National Lead Technical Advisor

The National Lead Technical Advisor will provide technical leadership and coordination for the project "Skills for Decent Employment in Zambian Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in the Critical Mineral Value Chains." The role involves advising on project implementation, capacity building, policy formulation, and stakeholder engagement to strengthen Zambia's ASM sector and skills development ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Review the project document and its outputs and provide technical advice to the Project Delivery Manager (PDM) on project implementation, budget execution and risk management.
• Lead the overall technical coordination of the Project Management Unit (PMU), including Provincial Coordinators, National Project Assistant, Community Outreach Officers, and thematic experts.
• Review existing strategy and implementation approach in the country.
• Establish and maintain working relationships with national partners, EU Delegation, local authorities, and other implementing agencies.
• Lead the formulation of technical inputs for policies, guidelines, and capacity-building tools supporting the ASM sector.
• Ensure technical coherence and quality assurance of outputs delivered by project experts and service providers.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance to project team members ensuring alignment with the project's theory of change and logical framework.
• Ensure integration of cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, occupational health and safety, and environmental compliance across all project activities.
• Support Provincial Technical Committees and Project Steering Committee by preparing technical materials and recommendations.
• Represent the project in high-level forums, government consultations and policy discussions on ASM and skills development.
• Support outreach and visibility actions promoting the project's results and partners.
• Foster and maintain strategic relationships with government counterparts, EU Delegation, development partners, and other organizations active in ASM and skills development.
• Lead the technical design and delivery of institutional capacity-building support to government partners.
• Provide technical direction for the development of ASM training curricula and strengthening of partner TVET institutions.
• Support professional development of the national PMU team through mentoring and knowledge-sharing.
• Ensure timely communication and information flow to UNIDO HQ management including regular technical progress updates.
• Contribute technical inputs to the Annual Project Report and other progress reports.
• Undertake missions within Zambia as required by project activities.
• Participate in regular meetings for project coordination and reporting.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the PDM.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in economics, engineering, sciences, agro-industries, environment, business administration, or other relevant discipline is required.
• Specialization in mining/extractive industries, industrial development, vocational/technical education, or a related field, is highly desirable.
• A first level university degree or an advanced technical college diploma may be acceptable provided it is combined with additional 7 years of professional hands-on experience that is directly relevant to the expertise required by the specific assignment.
• At least seven (7) years of professional experience in the implementation of technical cooperation/development projects at national level is required.
• Experience in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, or the extractives industry or mining sector in general, is required.
• Experience in capacity-building, skills development, and/or business-oriented assistance is required.
• Experience in a technical leadership, team coordination or advisory role within a multi-disciplinary technical cooperation project team is required.
• Experience in evaluating the needs, conditions and problems of Zambia or a similar country in the region is desirable.
• Experience in working with government and development agencies including the United Nations agencies is desirable.

Skills

• Technical Cooperation
• Project Management
• Capacity Building
• Skills Development
• Business-oriented Assistance
• Technical Leadership
• Team Coordination
• Advisory Services
• Mining Sector Knowledge
• Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Policy
• Policy Formulation Support
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Vocational Education
• Industrial Development
• Economic Analysis
• UN Project Evaluation
• Government Relations
• United Nations Collaboration

Languages

English