External Collaborator on Follow-up to Strategic Review

Vacancy No:                          2017/1 Ext.Coll

Project Title:                          Follow-up to Strategic Review

Contract Type:                      External Collaborator

Duty Station:                         Beirut  

Duration of Assignment:      6 months

Organization unit:                 Regional Office for Arab States

Deadline of application:        7 January 2018

Introduction:

ILO's Mandate

The ILO embodies a vision of universal humane conditions of labour as an expression of social justice and a condition for peace among nations. This vision is rooted in the values of the Organization and its unique tripartite structure giving equal weight to Government, Employer and Worker representatives.

The ILO is mandated to realize, through social dialogue and tripartism, social justice and the universal values of freedom, human dignity, security and non-discrimination in the world of work. The contemporary, expression of the ILO's vision and strategy is the Decent Work Agenda.

The ILO Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) strives to promote decent work for women and men throughout the region, by supporting constituents in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian territory, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Decent work involves job opportunities that are productive and deliver fair income, security in the workplace, social protection for families, better prospects for personal development, and social integration. The concept of decent work also encompasses the rights of people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives, as well as promoting equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

To reduce the decent work deficit in the Arab region, the ILO implements programmes guided by the four overarching pillars of the Decent Work Agenda: employment creation and enterprise development, social protection, standards and rights at work, and social dialogue. Informed by the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, these programmes look into economic and financial policies in light of the fundamental objective of promoting social justice.

Background

ILO's Strategic Framework

The Strategic Policy Framework is the ILO's medium-term planning document. It is the expression of the strategic orientation of the Organization, what it aims to achieve and how. It applies RBM in identifying the results expected for the period, within a framework of outcomes, indicators and targets. This results framework drives ILO assistance to constituents and forms a coherent basis for cooperation with ILO partners and for the design of ILO development assistance programmes.

Strategic Review Report

In the period between September 2016 and February 2017, and in the wake of regional and sub-regional developments, ILO ROAS conducted a strategic review, driven by regional and sub-regional developments, which identified strategic considerations for the ILO in the Arab States. These strategic directions identify opportunities for future interventions that make efficient use of resources and generate high impact and are aligned with the ILO's global strategy.

The strategic review report took into account regional and country-level developments (including decent work needs), the strengths and weakness of ILO's historical work (including best practices and lessons learned), external opportunities and threats to ILO ROAS, and donor interest, demand, and agenda.

In light of the strategic review exercise, ROAS has identified the need to:

Target long-term impact with stronger theories of change.

Develop process and tools to support strategic prioritisation at the country level

Update guidelines for better Knowledge management

Objective and Guidelines

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to support the Office in pursuing three key areas of follow-up to the Strategic Review. This entails three parallel, connected work-streams.

Theories of Change - Syria, Iraq and Kuwait

'Theories of change' seek to make explicit assumptions about relations of cause-and-effect in development interventions, and therefore to solidify the investment model for any such intervention.

Drawing on the Office's experience of Socio-Economic Recovery in Conflict Affected Situations in Jordan and Lebanon, the consultant will draw lessons and findings from evaluations and similar exercises to support the development of ToCs to inform the Office re-entry to Syria and Iraq, building on the entry point on livelihoods-based job creation interventions. The TOC will also cover and make linkages between upstream and downstream work, as well as at macro, meso, and micro levels. It will also be informed by ILO Recommendation 205.

Equally, the consultant will develop a ToC for entry-point interventions in Kuwait which can lead to medium- and longer-term strategic objectives more central to the ILO mandate.

The consultant shall undertake:

Review of relevant M&E material on development of theories of change, particularly models and measurement guides developed by technical departments in ILO HQ.

Utilization of the Strategic Review report prepared by ILO ROAS and tailoring the theory of change framework to the strategic directions identified by the review.

Workshop/s with key programme and technical specialists and management.

Process and tools to support development on country-level strategies

The DWCP is the core strategic planning tool for ILO at the country-level. In some ROAS countries of operation, however, DWCPs have not yet been achieved, and there is scope for more strategic prioritisation of activities and interventions.

The consultant will therefore work with the Office to develop an agreed process and accompanying tools to enable the Office to establish and develop country-level strategies, capturing relevant, referenced up-to-date country-level information from internal and external sources, and including criteria to assess potential interventions in light of ROAS strategic priorities for the country in question.

The consultant shall undertake:

Review of internal documents and lessons learned from evaluations

Utilization of the Strategic Review report prepared by ILO ROAS and tailoring the theory of change framework to the strategic directions identified by the review.

Workshop/s with key programme and technical specialists and senior management.

Update of KM documents

Key to operational effectiveness and organisational efficiency are clearly and widely disseminated defined guidelines. There are a number of existing internal Guidelines, including SOPs (Operational Guidelines for DC and for DWCPs) which will form the basis for a clear and concise overview of workflows in the office, as they pertain to knowledge management.

The consultant shall undertake:

Review, summary, and update of internal KM documents

Close engagement with RPU Chief and M&E/KM Officer

Deliverables

Deliverable 1A: Overviews of Theories of Change for re-entry to Syria and Iraq, and  Kuwait

Deliverable 2A: Design of process and tools (templates, criteria, checklists) for elaboration of  country-level strategies, including material inputs on country-level information

Deliverable 3: Updated and summarized versions of guidelines for use in induction and dissemination to staff

Fees

Fees will be calculated based on an average of 40 days between December 2017 and February 2018.

Deliverable1:   $15,000

Deliverable 2:  $15,000

Deliverable 3:  $12,000

Qualifications

- The consultant must have carried out similar assignments on theories of change for a development programme or policy (by bilateral and/or international organisations) in the past five years.

- Close knowledge of internal ILO processes and procedures is essential.

- Minimum of 5 years of experience in the region and understanding of regional context is essential.

- Demonstrated analytical skills are essential; five or more years of experience in systematic review, and/or on the synthesis of large volumes of quantitative and qualitative information is preferable.

HOW TO APPLY

Prospective candidates will be interviewed and may also be required to sit for a written examination. Applicants should send their Curriculum Vitae/resume to:

BEIRUT-JOBS@ilo.org by indicating the above-mentioned vacancy number.

Applications must include precise information on education, work experience (name of organization, starting and ending dates, work performed, name of supervisor and contact), and other relevant experience and skill