Programme Specialist - Green skills and entrepreneurship / climate smart housing and construction (ITC)

Background

About the International Trade Centre
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). It is the only multilateral agency fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). ITC's mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable growth and development through trade and international business development. ITC Headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Building Equitable and Inclusive Transformation (BEIT): Towards Decent Work and Affordable Housing in Iraq
ITC in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), International Labour Organization (ILO) is implementing the project “Building Equitable and Inclusive Transformation (BEIT): Towards Decent Work and Affordable Housing in Iraq” that runs from 2024 to 2027. This project, funded by the European Union, and aims to contribute to the creation of decent work and improved living conditions, including for the most vulnerable in Iraq
The overall initiative comprises four components implemented by various UN agencies in Iraq:

1. ILO's Employment Integration: Focuses on integrating an Employment Intensive Investment Programme and Local Resource-Based approaches, emphasizing gender and sustainable financing. It involves identifying funding sources, conducting program analyses, drafting policies and manuals, and enhancing government capacities in areas such as child labor prevention, labor governance, and gender equality in housing and construction.

2. UN-Habitat's Housing Capacity Building: Aims to strengthen the Iraqi government's capacity to address housing challenges. This includes developing sustainable financial tools, establishing a supportive regulatory framework, and building knowledge and skills for effective affordable housing policies. The BEIT initiative, under this component, promotes integrated approaches to affordable, green housing in three pilot areas, aiming to create jobs, empower SMEs, and address climate change impacts.
3. ITC's Private Sector Engagement: Aims to enhance trade-led private sector engagement in Iraq, particularly in climate-smart construction and housing. Strategies involve developing a private-public sector development strategy, forming SME cluster alliances for climate-resilient housing retrofit, creating vocational training aligned with green solutions, and improving the business environment and policy framework for trade and investment in construction services.

4. ILO's Social Partner Empowerment: Focuses on empowering social partners for improved labor market outcomes and working conditions through social dialogue and capacity building. Activities include establishing a national coordination mechanism for collective bargaining rights, enhancing social partner influence in the labor market (especially in construction), and promoting awareness of rights and obligations related to organizing and collective bargaining.
This assignment is expected to contribute to the implementation of the project component 3, specifically output 3.3 that focuses on “Strengthened capacities of local businesses, particularly young entrepreneurs, for the integration of green and innovative practices in their operation”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Youth economic empowerment expert and in close coordination with the ITC HQ based and Iraq based teams, the selected candidate will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Contribute to the implementation of activities focused on strengthening the capacities of local businesses, especially young entrepreneurs, for the integration of green and innovative practices.
• Assist in establishing strong partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector.
• Support in the analysis of the green building sector in Iraq.
• Contribute to the identification of key actions that can be supported under the youth economic empowerment activities.
• Collaborate with local (youth) sector associations, entrepreneurship hubs, and organizations.
• Assist in designing targeted knowledge and skills development training activities related to green buildings sector and entrepreneurship.
• Support the organization of relevant workshops, training sessions, and information campaigns.
• Assist the Youth Economic Empowerment Expert in serving as a focal point for youth economic empowerment activities.
• Contribute to knowledge management, information sharing, reporting, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and communication for economic empowerment activities.
• Collaborate with the Youth Economic Empowerment Expert to build and sustain approaches and methodologies, fostering synergies and integration with other outputs within the BEIT project and ITC projects in Iraq where relevant.

Additional Expectations:

• Actively participate in BEIT meetings and maintain regular communication with the project team.
• Ensure close coordination with the ITC team, implementing partners, and technical consultants on the ground via regular meetings, field visits to deliver on the intended results whilst leveraging on other components’ activities .
• Contribute to synergies and coordination during project implementation with relevant projects in Iraq.
• Maintain regular communication and ensure good information sharing with the entire ITC team.
• Provide information to contribute to the monthly/quarterly/yearly reporting requirements for economic empowerment activities, as requested by the team.

Competencies

ITC’S VALUES are: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

ITC’S CORE COMPETENCIES are: Communication, Teamwork, Planning & Organizing, Accountability, Creativity, Client Orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Technological awareness.

ITC’S MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES are: Vision, Leadership, Empowering Others, Managing Performance, Building Trust, and Judgment/Decision making.

For further information on competency based interview please visit: www.intracen.org.

Functional Competencies:

• Proven leadership and strong project management and coordination skills
• Excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and respects diversity
• Proven ability to lead and work collaboratively in teams, with colleagues and encourage sharing of knowledge to achieve organizational goals
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to identify priority activities and assignments; adjust priorities as required
• Ability to work with accuracy under time constraints and pressure in a stressful environment; with patience, tactfulness, maintain confidentiality, take initiative and exercise good judgment
• Ability to plan own work and use time efficiently, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines

Technical Competencies:

• Strong network within the agribusiness sector in Iraq (both public and private sector)
• Very good understanding and knowledge of Iraq’s agribusiness sector, it’s structure and functioning particularly with regard to youth inclusion and economic empowerment
• Demonstrated knowledge of challenges to trade and private sector development in Iraq
• Very good result-based management skills
• Excellent drafting and communication skills in both Arabic and English

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master degree or equivalent) in economics, business administration, development studies, environmental science, or a related field.
OR
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional 1 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work experience:

Minimum of 1 years (with master's degree) or 2 years (with bachelor's degree) of experience in technical assistance, trade development, or project management with a focus on youth engagement and climate-smart initiatives.

Language Requirements:

• Advanced English with excellent written and oral communication skills is essential
• Fluency in Arabic is required

Required knowledge and skills:

• Experience working in the Iraq's construction and housing sectors, encompassing both public and private entities, with a focus on sustainable and climate-resilient practices.
• Comprehensive understanding of Iraq’s construction and housing sector, its dynamics and operations, especially concerning youth inclusion and economic empowerment in green construction.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the barriers to trade and private sector development in Iraq, particularly in environmentally sustainable practices.

Desirable knowledge and skills:

• Knowledge of the UN system and procedures or experience of EU-related projects would be an asset
• Prior experience with the UN System, especially in roles related to sustainable development or youth programs, would be an advantage.
• Deep understanding of both public and private trade support institutions in Iraq, their roles, and the needs and expectations of the private sector, emphasizing green building and sustainable solutions.
• Extensive experience collaborating with government bodies and private sector stakeholders in eco-friendly construction and housing.
• Proficient in result-oriented project management, especially in projects involving youth and sustainable development.
• Excellent skills in drafting and communicating complex concepts, particularly in the context of sustainable development and youth engagement.