Title: International Value Chain Development Expert
โโRequisition ID: 5616
Grade: P3 (Specialist)
Country: Nigeria
Duty Station: Abuja
Category: International Consultant
Type of Job Posting: Internal and External
Employment Type: Non-staff Regular
Contract Duration: 6 months (with the possibility of extension)
Application Deadline: 08-May-2025, 11:59 PM (Vienna, Austria time)
Vacancy Announcement
TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OF PROJECT PERSONNEL
Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development. UNIDOโs mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to โBuild resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovationโ. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organizationโs programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.
Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDOโs four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.
Under the overall direction of the Director General, and in close collaboration with all relevant organizational entities within UNIDO, the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS), headed by a Managing Director, ensures the Organization's application of strategies and interventions for sustainable industrial development related to environment, energy, Micro, Small and Medium-Enterprises (MSMEs), and digitalization. The Directorate also oversees the Organization's normative contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through industrial policy advice and capacity development. Through coordination in-house and with Member States and industry stakeholders, it ensures that the services provided in these areas contribute to effective and appropriate technical, business and policy solutions and are focused on results, scaling up and positioning UNIDO as a leading platform for industrial development in developing countries and global fora.
The Directorate is responsible for the Division of Industrial Policy Advice and Capacity Development (TCS/IPC), and technical Divisions of Circular Economy and Green Industry (TCS/CEG), Energy and Climate Action (TCS/ECA), Climate Innovation and Montreal Protocol (TCS/CMP); MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (TCS/SME); and Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence (TCS/DAI). Leveraging the diverse skill sets of UNIDO personnel and the services provided by the two TC directorates, TCS collaborates closely with IET to develop and implement programmes and projects, aiming at enhancing synergy and complementarity and maximizing UNIDO corporate performance and impacts on the ground. The Directorate also ensures close coordination and collaboration among the Divisions as well as with relevant entities in all Directorates across the Organization.
The Division of MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (TCS/SME) works towards increasing the competitiveness of industries in developing countries and countries in transition, especially emphasizing business development of MSMEs engaged in manufacturing and creating jobs therein. It aims at increasing competitiveness among MSMEs in two interconnected ways: first, by modernizing businesses through the transfer of advanced technologies adapted to local conditions, product innovation, productivity improvement and upgrading, developing market and value chain readiness as well as improved access to finance; and second, by improving the quality of MSME manufactured products and their compliance with market requirements through capacity building for the development of industrial production and trade-related quality infrastructure including for standardization, metrology, accreditation and of conformity assessment service institutions (testing, certification, inspection and calibration) and the strengthening of their capacities.
PROGRAMME CONTEXT
ID 240104 - Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access (ATCMA) Programme โ ECOWAS
The EU-funded Africa Trade Competitiveness and Market Access (ATCMA) Programme, a Sub-Saharan African initiative aims at sustainably increasing intra-African and EU-Africa trade. In addition to a continental component, the programme comprises five regional components in the ECOWAS, COMESA, SADC, ECCAS and EAC regions, building on existing or previous regional programmes (WACOMP in West Africa, MARKUP in East Africa, PIQAC in Central Africa, RECAMP and SIPS in Southern Africa).
The overall focus of this four-year ATCMA ECOWAS Programme is to address market access challenges faced by selected value chains in the West Africa region and enhance their competitiveness, through two pillars:
- Supporting countries to benefit from trade opportunities by enabling them to conform with standards and technical regulations, requiring quality infrastructure and conformity assessment services, as well as by streamlining regulatory and procedural frameworks at the regional and national levels. The programme will help the African countries to benefit from trade opportunities by being able to conform with standards and technical regulations, which requires establishing efficient testing, certification and accreditation mechanisms that conform to the requirements of the SPS and TBT agreements and benefit from international recognition. It will also strengthen governmental institutions in their capacity of creating a more conducive business environment for MSMEs.
- Maximizing MSME export potential and access to new markets by overcoming constraints or developing enablers like value addition, and export capacities: In order to maximise MSMEs export potential and support them to enter new markets, the Programme will also address other market access constraints or enablers: enhance value addition and export capacities through marketing, labelling, branding strategies, sustainability and environmental issues, technology transfer and processing for export, business promotion through market linkages and capacitate trade and investment support institutions. Support will be provided both at institutional and policy level, as well as at private sector level, with a primary focus on selected key export-oriented regional priority value chains. Particular focus on intra-African exports as well as exports to the EU will be given, so regions can fully exploit their trade-driven growth potential, with a view to contribute to sustainable growth and jobs creation.
