessing the impact of the programme including information on cases where there have been difficulties encountered and lessons learned from both successful as well as problematic cases.

Performance is assessed against the agreed work plan and result targets set as indicated above.

Other Tasks

The Senior Employer Specialist will also be involved in other work of the DWT and Country Offices. This can involve participating in meetings, missions etc to input employers' perspectives in the formulation of the DWT and Country Offices` policies and programmes. It may also involve taking part in national and sub-regional tripartite activities on given themes to be a technical support to employer participants.

The specialist will also be called upon to give input to ACT/EMP HQ on its technical responses to wider ILO initiatives.

Required Qualifications

Education
Advanced university degree in economics, business administration, law, social science or related subject.

Experience
At least ten years professional experience, with at least five years of experience in senior management positions in employer organisations or other business organisations and/or comparable experience in HR/IR or technical cooperation management functions with practical experience of working with employer organisations.

Languages
Excellent knowledge of French. Working knowledge of English would be an advantage.

Competencies
-Excellent knowledge of employers' organisations and labour related programmes, issues, practices and policies

-Excellent knowledge of development concerns and needs in Africa and in Central Africa in particular as related to employer organisations.

-Good analytical and problem solving abilities.

-Ability to synthesize assessed needs in employer organisations for the purpose of developing and managing technical cooperation projects.

-Demonstrated ability to conduct socio-economic research and analysis and to write reports.

-Demonstrated ability to define and resolve problems in a manner that reflects employers concerns and priorities in technical cooperation projects.

-Ability to develop links with and attract major donors in order to ensure adequate resource mobilisation for the implementation of plans and projects.

-Ability to present and advocate policy changes in difficult circumstances.
Ability to represent the Organisation at a high level in a tripartite environment, deliver speeches and to provide authoritative advice and guidance to both constituents and the Office.

-Ability to take initiatives, plan and organise work in accordance with ACT/EMP guidelines with a minimum of supervision

-Ability to work under political and time pressure and meet tight deadlines.

-Sound financial management.

-Political insight and sound judgement

-Ability to advise senior level officials, executive management and constituents and to negotiate and discuss sensitive matters with tact, discretion and authority

-Discretion and high sense of responsibility and judgement.

-Command of standard computer software.

Core Competencies and Values

-Client orientation: ability to effectively meet client needs (internal and external).

-Takes responsibility for performance: ability to take prompt action to accomplish objectives, including beyond what is required; to establish courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently; to monitor the results of delegations, assignments or projects.

-Quality orientation: ability to set, maintain and monitor high quality standards for own delivery;

-Collaboration: ability to develop and use collaborative relationships to facilitate work goals.

-Orientation to change: ability to adapt to major changes in work tasks or in the work environment.

-Communication: ability to communicate by clearly conveying information to individuals or groups.

-Integrity and transparency: ability to maintain social, ethical and organizational norms and to adhere to codes of conduct and ethical principles.

-Orientation to learning & knowledge sharing: ability to continuously develop and update professional knowledge base; to assimilate and apply new job-related information in a timely manner.

-Sensitivity to diversity: ability to accommodate the differences found in other cultures and between genders to interact effectively with people of different cultures.

Additional Information:
The post is at P4 or P5 grade depending on qualifications and experience and will be remunerated on the basis of decisions taken in the framework of the United Nations Common System.

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