Job Description:

It is under this background that BOI is recruiting a senior investment Specialist to provide technical assistance to the International Investment team on investment strategy and policy. The Specialist will be embedded in the BOI office and work with a dedicated team of five junior economists with prior investment experience and is expected to lead an effective capacity building to the team for sustainable project management.

Investment in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is governed by the Investment Law of 2006 and various other government policies and regulations. Under the investment law, the Kurdistan Regional Government Board of Investment (KRG BOI) was established as a ministerial-level government entity with the responsibility for implementing the Investment Law and developing investment strategies, plans, and policies.

BOI is also responsible for setting up an investment-friendly climate to attract investments and promote economic development in the region. This aspect of BOI’s work entails promoting, facilitating, and regulating investment, and channeling investment into priority sectors to enhance local production and generate job opportunities for the KRI citizens.

The KRG Economic Reform Roadmap 2016 recognizes the importance of domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) in contributing to growth and employment and has identified several investment-related priorities, including the development of a regional investment policy, the establishment of a one-stop investment registration center, and the promotion of investment in the industry, agriculture and tourism sectors.

Acting on the recommendations proposed by KRG Economic Reform Roadmap 2016, BOI, supported by the UNDP Funding Facility for Economic Reform – KRG (FFER-KRG), has conducted a thorough analysis of existing legislation, regulation, policies, strategies, institution structure, incentive schemes and promotional techniques to identify current barriers to investment and determine needed reforms. As a result, BOI has developed an Investment Reform Map, which recommends needed reforms to promote investment in KRI, sets up reform priorities, and creates a reform action plan.

To implement the Investment Reform Map, BOI has set up an International Investment team, responsible for setting investment strategies and conducting studies. The Vision of the team is as follows:

» Development of an economically sound methodology for the strategic 5-year plan for how the FDI unit can most effectively meet its objectives for its strategic sectors.
» Conducting market segmentation.
» Conducting research and compiling information required for investors’ inquiries.
» Identify opportunities for investment and present them.
» Reaching to targeted international investors.
» Promoting investment environment in Kurdistan.
» Connecting domestic and foreign investors.
» Advocating for policy reforms.

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide necessary technical assistance to the KRG BOI FDI unit Team to prepare a strategic plan to increase and facilitate international investment in KRI, provide guidance and support with the implementation of the plan and provide capacity building to the relevant staffs of the unit.

For the duration of this assignment, the Senior Investment Specialist will be working in the office of the International Investment unit at the Board of Investment office in Iraq – Erbil and will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Team Leader, as well as in coordination with the UNDP FFER-KRG Project Manager.

Key duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

1. Conduct desk review on the current state of investment in KRI 

Senior Investment specialist shall prepare an initial baseline report through a desk review of relevant documents, related to KRI investment including but not limited to Investment Law ref 4 of 2006, Draft revised Investment Law 2015, BOI vision, and Policy and Investment Reform Map (IRM). This report will then serve as a foundation for a more in-depth consultation with International Investment Unit and other BOI offices. This report must include, but is not limited to:

» Solutions need to be implemented to promote investment in Kurdistan Region.
» The matrix captures best practices and examples of research plans and activities.
»  Assignment implantation plan and an initial list of capacity-building activities.
2. Conduct in-depth consultation meetings with KRG BOI International Investment Unit 

the Specialist is required to conduct extensive consultation with International Investment Unit to understand their requirements and in partnership with the unit develop a final action plan for the investment development technical support and capacity building that would be provided during this assignment.

3. Provision of Technical Support and Capacity Building to KRG BOI International Investment Promotion Unit 

with the aid of the detailed assessments to be conducted, the specialist is required to conduct the following tasks. These Tasks are subject to change depending on the action plan that will be developed for the Unit by the expert to ensure the Unit has the required capacity for the implementation of the action plan. The specialist will:

»  Development of roles and responsibilities, strategy, action plan, and capacity development plan for the Unit.
» Identification of priority sectors and target markets, investment opportunities – countries from which investors are interested in certain sectors for investment.
» Provide support to the unit
» Development of a 5-year action plan for International Investment promotion.
» Preparation of investment brief, appropriate promotional materials, and electronic promotion campaigns
» Conduct capacity-building activities for International Investment Unit as per the capacity-building program endorsed by BOI. This should include the provision of tools and detailed capacity building to the unit on sector analysis, value chain analysis, market research, investment opportunities assessment, and pre-feasibility study.

Required Skills and Experience

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

The Specialist will require the following qualifications, experience, competencies, and language skills. Only applicants who meet these criteria will be short-listed and will be contacted.

Education and Professional Qualifications Required:

Master’s Degree in Economics, Finance, public administration, or related field.
Experience Required:

»  At least 8 years of relevant working experience in investment Promotion planning and implementation.
»  Expertise in working with other investment promotional agencies.
»  Expertise in conducting situation analyses and needs assessments related to investment promotion in developing countries.
»  Experience in provision of capacity building to investment management institutions.

Languages Required:

» Fluent in English written and oral and Knowledge of Arabic/Kurdish is a distinct asset.

Competencies Required:

• » Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management, and reporting;
• » High analytical skills oriented towards problem-solving;
• » Leadership and self-management;
• » Focus on results and respond positively to feedback;
• » Consistently approach work with energy and a positive attitude;
• » Demonstrate openness for approaches to manage complexity;
• » Team spirit and excellent interpersonal skills;
• » Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• » Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP and the UN; and
• » Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Source: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=108348