ILO – INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE

Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme Chiffre Nr. 2024-2-46

1. General Information

Title: Junior Professional Officer in Advocacy and Partnerships – Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work / Alliance 8.7

Department: Governance and Tripartism Department (GOVERNANCE)

Organisational Unit: Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch

Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland

Duration of assignment: 2 years with possibility of extension for another year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory performance

Please note that for participants of the JPO-Programme two years work experience are mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree (usually bachelor’s degree).

2. Supervision

Direct Supervision by: Head of Advocacy and Partnerships Unit

Content and methodology of supervision:

The supervisor will ensure a good balance of assignments and opportunities of the JPO based on his or her background, capacities and interests.

To ensure that workload is manageable, a time-bound work plan will be agreed between the JPO and the supervisor, building upon the performance management system applicable to Junior Professional Officers (which includes an annual review and a mid-term review every six months, to be reviewed by the supervisor and ultimately agreed by the Branch Chief).

To ensure necessary support is given and to encourage consistent follow-up, the supervisor will schedule regular feedback meetings every week.

Work will be discussed with and reviewed by the supervisor at various stages before completion in order to verify accuracy, fit and relevance. As necessary, detailed instructions, guidance and coaching will be provided by the supervisor.

3. Introduction

Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) cover five thematic areas: 1) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining (FACB); 2) the effective abolition of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; 3) the elimination of child labour; 4) the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and 5) a safe and healthy working environment.

These principles are embodied in the 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (the 1998 Declaration), as amended by the ILC in 2022, which has become one of the most widely referenced ILO instruments and provides a foundation for the ILO’s vision of decent work for all.

The promotion and implementation of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) requires strong, inclusive and multi-stakeholder initiatives to be successful. To this effect, the “Alliance 8.7” has been launched by the ILO in September 2016 as a Global Partnership to support countries in ending forced labour, “modern slavery”, human trafficking and child labour (SDG target 8.7 of the Agenda 2030) and to accelerate action.

The FUNDAMENTALS branch has the overall responsibility for implementing the FPRW Action Plan 2017-2023 and acts as the Secretariat of Alliance 8.7. Advocacy and outreach play a key role in supporting these efforts, in raising awareness, and in galvanizing political will to promote the full realization of fundamental principles and rights at work.

4. Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the supervisor, the JPO will support the Secretariat of Alliance 8.7 and the Advocacy and Partnerships team within ILO/FUNDAMENTALS in developing initiatives, generating capacity, knowledge, and communicating through targeted and tailored communications both within and outside the Office.

The duties and responsibilities of the JPO will include, but not be limited to:

1. Supporting the development of key initiatives under the FPRW framework for action, and the plan of action;
2. Supporting the roll-out, consolidation and up-scaling of initiatives under the Alliance 8.7;
3. Supporting the development of respective project and programme proposals for Alliance 8.7, including desk research, drafting project documents and participating in resource mobilization;
4. Contributing to the development of research, measurement and indicator frameworks and other knowledge products for the Alliance 8.7 and on fundamental principles and rights at work;
5. Developing proposals for capacity building initiatives with ILO constituents and other Alliance 8.7 stakeholders for projects in the relevant areas (such as child labour, forced labour, fair recruitment and  human trafficking);
6. Drafting inputs for Alliance 8.7 and FPRW advocacy and communication materials;
7. Participating in planning and organizing Alliance 8.7 events at the national, regional and global level, including pathfinder workshops, conferences, seminars, high-level forums and other meetings aimed at the achievement of SDG targets 8.5, 8.7 and 8.8.3;
8. Generating contents for various media channels, including (where applicable) websites, facebook, twitter and blogs;
9. Contributing to the implementation of the Branch workplanning, on all three Units; and
10. Any other subject related ad-hoc tasks requested by the supervisor and in line with the job description.

5. Qualifications and Experience

Education:

Minimum:

Master’s degree in Political Sciences, Social Sciences, International Law, Labour Law, Human Rights Studies, Labour Economics, or related field.

