Senior Programme Officer

The International Trade Centre is looking for a:
Senior Programme Officer, International Marketing
Post level: P.5
Vacancy Notice No.: ITC/PVN/04/2010
Division/Section: Division of Business and Institutional Support, Enterprise Competitiveness (DBIS/EC)
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Deadline for application: 4 March 2010 (midnightGeneva time)
Entry date: as soon as possible
Duration of appointment: one year, renewable (project funded post)

THE ITC
The International Trade Centre (ITC) provides trade related technical assistance directed at strengthening the capacity of the business sector, particularly SMEs, in developing countries and countries with economies in transition to increase trade and export potential leading to employment and poverty reduction. Today’s increasingly complex global environment requires the promotion of inclusive development and ITC’s goal of achieving ‘Export Impact for Good’, is at the core of our work. If you are a passionate and committed professional and want to make a lasting difference in the field of providing exports as a tool for poverty reduction, ITC is the right place to be.

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit ITC’s website: wwww.intracen.org

ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING
The overall strategy of the Division of Business and Institutional Support (DBIS) is to provide appropriate solutions through TSI (Trade Support Institutions) capacity building with respected and visible networks and a conducive business environment to assure and build up the international competitiveness of SMEs and small exporters in developing countries. Specifically, DBIS aims to provide demand-driven solutions in three major areas of ITC’s work programme to support Businesses and Institutions alike:
• Strengthening the capacity of Trade support institutions targeted as ITC’s multipliers in the field, by offering their services in line with the best practices obtained through ITC’s benchmarking methodology, by networking of networks and assisting them in improving their business generation activities to increase the market share of their exporting SME clients.
• Building exporting SME competitiveness, by improving the skills of managers needed for achieving export readiness, optimizing the value chain, gaining market share through marketing and branding, and capitalizing on information and communication technologies (E-nabling).
• Facilitating a conducive Export environment, by designing and developing assistance programmes on legal issues that may arise before, during and after the Export transactions, by linking institutions & enterprises on issues relevant to access to finance and providing trade facilitation services to reduce trade transaction costs.

MAIN PURPOSE AND KEY RESULTS EXPECTED
The goal of this function is to lead and develop the international marketing components in ITC’s trade related technical assistance programmes and manage a pool of senior marketing consultants. The incumbent will work closely with other technical officers to design and implement integrated technical assistance programmes and which assist developing country exporters to access and exploit trade opportunities in foreign markets.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Enterprise Competitiveness (EC) and the general guidance of the Director, Division of Business and Institutional Support (DBIS), the incumbent will be the senior authority on strategy and policies on marketing matters. S/he will be responsible for the following key duties:
• Develop export marketing programmes and services to help SMEs generate tangible increases in export sales including, product and services design, pricing, promotion and communication, merchandising, branding and sales practices.
• Carry out programming missions to diagnose, assess and respond to partner country needs.
• Recruit a critical mass of international consultants and experts to develop and deliver marketing and branding programmes; market ITC offers to institutional partners, donors and beneficiary countries.
• Build institutional exporter support networks. Identify the best-in-class institutional partners with a track record of delivering innovative marketing solutions, conceptualize and test new services with partners and beneficiaries. Create and strengthen public-private partnerships to achieve development impact.
• Implement digital solutions. Design, develop and manage interventions to optimize enterprise performance through the use of up-to-date systems and tools including marketing such as e-trade solutions using mobile phone, web marketing and sales.
• Promote the exchange of best practices in export marketing and benchmarking. Facilitate network interactions at the national, regional and international levels among trade development practitioners. Identify trends in export marketing and sales that could impact upon the competitiveness of developing country exporters. Manage the publication and dissemination of findings through traditional and e-enabled communication platforms.
• Undertake any other relevant assignment as required

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE:
This position requires a hands-on leader, combining excellent strategic thinking skills and first class managerial competencies with a strong marketing expertise in the private and/or international development environments. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in planning and carrying out successful needs assessments and programme delivery, especially related to marketing and branding. She/he will be able to conceive and deliver a suite of marketing tools, products and services adapted to the specific needs of exporting enterprises in the developing countries. She/he will have a proven ability to interact with senior decision makers in the field of marketing/branding as well as a proven record in managing teams to deliver results with strong team-building skills.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
EDUCATION: Advanced university degree in Business Administration, International Marketing, Export Marketing or related fields. Note: A combination of relevant academic qualifications and extensive relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

WORK EXPERIENCE: A minimum of 10 years of postgraduate professional experience, at a progressively higher level of responsibility in marketing in the private sector or/and international development environments. Several years of senior management experience in public/private sector organizations or private companies, responsible for marketing related trade development and/or demonstrated delivery of export marketing training, advisory or consulting services at a senior level.

LANGUAGES: Advanced knowledge of English with a working knowledge of French or Spanish. Knowledge of other UN official languages is an asset.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE: Specialist knowledge of marketing, including branding and communication, sales and merchandising sectors. Experience of designing and implementing digital delivery solutions optimizing enterprise marketing and sales performance. Good knowledge of the international marketing and trade environment, with an understanding of developing country environments related to trade, especially at enterprise level.

ITC’S CORE COMPETENCIES are: Integrity, Vision, Teamwork and Leadership, Excellence and Accountability, Client Commitment, Pragmatism and Communications. For further information on the ITC competency framework and the definition of each competency, please visit our website or click on the following link: ITC’s Competency Framework
CRITICAL JOB-SPECIFIC
�� Client Commitment
�� Teamwork and Leadership
�� Excellence and Accountability

TERMS OF SERVICE: Appointments with ITC are service-limited to this organization. The conditions of service are governed by the United Nations Staff Rules and Regulations. This is a fixed term appointment.

INDICATIVE ANNUAL SALARY AT THE P-5 LEVEL
Annual Salary (net of tax)
US$ 79,537 single rate
US$ 85,615 with primary dependants

Post Adjustment
Plus 79.8% (February 2010 rate) of the above figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.

For further information please consult the International Civil Service Commission website: http://icsc.un.org

HOW TO APPLY
Candidates are required to complete an on-line application. To apply, please visit the ITC website at http://www.intracen.org/jobs which provides all related instructions on how to complete the on-line personal history form (PHF). Candidates should also submit a motivation letter.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Applicants will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. Information on the status of a vacancy can be obtained at: http://www.intracen.org/jobs.

A written test and/or an Assessment exercise may be held for this position. Please be informed that a software tool that detects “cut & paste” copied text from Internet sources will be used to verify candidates’ answers.

Please note that candidates to this position may be considered for other ITC vacancies subject to meeting the relevant eligibility and competency requirements.

ITC does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, nationality, religion or other social criteria. ITC is fully committed to the implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly for gender mainstreaming and applications from qualified women and men are equally welcome.

Applications from women and nationalities from developing and least developing countries are particularly encouraged