Introduction

The Bringing Back Jobs Safely Under the COVID 19 Crisis in the Philippines: Rebooting Small and Informal Businesses Safely and Digitally project, which has been in implementation since 15 June 2021, is aimed at contributing to improving the safety and health of workers in MSMES in the non-metropolitan regions of the Philippines and mitigating the negative socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. It is financed by the Government of Japan, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project will be implemented until 31 December 2023, with a budget of US$2.227 million and covers all Regions in the Philippines.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought unparalleled impacts on the people of the Philippines, particularly those in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as the backbone of the economy and employment. The pandemic not only reduced existing jobs and income of them, but prompted many to resort to alternative livelihood, often as informal activities, to survive the prolonged community quarantine measures with various restrictions imposed on businesses.

While tremendous efforts have been made to address the extreme vulnerability of MSMEs and informal businesses under the pandemic, there are two areas deserving further support in the world of work – first, the occupational safety and health (OSH) including the prevention and mitigation of the COVID-19 risks (COVID OSH) and; second, the digitalization of business operations for those currently left behind the big wave of the digitalization of the economy prompted by the pandemic. The COVID-19 risks for MSMEs and the capacity gaps among them are deemed larger outside of Metro Manila, and more prominent among the smaller and informal ones.

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To achieve its goals, the project is working with the national network of training service providers to deliver the training on i) COVID OSH and ii) digitalization of business operations (e.g., digital entrepreneurship, ecommerce strategies and digital financial literacy). The ILO’s training programmes in respective areas have been translated into the specific local and sector context and transmitted through training-of-trainers (ToT) seminars, mostly online. To win the mind of the numerous MSMEs not directly benefiting from the training, the successful experiences will be compiled into case studies and disseminated in ways attractive to the MSMEs, especially for those outside the National Capital Region. To bridge the digital divide outside Metro Manila, the project is also supporting the pilot implementation of the three Innovation Hubs. Through these Hubs and the affiliated satellites such as the local internet cafes, the project will provide the internet connectivity, co-working spaces, back-office services, and linkage to the support programmes for the MSMEs.

To support agile learning to respond to the rapidly changing situation of the pandemic and to make the interventions sustained beyond the life of the project, an interdisciplinary knowledge management system is being established in coordination with the authorities and experts in the public health, labour, industry, and ICT sectors. For the ownership and sustainability of the project, the institutional capacity of key partner organizations is being strengthened.

Within the policy and procedural requirements established by the ILO and the Bringing Back Jobs Safely project, the Administrative and Finance Assistant will cover the component implementation of the project in the Philippines and ensure the objectives are met by providing administrative and financial support and contributing to delivering the expected outputs.

Reporting Lines

The Project Officer-Philippines will be based in the ILO Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila) in Makati City and report to and work under the overall supervision of the Director, CO-Manila. The Officer will closely coordinate with the backstopping teams from ENTERPRISES and LABADMIN/OSH from the ILO headquarters in Geneva and regional office in Bangkok.

She/he will also be guided by the backstopping officials of CO-Manila such as the Enterprise Development Specialist and the Senior Programme Officer on the implementation of the project in the Philippines, and closely coordinate with the Finance and Administration team of CO-Manila for the internal procedures and financial processing of the project activities.

The incumbent will supervise three (3) project staff who will be based in the same office (CO-Manila): two National Project Coordinators (OSH and MSME Digitalization), and two Administrative and Finance Assistants (GS4 and GS5).

Description of Duties

• Lead the project and ensure its timely implementation, adopting a results-based approach through management functions, including provision of technical and administrative supervision to the project team in line with the ILO policy, rules and regulations and in according to the final project document.
• Maintain close cooperation and coordination with government, employers’, and workers’ organizations both at the national and local levels in the planning and implementation of activities in the country under the project, and especially through the Project Advisory Committee.
• Establish effective linkages with relevant projects and activities of the ILO to secure necessary technical inputs from them and generate synergies.
• Elaborate workplan in accordance with the project document and budget and in consultation with the key stakeholders above mentioned.
• Provide high quality technical inputs on key activities of the project in close coordination with the relevant ILO specialists and, when appropriate, external consultants.

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• Organize and oversee advocacy activities as required by ILO and the donor, including the development of knowledge materials which could be in the form of case studies of successful business uptake of ILO tools and strategies, to amplify the results of the project in respect of non-beneficiary enterprises.
• Periodically monitor, report, and facilitate the evaluation of the project according to the project’s document and work plan. Contribute the information and analysis of the project required for technical progress reports and ad hoc reports on the status of project planning and implementation for submission to the ILO and the donor. Contribute and provide inputs to the country’s implementation plan and implementation reports under relevant country programme outcomes (CPOs)
• Responsible for the effective administrative management of the office, including guidance and supervision of the personnel assigned to the project.
• Ensure high-level communications to increase project’s visibility at the national and international levels. This includes the responsibility to liaise with the UN country team, and other key stakeholders to ensure effective coordination with relevant national and global strategies, and related technical projects. Under direct guidance of CO-Manila, including its Communications team, and in close coordination with other project staff, maintain relations with mass media and concerned media groups and make good use of the official project site and social media channels of the office in order to increase the impact of the project in society as a whole.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Required qualifications

Education

First level university degree in economics, management/public administration, social/medical science, or a related field, including among others, occupational safety and health, and MSME development.

Experience

1. Two to three years of experience in project management, supervision, administration, and implementation of grant/cooperative agreement requirements (including meeting deadlines, achieving targets, and overseeing the preparation and submission of required reports to the project donor). Project experiences with UN agencies is an advantage.
2. Experience and knowledge on project monitoring system adopting a results-based approach.
3. Experience in labour-related studies or operations will be an advantage.
4. Experience in technical assistance in labour-related legislation and statistics will be a major advantage.

Languages

Excellent command of English in both speaking and writing. Proficiency in Filipino is an advantage.

Competencies

• Good knowledge about socio-economic development policies in the Philippines, including the recent trends in occupational safety and health and digital transformation of MSMEs.
• Good knowledge on the statistical system and the labour force survey of the Philippines.
• Demonstrated ability to manage technical co-operation projects of international organizations.
• Ability to establish and maintain systems for project operations.
• Ability to understand and effectively work with Government, organizations of workers and employers, non-government organizations, UN agencies and inter-governmental bodies.
• Ability to engage and work with local stakeholder organizations.
• Clear commitment to mainstream gender and social inclusion into project activities.
• Ability to conduct policy discussion and national-local level political processes.

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• Good communication skills, both written and verbal, to successfully mobilize local stakeholders and disseminate the project experiences.
• Ability to lead and work in a team and good interpersonal relations.
• Ability to guide project personnel and external consultants/service providers to deliver the expected results of project.
• Ability to work under time pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work in diversified environments.
• Knowledge of and ability to use computers, including Microsoft Office and the standard communication and group-work applications.
• Ability to work independently with a minimum level of supervision.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.