Desirable: 

An advanced degree in the fields above; competency in Monitoring and Evaluation.

Work experience:

Minimum:

Relevant work experience of two years either at the national or international level, preferably in at least one of the areas of fundamental principles and rights at work.

Desirable:

Previous experience in

– public campaigns on labour issues; or

– monitoring progress towards SDGs would be of advantage.

Skills required for the assignment:

Minimum:

– Good communication (written and oral) skills;

– Good research skills;

– Able to work in a team; and

– Able to multi-task.

Desirable:

Practice in the use of social media and applications for media creation, such as Illustrator, Photoshop or InDesign.

Languages:

Minimum:

Fluent in English.

Desirable: 

Good knowledge of a second working language of the ILO (French, Spanish) would be an asset.

ILO competencies:

The candidate is expected to demonstrate and be guided by ILO competencies, specifically:

1. Good communication skills, both written and verbal.
2. Capacity to work on own initiative as well as cooperate as a team member.
3. The ability to work in a multicultural environment, and gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes are also required.

6. Training Components and Learning Elements

Training components:

The JPO will have a training budget to be used on training activities relevant to the work being undertaken. In consultation with the supervisor, he/she will undertake training based on the professional development of the JPO and on the needs of the work being carried out in the FUNDAMENTALS Branch, i.e. advocacy and partnerships, communication, project management, developing project proposals and research.

Learning elements:

During the designated period, the JPO will gain experience and develop knowledge and competencies related to the following:

• the ILO’s institutional and informal coordination mechanisms, in particular the work of the Committee of Experts, the International Labour Conference and the Governing Body;
• the ILO’s mandate, in particular, fundamental principles and rights at work (FPRW);
• the role and importance of global partnerships for development;
• the standard-setting, and supervisory process of the ILO;
• campaigning for the implementation and respect for FPRW;
• networking and communicating in a multicultural setting and in an international organization;
• interaction with ILO staff, ILO constituents, outside contributors, partners and donors involved in the promotion of FPRW;
• the design, implementation and development of cooperation projects and programmes;
• the functioning of the UN system and its work in relation to FPRW and cross-agency work on, in particular, child labour and forced labour; and
• working of a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team.

7. Background Information

As achieving Target 8.7 requires working across organizations and borders, Alliance 8.7 works closely with partners focused on SDG Targets 5.2, 16.2, 16.3 and 16.a.

In doing so, it provides a platform for partners to come together to share information, promising practices, lessons learnt, and to demonstrate progress.

Partners include countries, international and regional organizations, workers’ organizations, employer and business membership organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and other relevant stakeholders and networks.

Since its inception in 2016, over 500 partners organizations including government institutions, UN agencies, civil society organizations, employers’ and workers’ organizations, academic institutions and survivor networks have joined Alliance 8.7.

Currently, 37 of countries from all regions have committed to accelerate action to achieve Target 8.7 and to becoming Pathfinder Countries. An integral part of Alliance 8.7 is the Pathfinder Country Strategy through which governments commit to doing more at the national level, leading the way in finding innovative solutions to these complex issues that can be tested, measured and shared with other countries facing similar challenges.

With a continued growth in the number of Pathfinder Countries to be expected and a new responsibility framework that aims to more comprehensively track the progress made in these countries, Alliance 8.7 will further gain in importance and impact.

The ILO values diversity. We welcome applications from qualified women and men, particularly those with disabilities and from non – or under – represented member States. If needed, reasonable accommodation will be provided in the recruitment phase as well as during the JPO assignment to ensure equality of opportunities.

The ILO has a smoke-free environment.

Bitte senden Sie Ihre JPO-Bewerbung direkt an das Büro Führungskräfte zu Internationalen Organisationen (BFIO) unter Angabe der Chiffre Nr. 2024-2-46 auf dem Bewerbungsbogen

Alle Informationen finden Sie unter www.bfio.de