Home based Africa Quality Policy and Quality Infrastructure Expert at UNIDO: Apply Now!
Application Deadline: 16 July 2024
Home based Africa Quality Policy and Quality Infrastructure Expert at UNIDO: Apply Now!
Duty Station: Home Based
Category: International Consultant
Contract Duration: 30 working days (When Actually Employed)
Organizational Context
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 as well as the Abu Dhabi Declaration adopted at the eighteenth session of UNIDO General Conference in 2019, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States.
The Africa Quality Policy and Quality Infrastructure Expert position is located under the Competitiveness, Quality and Compliance Unit (TCS/SME/CQC) which builds national and regional production and quality infrastructure systems, with an emphasis on providing internationally recognized services, facilitating SME participation in regional and global value chains; strengthening institutional quality infrastructure capacities (i.e. standardization, metrology, and accreditation); building conformity assessment capacities (testing, inspection, certification, calibration, etc.); and supporting trade facilitation and quality awareness with the public sector, economic operators and consumers, placing a special emphasis on capacitating SMEs.
Project Objectives
Enhancing quality and regulatory infrastructure in African Union (AU) member states have been a continuous concern for the African Continent decision makers and their regional and international stakeholders. The Quality and Regulatory Infrastructure (Q&RI) is generally defined as the sum of a country’s policy, legal, regulatory and administrative frameworks and the respective public and/or private institutional arrangements necessary to put standardization, metrology, technical regulation, accreditation and conformity assessment services (inspection, testing and certification) into effective operation.
Thus, the need for a higher-level policy document, namely the Quality Policy (QP), is to ensure that the Quality Infrastructure (QI) components continually operates in a coherent and effective manner while constantly meeting international requirements. It follows that wherever there is a QI operating institution, whether at country, Regional Economic Community (REC) or continental level, there is a need for a QP. This overall system’s aim is to assure that services and products meet defined requirements, with the appropriate recognition to facilitate international trade.
Scope of the Africa Quality Policy
The AQP lays down policy directions for the operation of a continental-level QI, with the aim of aligning the AQP with the policies governing national and REC-level QI. The AQP embodies a vision, objectives and specific functional policies for implementing quality at national, REC and continental levels. This comprehensive methodology is one of the main pillars to assure a harmonizing QI system between AU countries and will play a pivotal role in facilitating the trade and products exchange that will improve the socio-economic status of Member States (MS).
UNIDO – ARSO Ongoing initiative
The AQP establishes a mechanism to monitor the effectiveness of the QI measures put in place that include periodic reviews of the policies to ensure that they remain up to date. Africa has set continental level policies and initiatives for enhancing industrial development, increasing intra-African trade, developing agriculture and exports of food products, enhancing wealth creation from sustainable governance of Africa’s inland waters, oceans and seas, etc. Furthermore, an effective QI has been identified as a critical element for achieving these goals. In implementing the AQP, the AU can also count on the regional PAQI institutions to undertake capacity building efforts and bring a certain level of harmonization of practices in their respective QI fields.
To achieve the first output of the ACP QI program within African countries, “Enhancing regional quality and regulatory infrastructure (Q&RI) governance”, the African MS’s have to be committed in building the Quality Institutions and showing their governance through their operations according to holistic Africa quality policy terms, having the goal to enhance the quality infrastructure at national level that will impact in institutionalize the quality culture and practices, and to facilitate the trade exchange between African Members states while being aligned to one quality policy goal.
It is in this context that ARSO is collaborating with UNIDO through the ACP QI program to support capacity building of expert(s) with regards the basic principles of the Africa Quality policy to be able to assist selected pilot AU Member States to align their National Quality Policies (NQPs) to the adopted AQP.
Activities for the alignment of NQP’s to AQP
To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, UNIDO is seeking to procure the services of International and National Quality Infrastructure Expert(s) to implement the following 4 related activities:
- Training-of-Trainers (ToT) of experts on Africa Quality Policy
- Sensitizing AU MS for adopting the terms of the AQP within the national QI context.
- Collect national QI documents and facilitate the interaction with the local concerned authorities
- Assist selected AU MS in aligning their NQP
Functional Responsibilities
In order to support the AU MS in aligning their NQP with the AQP under the ACP QI program, UNIDO is seeking the services from an international expert(s) on Quality Infrastructure policy to review the existing NQP for 4 selected MS, by comparing them with the AQP terms to identify the gaps in function of the active legal documents in place.
As a result of this comparison study, the expert will present a recommendation plan for MS government in question to advise on the strategy to be adopted in updating their national quality documents; further a new version of the NQP shall be updated and submitted by the expert for internal validation and approval.
Under the ACP QI program, 4 AU MS will be selected based on a list of criteria taking in consideration the willingness of MS to onboard such national activity, the level of engagement in the QI components as establishment and operation of QI institutes, in addition to the already existence of NQP.
During this assignment, the international expert(s) will be assisted by Local Consultant(s) recruited by UNIDO to facilitate the communication with local quality institutes and collect data from the field. The expert should master at least one of the official African languages (English, French or Portuguese)
The expert(s) to be recruited for this task will work under the overall supervision of the Program Manager and the Chief Technical Advisor of the program and the direct technical coordination of Lead Quality Expert of Africa under ACP program in collaboration with ARSO.
The International Expert will fulfil the following duties:
| MAIN DUTIES | OUTPUTS TO BE ACHIEVED | EXPECTED DURATION/ DUE DATE | LOCATION |
| Draft an updated version of the National Quality Policy aligned to the AQP and accompanying implementation roadmap, informed by: Examining National Quality Policy in comparison with the AQP provisions, identifying the gaps and suggesting revisions. Conducting research, surveys and interviews and analyzing data to gain insights on the appropriate content. Undertaking a situation analysis of capacities of National Quality Infrastructure Institutions to inform recommendations on required improvements to implement the aligned NQP. Consulting relevant stakeholders and documenting success stories and/or challenges that can serve as lessons learnt for implementation of the aligned AQP | An inception report highlighting the methodology and work plan, which indicates the phases of the analysis and preparation of the aligned AQP. Summary report to present initial findings from desk research, surveys and consultations | 20 w/days | Home based |
| Present the draft aligned NQP to the appropriate national organs for validation. | Draft aligned National Quality Policy submitted for MS for feedback | 5 w/days | HBA |
| Finalize the aligned NQP incorporating feedback and comments from national stakeholders. | Presentation of aligned Quality Policy to national stakeholders Final aligned National Quality Policy delivered. | 5 w/days | HBA |
| TOTAL | 30 working days | ||
Minimum Organizational Requirements
Education: An advanced university degree in the field of Quality Management or any other related fields (economics, development, business, international relations, economic development, …) is required.
Technical and functional expertise:
- A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible working experience on African trade policy, standardisation and quality infrastructure, including drafting quality infrastructure policy, and mainly in training others on QP at national, regional and international level, is required.
- Proficient knowledge of quality infrastructure components; proven competence & achievement record and special knowledge of developing regional / national policy in the context of each target region/country is required.
- Proven experience in delivering training courses for professional level is required.
- Knowledge on the African Quality Policy is required.
- Demonstrated experience in working with government partners and other stakeholders in public sector development programs especially in capacity development is desirable.
- Experience in evaluating the needs, conditions and problems in developing countries is desirable.
Skills:
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, drafting skills, both written and verbal, sensitivity to cultural, socio-economic and political differences.
- Ability to effectively capture data collated from the relevant stakeholders engaged in the surveys.
Languages: Fluency, written and spoken, in one of the Official African Languages is required. Working knowledge of English or French is required. Knowledge of other languages would be an asset.
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