Technical Officer, Women's Entrepreneurship Development

Grade: P3

Vacancy no.: RAPS/6/2023/ENTERPRISES/01
Publication date: 24th November 2023
Application deadline (midnight Geneva time): 4th January 2024

Job ID: 11427
Department: ENTERPRISES
Organization Unit: SME
Location: Geneva
Contract type: Fixed Term

The following are eligible to apply:

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

  Staff members with at least five years of continuous service with the Office are encouraged to apply.

  Applications from candidates who have already separated from ILO service upon retirement or early retirement, will not be considered.

  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 ilojobs@ilo.org.

  The ILO welcomes applicants with experience in working within ILO constituents (governments, employers’ and business membership organizations, and workers’ organizations).

  Applicants from non- or under-represented member States, or from those member States which staffing forecasts indicate will become non- or under-represented in the near future would be particularly welcome. A list of these countries can be found here: ILO Jobs: Non- and under-represented Member States

  In addition to the interviews and tests that any candidate may be required to take, successful completion of the ILO Assessment Centre is required for all external candidates and any internal candidate applying to a higher category.

  Notwithstanding the general considerations set out in the ILO Staff Regulations, this vacancy announcement is the only authoritative document pertaining to the qualifications required for this position. The minimum required qualifications were determined in view of the specific duties and responsibilities of this position.

  The specific language requirements for this position are detailed hereunder. However, candidates applying for the professional category vacancies who have not already successfully completed their probationary period within the ILO and whose mother tongue is not one of the working languages of the Office (English, French and Spanish), shall be required to possess a fully satisfactory working knowledge of at least one of the ILO working languages. If appointed they may be required to acquire a knowledge of a second working language of the Office during their initial years of service.

  Introduction

  The position is located in the Small and Medium Enterprises Unit (SME) within the ILO’s Department for Sustainable Enterprises, Productivity and Just Transition (ENTERPRISES). The Department’s overall mission is the promotion and development of sustainable enterprises to achieve the ILO goal of social justice through decent work. It collaborates with the ILO’s tripartite constituents on promoting sustainable enterprises through advisory services and technical cooperation.
  Within the Department’s mandate to promote sustainable enterprises, the SME Unit seeks to unlock the potential of creating more and better jobs for women and men in small businesses - a sector where the bulk of employment is being provided. The Unit is working with governments, social partners, the private sector and individuals on improving the enabling environment, delivering entrepreneurship training, integrating small enterprises into local and global value chains, and improving working conditions and productivity in SMEs (for more details see www.ilo.org/sme). A line of work within the Unit is supporting women’s entrepreneurship development through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme (ILO-WED) (see www.ilo.org/wed). WED seeks to redress existing gender imbalances in enterprise development through approaches aimed specifically at women as a means to achieve Decent Work for all. Ultimately, WED promotes women’s economic empowerment and gender equality.
  The main role of the position is [to contribute to the development, implementation and promotion of WED tools and approaches, provide support to field offices and projects in women’s entrepreneurship development and propose innovative and gender-responsive entrepreneurship intervention models with a view to increasing the presence of women as business owners and economically empower them. The position provides substantive inputs to the technical backstopping activities of development cooperation projects. The position contributes to the development of new approaches, supports partnership initiatives, documents and shares knowledge and good practices and supports monitoring and results measurement in the area of women entrepreneurship development. The position works in collaboration with other specialists at ILO headquarters, Decent Work Technical Support Teams, the ILO’s International Training Center in Turin as well as with other relevant international organizations
  The incumbent works under direct supervision of the team leader on enterprise formalization.

  Key Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Provide technical and policy support to the SME Unit, field operations and the global enterprises team as well as development cooperation projects in the area of women’s entrepreneurship development.
  2. Undertake systemic women’s entrepreneurship analyses to identify constituent’s decent work priorities and needs. Review previous impact assessments done on intervention models that encourage, support and scale women’s participation in entrepreneurship development and markets to identify innovative practices and propose adaptations to best address the issue(s) identified.
  3. Contribute to the formulation of strategies and policies relevant to women’s entrepreneurship development, including providing technical inputs to components of ILO Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) as well as UN and other development cooperation frameworks, in response to the demand from Member States, ILO field operations and donor agencies. Collect and compile data, statistics and other information that reflect the monitoring and evaluation of WED programme activities that may influence the decent work situation and ILO constituents’ key concerns and priorities.
  4. Provide technical support to ILO constituents and other relevant stakeholders pertaining to women’s entrepreneurship development including greening/just transition, digitalization, enterprise formalization and value chain development] with a view to promoting the greater inclusion of women in labour markets, in enterprise development and the improvement of working conditions of women in MSMEs. Respond to requests for data, information and guidance from governments, social partners and other relevant stakeholders. Draft policy recommendations and provide support with follow-up actions, as and when appropriate.
  5. Undertake systems-oriented research and analysis that takes into account gender and diversity considerations in the area(s) of entrepreneurship, enterprise formalization, value chain and market systems development, digitalization as well as the just transition to greener economies. Commission research, draft terms of reference for research consultants and monitor and coordinate their work.
  6. Identify and maintain up-to-date knowledge on emerging trends and policy developments on women’s entrepreneurship, especially considering formalization, greening/just transition and digitalization angle.
  7. Draft and/or provide technical input into the development, peer review and editing of policy briefs, working papers, reports, publications and other knowledge products and contribute to their dissemination. Provide evidence-based technical content for social media, digital and other knowledge-sharing tools and platforms, with a view to reaching broad and diverse audiences.
  8. Synthesize and share good practices and lessons learned, taking into account complementarities with other technical areas of the ILO Decent Work Agenda.
  9. Participate in the identification of capacity development needs of constituents in relation to policies and technical instruments to foster women’s entrepreneurship development at the national, local or sector/value chain level and make proposals on how to address them. Prepare related training and learning materials and activities in collaboration with the International Training Centre in Turin (ITC-ILO) and/or with other relevant partners as applicable. Deliver training to diverse audiences using innovative methods and communication tools and leveraging the use of digital technologies. Participate in knowledge sharing activities.
  

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  10. Provide substantive inputs to the design, development, implementation, monitoring, reporting and technical backstopping activities of development cooperation projects. Draft programme and project documents, taking into account priorities on greening/just transition, digitalization, enterprise formalization and systems change approaches with a focus on gender-dimensions and constraints and the need to position these within relevant cooperation frameworks.
  11. Support resource mobilization efforts for new projects and activities including by leveraging opportunities for collaboration with partners and proposing new initiatives/activities, in the field of women’s entrepreneurship development .
  12. Participate in national, regional, international and UN inter-agency and other stakeholder working groups, consultations and forums to engage with potential and existing partners to explain and promote the role of MSMEs for decent work and employment creation for women and men, women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment and applying a gender-lens within MSME development for the greater inclusion of women.
  13. Organize, assist in and/or facilitate meetings and other events in the areas of the role of MSMEs for decent work and employment creation for women and men, women’s entrepreneurship and applying a gender-lens within MSME development for the greater inclusion of women, including proposing agenda items, identifying participants, preparing technical materials, proposing facilitation techniques, preparing and delivering presentations, drafting summary reports and monitoring follow-up.
  14. Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

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  Required qualifications

  Education

  Advanced level university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, business administration, entrepreneurship, sociology, gender studies, political science, international development or other social sciences with a relevant focus or other relevant field
  A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in one of the afore-mentioned field(s) or other relevant field with an additional two years of relevant experience, in addition to the experience stated below, will be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

  Experience

  At least five years of relevant experience including experience related to development cooperation projects in the area of women entrepreneurship development, and/or entrepreneurship development and/or MSME development .

  Languages

  Excellent command of one working language (English , French, Spanish) of the Organization and a working knowledge of a second working language. One of these languages must be English.

  In addition to the ILO core competencies, the following are required:

  Knowledge and technical/behavioural competencies

  Good knowledge and understanding of theories, trends and approaches in the area(s) of women’s entrepreneurship development and/or entrepreneurship development and/or MSME development, greening/just transition, digitalization, enterprise formalization and systemic approaches to enterprise development.

  Knowledge of the substantive nature of Organization’s work programmes and activities.

  Knowledge of IT applications for information collection, management and dissemination.

  📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

  ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

  Ability to use analytical tools and qualitative and quantitative techniques.

  Ability to identify sources and develop methods for data collection.

  Good research and analytical skills.

  Good drafting skills.

  Ability to adapt quickly to new IT software and systems.

  Good communication skills, presentation skills. Persuasion and ability to present technical arguments to convince counterparts on a course of action.

  Ability to maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders and work well in a tripartite context.

  Ability to present/promote the technical area of work and the ILO's position on it to partners using a wide range of techniques and technologies.

  Ability to assess, adapt and amend individual and group assignments (policies, approaches, models) to meet new or changed needs and situations.

  Ability to share knowledge and provide technical advice and guidance in the technical area.

  Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate and model gender-responsive, non-discriminatory and inclusive behaviour and attitudes.

  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.
  • The first contract will be issued for a twenty-four month period.
  • A successful external candidate will be on probation for the first two years of assignment.
  • Any extension of contract beyond the probation period is subject to satisfactory conduct and performance.

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

    Important Information

    Any officials of the General Service category interested in applying to this position are hereby informed that, if selected, they will be offered the salary and allowances applicable to the grade of the position applied for, which may result in substantial changes in their take-home remuneration. In accordance with Article 3.4 of the Staff Regulations, the salary of an official, upon promotion, shall in no case be greater than the maximum salary of the grade to which he or she was promoted. For any questions or clarifications, please contact your HR partner at hrpartner@ilo.org

    Recruitment process

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

    Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews will tentatively take place during the 3 to 4 months following the application deadline. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.

    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 assessment centres, 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.