The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.  The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States. The relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development is recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will frame United Nations and country efforts towards sustainable development in the next fifteen years. UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation”. The relevance of ISID, however, applies in greater or lesser extent to all SDGs. Accordingly, the Organization’s programmatic focus is structured in four strategic priorities: Creating shared prosperity; Advancing economic competitiveness; Safeguarding the environment; and Strengthening knowledge and institutions.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards and quality-related activities; and (iv) convening and partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Departments/Offices in its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Hubs and Country Offices.

PROJECT CONTEXT

The UNIDO project “Capacity-building and job creation for youth and women in the textile sector in migration prone areas of Ethiopia” is funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Ethiopia. The project is implemented over three years and is run in close coordination with the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry (MoI).

As a follow up to the assessment conducted for the Stemming Irregular Migration in Northern & Central Ethiopia (SINCE) project inception phase, the present project has been developed to tackle one of the main roots behind irregular migration and displacement, i.e. youth unemployment and, more broadly, lagging economic opportunities. The project aims to support the Government of the FDR of Ethiopia (GoE) in creating decent and productive job opportunities for young women and men through the strategic development of the Textile and Garment (T&G) sector. Expanding the T&G sector is done by supporting capacity-building initiatives in the textile industry through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach.

The project responds to a specific official request from the Ethiopian MoTI to support the sector and is articulated in line with the Valletta Action Plan under the chapter development benefits of migration, which addresses the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement. Intervention focuses on Tigray National Regional States, which is a region where the T&G industry is in rapid expansion, and where significant fluxes of origin and transit of migrants currently takes place. The project general objective is to contribute to the reduction of irregular migration from Northern and Central Ethiopia by creating greater economic and employment opportunities for young women and men through the development of the textile sector. In this framework, the specific objective is to support the Government of the FDR of Ethiopia (GoE) in the creation of decent and productive work for young women and men through the development of technical, managerial and institutional capacities in the Textile and Garment Industry. Instrumental to the achievement of these objectives is the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Skill Development in Mekelle, Tigray. The rationale of the project is to design and develop capacity building and training initiatives through a PPPs approach, and initially starting from the demands of the private sector. This approach is meant to enable the strategic engagement of key industrial actors currently in the process of operating in the region with relevant local, regional, and national public institutions. In turn this is expected to maximise the effectiveness of technical, managerial and institutional capacities of the T&G industry.

Under the close supervision of the UNIDO HQ Project Manager, National Project Coordinator and Project Technical Advisor, the Technical Assistant will be expected to:

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

Education:

Languages: