Consultant to undertake a stock-taking exercise - International Labour Organization

Background and Rationale

The main objectives of the ILO are to promote rights at work, to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment, enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all and strengthen social dialogue in the world of work.

Decent work country programmes (DWCP) constitute the main framework by which the ILO provides technical assistance to its member states, through support to policy making and capacity building. DWCPs therefore aim at promoting decent work as a central component of national development strategies and direct the assistance instruments and development cooperation to tripartite constituents in a framework oriented towards jointly defined priorities and results. Indeed, social dialogue and tripartism are at the core of planning, development, implementation and evaluation of ILO support programs.

The previous DWCP for the period of 2018-2020 focused on three priorities which were:

1. labour market enhancement through the development of skills, entrepreneurship and an effective National Employment Policy;
2. strengthening and expanding social protection;
3. improving labour governance in accordance with international labour standards and with a particular focus on the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up.

However, progress was made only at the level of social protection, maritime convention and some work on social dialogue, without any at the level of the other priority areas.

Oman MOL and constituents were interested in developing a new DWCP and requested the ILO to start the discussion in 2020. A technical mission was deployed to Oman during February 2020 for that purpose which resulted in an agreement on the focus area of the DWCP. A new Cabinet in Oman was formed on 18 August 2020 through a Royal Decree, which merged the Ministry of Manpower, Civil Service Council, the Ministry of Civil Service, the National Training Fund and the National Centre for Employment (NCE) into the Ministry of Labour.  Due to travel restrictions related to COVID19 pandemic, the technical mission to discuss the formulation of DWCP was planned for early 2021 and was postponed.

During this period, progress was achieved at the level of the development of national employment policy as well as on social protection. The MoL and social partners expressed their interest in discussing a new DWCP, which led to the signature of MOU between ILO and social partners on 7 June, 2022 at the side line of ILC as a commitment to collaborate in the development and implementation of a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) with the following agreed areas:

1. First: Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship development
2. Second: Social Protection
3. Third: International Labour Standards and Labour Governance

Aligned with the orientations of the national development strategies, the DWCP document will serve as an ILO support framework and an instrument for coordinating initiatives and mobilizing resources during the period 2023-2025.

The DWCP to be discussed for Oman will build upon (i) the main achievements of ILO work with its partners over the last years and (ii) the current momentum placing employment and workers’ rights high on the national agenda. As such, it will ensure a more holistic, coherent and integrated ILO response to the decent work challenges faced by Oman. It would present an overview of the current economic and socio-economic context and outlines the DWCP’s priorities, outcomes, indicators and strategies to be developed in close consultation between the ILO, the Government of Oman, through the Ministry of Manpower, and social partners.

ILO is working on several tracks in Oman including employment policy and social security. (Country brief will be shared with the consultant)

ILO has two ongoing DC projects ending in March 2023:

• Eighth Actuarial valuation of the Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) and the comprehensive study to review the coverage and benefits of the Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI)
• Towards a Social Protection Floor in Oman: Diagnostic & Development of an integrated multi-tier income support system in Oman (TAWAZUN)

Overview

In preparation for the development of a new DWCP in Oman, the regional office of the ILO for Arab States intends to undertake a rapid stock-taking exercise with the objective of documenting in one single internal note:

• an overview of Oman socioeconomic and labour context, development priorities (including as reflected in Oman 2040 vision as well as its 10^th five-year development plan (2021-2025), and key issues of importance from an ILO mandate perspective
• a mapping of recent and relevant work undertaken by the ILO in Oman, review of current state of different tracks of work with Oman constituents, and overview of strategic areas / emerging opportunities for ILO engagement in the new DWCP;
• a stakeholders mapping including a brief summary of scope of engagement of other UN agencies, IFIs, other development partners and key stakeholders in Oman and identification of possible areas of common interest.

The consultant will be responsible for the development of a succinct brief that will cover the three issues above. The brief should conclude with succinct forward-looking recommendation on where and how ILO should position itself in terms of interventions to address decent work deficits in the next DWCP.

Approach and Scope

The consultant will undertake a desk review based on government documents and strategies, published reports and analysis by national and international institutions (UN, World Bank, …) and other relevant stakeholders, as well as ILO internal documents and reports. S/He will conduct meetings with all relevant ILO Decent Work Team members to gather additional information and insights and participate as an observer in planned zoom meetings with Oman constituents, the outcome of which will be reflected in the report

Deliverables and budget

Desk review 3 WD

Meeting with DWT specialists 3 WD

Participate in zoom meetings with Oman 3 WD

Report writing 2 WD

The key deliverable is a succinct 7–10-page report with possible actions with the following sections:

1. Country Context: Socio-economic overview, Government plans and visions, Labour Market Challenges in Oman, ILO entry points
2. ILO in Oman: overview of past and current work and emerging opportunities for engagement
3. Stakeholder’s mapping: brief overview of key agencies and possible areas of common interest
4. Review of the elements of the DWCP 2018-2020 which could feed into the proposed areas of work for 2023-2025

Timeline

The consultancy to commence on 1st of March and is expected to be completed within 20 calendar days.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in social sciences or related field
• Demonstrated experience in conducting research and producing high quality reports
• Excellent research and analytical skills
• Previous experience in conducting UN related research assignments
• Well organized with attention to details
• Good inter-personal and oral and written communication skills
• Previous experience with work on labour issues in the region would be a strong advantage
• Fluent in English and Arabic