TOR for a National Consultant: Support the preparation of an Employment Policy for Kurdistan Region in Iraq
Within the framework of the Economic Inclusion of the PROSPECTS partnership in Iraq, the ILO is supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq and its social partners in their efforts to develop an Employment Policy to facilitate job creation, improve working conditions and ultimately promote social and economic development.
In particular, the ILO is supporting the development of an Employment Policy for KRG through the provision a range of services to the national partners responsible for the drafting of the Employment Policy; knowledge building, provision of policy advice and technical assistance throughout the different phases of the Employment Policy formulation; and provision of support to the actual drafting of the Employment Policy.
Over the past decade, the ILO and KRG Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) have agreed to initiate the process of drafting an Employment Policy and its implementation plan, with the inclusion of the social partners of the ILO namely the workers and employers’ organizations in Kurdistan region. The earlier employment policy was submitted to the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan region and was endorsed by the Council by virtue of resolution No. 1704, dated 12/07/2012. Following the adoption of the policy, the ILO and the MOLSA signed an agreement to support its implementation, and worked together on the development of an action plan and detailed implementation mechanism.
Today, the situation in the Kurdistan region has changed drastically, requiring a revision of the Employment Policy to reflect the new realities on the ground and address the new and emerging challenges facing workers and businesses across the region. The drafting of the Employment Policy shall start with preparing an employment diagnostic report highlighting labour market trends, institutions and governance in Kurdistan Region, building on the latest data and statistics. The diagnostic report shall also map all existing employment programmes and services (both private and public), while assessing their impact and identifying their strengths and main shortfalls.
The diagnostic report shall inform the development of the first draft of the Employment Policy. Crucially, the present effort must leverage the lessons learnt from the implementation of (or lack thereof) previous employment strategies in Kurdistan Region of Iraq to avoid any possible pitfalls and build on any successful interventions to promote decent productive employment for all those who seek it in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
In this context, and in an effort to support the development of the Employment Policy that can help KRG navigate its way out of the crisis, the ILO will be recruiting a local consultant to conduct the diagnostic analysis and support drafting the Employment Policy, which could serve as the starting point for further validation and refinement with the ILO’s social constituents.