Antecedentes

The Government of Iraq (GoI) has recently published a two-volume White Paper for economic reform outlining its vision for drastic changes to the Iraqi economy, with a focus on the financial sector, public service sector and reforms targeted at decreasing expenditures and driving up non-oil revenues. Iraq’s international partners, donor countries, and international organizations are supporting the GoI with necessary technical assistance it requires to execute its reform programme.

As such, there are 64 reform projects in the GoI White Paper for economic reform which encapsulate some four hundred reform actions. These projects will require national and international expertise in order to execute and achieve the expected reform outcomes.

To support the GoI’s Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs (MoLSA) in implementing its reforms, UNDP is seeking a labour market observatory expert with a desired scope of work and qualifications as outlined below.

 

Relevent forms are available in the below link:

https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=97001

 

Application:

 

The application should contain:

Deberes y responsabilidades

Generally, the objective of the Labour Market Observatory is to identify and analyse labour market information, trends and challenges, bringing added value to the national labour market synergy. it has several functions like:

• observing labour market challenges and trends;

• collecting examples of best practices;

• stimulating discussion by organising hearings with institutional and socio-professional stakeholders, civil society organisations and academia;

• producing pro-active investigative reports or studies on selected topics;

• analysing cross-cutting issues.

Its activities consist mainly of collecting data on the local marketplace, laws &regulations, organize public events, and a project to assess the implementation of policies regarding the wok and unemployed in the country.

Regarding the benefits, Labor Market Observatories are institutions that help guide job seekers and students, intermediaries, policymakers, training institutions, as well as investors and employers with labor market trends and guidance to build better careers. ¬ LMOs provide relevant and timely information on labor market trends to allow end users to make informed decisions on skills acquisition and occupations—many times they produce widely disseminated outputs highlighting “the top–10 most in-demand skills” or “20–fastest growing occupations.”

The suggested labour market observatory initiative to be implemented in the Iraqi context should provide international experiences and models. The expert will need to conduct a survey for the relevance and availability of labour market information in Iraq. The expert will need to identify the most suitable models of labour market observatory for Iraq under the MoLSA.

For the duration of this assignment, the Expert will be working in the MoLSA and will work under the overall guidance and consultation with MoLSA’s Director General of Vocational Training, as well as under the supervision of UNDP FFER-Federal Project Manager.

Key duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

  1. Prepare an initial baseline report as pre-feasibility for the Labor Market Observatory– The Expert will prepare a pre-feasibility for the project to be discussed and endorsed by the MoLSA and the project main stakeholders. The initial baseline report will be prepared through interviews with relevant department and MoLSA staff. This report will then serve as a foundation for more in-depth consultation with stakeholders. This report must include, but is not limited to:
    1. A general assessment of the current preparedness for a labor market observatory and the related data and interested stakeholders.
    2. A matrix that captures global and regional best practice examples and conduct comparative assessment of effective labor market observatory initiatives.
    3. List of all necessary stakeholders required for in-depth follow up.

 

  1. Prepare a detailed, full feasibility study for creating the labour market observatory, and identify the key strategy for development –
    1. The Expert will work with the MoLSA relevant Department staff to identify and provide a detailed assessment for the feasibility of a labour market observatory, as part of the MoLSA as well as identify the main stakeholders supporting its implementation.
    2. The Expert will provide guidance on how to assess the impact of the project and its perception by the concerned stakeholders from public and private sectors.
    3. The Expert will draft suggested structure for the labour market observatory with estimated needed financial and human resources.
    4. The Expert will support the IT specialists at MoLSA in determining the needed information systems for the suggested observatory, and how to improve the quality data on labour market.
    5. The Expert will support the identification, sharing of the labour market indicators, especially from skill development, jobs supply and demand sides,
  2. Capacity Building and technical Support to Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs to develop its staff – with the aid of the initial baseline and full feasibility report to be conducted, the Expert will support MoLSA to:
    1. Conduct Capacity Building Workshops – Lead capacity building workshops with key stakeholders related to the development and establishment of a labour market observatory, with a focus on the following issues:
      1. Socioeconomic monitoring parameters of the labour market
      2. Integrate the information processing and on-line recruitment platforms
      3. Identify needed analysis scales and ability to select analysis areas that transcend the labour market
      4. Measure the degree of flexibility or rigidity of the Iraqi labour market
    2. Providing Technical Supervision support– for the recruitment of the managing staff, covering the various elements and challenges of establishing the needed links and partnership, managing, and administering the labour market observatory and supporting its success.
    3. Providing a workshop – on the partnership design and development, for the project’s managers.
    4. Supervise the process of the acquisition of the labour market monitoring and information systems to be used by the labour market observatory.

Competencias

  • At least 15 years of relevant working experience with labor market regulation and data, economic development and economic indicators or related fields is required. 25 points
  • Expertise in conducting labor market situation analyses and needs assessments related to labor reforms in developing countries is required. 25 points
  • Experience in facilitating dialogue among key stakeholders at a high political level to formulate and implement reform plans is required. 15 points
  • Demonstrated ability to facilitate consultative meetings and to make presentations of technical findings to a wide audience is desirable. 15 points
  • Experience of working with the government sector or providing advisory support to government is required. 20 points
  • Experience of working in crisis affected countries is required. 25 points
  • Experience of working with the United Nations or international development organizations is desirable. 10 points
  • Experience of working in the Arab States countries is desirable. 15 points

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

A. Education and professional qualifications:

  • A Master’s Degree or equivalent in economics, development economics, business development, entrepreneurship, public administration, international relations or related field.

B. Languages:

  • Fluency in Arabic and English required.