The programme is thematically structured into five components leading to 5 outputs as follows:
In relation to Specific Objective 1:
Output 1.1: Market access barriers identified and reduced
Output 1.2: Strengthened quality compliance and standards
Output 1.3: Value-chain revision mechanism facilitated
In relation to Specific Objective 2:
Output 2.1: Enhanced value addition and diversification
Output 2.2: Enhanced SME capacities and opportunities for business and export
While UNIDO is in charge of implementing output 1.2 and 2.1., ITC is responsible for the implementation of output 1.1, 1.3 and 2.2.
To ensure an overall coherent umbrella ATCMA framework, coordination and complementarity between the Continental component and sub-regional components will be ensured throughout the overall programme implementation.
FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The International Value Chain Development Expert works under the overall guidance of the UNIDO Industrial Development Officer responsible for the project (Lead Programme Manager), Division of MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (TCS/SME) at UNIDO HQ, in close collaboration with the Industrial Development Expert at UNIDO HQ, the Regional Programme Manager in Abuja, and the UNIDO-ITC project teams in Abuja.
The Expert is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and providing technical advice and inputs for the Output 2.1 of the Programme on value addition and diversification (enterprise upgrading, clusters, digital transformation, industrial skills, centres of excellence, etc.).
The Expert will be responsible for the following tasks and main duties:
Technical advice and implementation
- Provide technical inputs and contribute to capacity building efforts on themes relevant to the position, including:
- Green, circular, and climate-neutral value chain policies, strategies and institutions in the ECOWAS region
- Strategies/roadmaps for ECOWAS priority value chains
- Clusters and other collaborative initiatives (networks) in the ECOWAS region
- Regional Centres of Excellence to support ECOWAS priority value chains
- Industrial skills for sustainable value chain development in the ECOWAS region
- Enterprise upgrading and modernization for higher added-value in ECOWAS priority value chains
- Digital transformation of ECOWAS priority value chains
- Innovative financing and investment solutions for selected value chains
- Create high-quality briefs, reports, presentations, and other materials that support evidence-based decision-making and promote stakeholdersโ engagement in areas related to value addition and diversification.
Project Management and Implementation
- In collaboration with the Regional Programme Manager and UNIDO HQ team, plan, monitor, supervise and report on the day-to-day implementation of programme interventions under output 2.1 on value addition and diversification.
- Supervise, coordinate and evaluate the work of the consultants and service providers recruited under output 2.1 of the programme, including but not limited to:
- Managing expertsโ missions
- Planning and organizing capacity-building activities
- Drafting terms of reference/job description and participating in the evaluation of offers/candidates
- Defining equipment specifications.
- Liaise with various UNIDO divisions and project managers responsible for the implementation of sub-outputs under output 2.1 of the programme, and ensure smooth and regular communication on the status and progress of output 2.1 between the PMU and UNIDO HQ.
- Optimize the coordination of actions under output 2.1 by promoting synergies and based on a coherent intervention logic so that activities are implemented efficiently, maximizing impact and optimizing resources to ensure optimal cost-effectiveness.
- Ensure gender and social inclusion in any type of interventions under output 2.1 and manage project data disaggregated by sex and age.
- Support the preparation of periodic progress reports, monitoring reports, fact sheets and case studies to meet UNIDO and EU reporting requirements.
- Support the Regional Monitoring and Evaluation expert by providing relevant and timely inputs linked to output 2.1.
- Maximizing MSME export potential and access to new markets by overcoming constraints or developing enablers like value addition, and export capacities: In order to maximise MSMEs export potential and support them to enter new markets, the Programme will also address other market access constraints or enablers: enhance value addition and export capacities through marketing, labelling, branding strategies, sustainability and environmental issues, technology transfer and processing for export, business promotion through market linkages and capacitate trade and investment support institutions. Support will be provided both at institutional and policy level, as well as at private sector level, with a primary focus on selected key export-oriented regional priority value chains. Particular focus on intra-African exports as well as exports to the EU will be given, so regions can fully exploit their trade-driven growth potential, with a view to contribute to sustainable growth and jobs creation.