Data Processing and Tabulation Expert (External Collaborator)

1. Background

Iraq’s labour market is at a critical crossroads, shaped by economic, demographic, and social factors. The country’s economy remains heavily reliant on the oil sector, which accounts for over 90% of government revenues and a significant share of GDP. However, the capital-intensive nature of the oil industry means it generates few direct employment opportunities, leading to persistent job creation challenges, particularly in the private sector. While the public sector has historically been a key employer, fiscal constraints and ongoing reforms have limited its capacity to absorb the growing workforce.

As a result, Iraq faces high unemployment and underemployment rates, especially among youth and women. The informal economy plays a crucial role in absorbing surplus labour, with many workers in agriculture, construction, and small-scale trade engaged in informal work, often without social protection, decent wages, or safe and healthy working conditions.

Other key labour market challenges include youth unemployment and inactivity, skills mismatch, gender disparities in employment, low female labour force participation, and labour migration trends. Addressing these structural issues is essential for building a more inclusive and resilient labour market in Iraq.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2025 will provide crucial data to inform policy decisions aimed at improving employment outcomes, fostering inclusive economic growth, and addressing structural challenges in the labour market. By capturing key labour market indicators, the survey will enable targeted policy interventions that align with Iraq’s development priorities and international commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and International Labour Standards (ILS).

The previous round of the LFS was conducted in 2021, marking the first national Labour Force Survey in a decade. The International Labour Organization (ILO) partnered with the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and the Kurdistan Region Statistics Office (KRSO) to implement the survey, which collected comprehensive data on the size and characteristics of the labour force, employment, unemployment, and other labour market indicators. It also measured key aspects of labour underutilization, including time-related underemployment and the potential labour force, in line with the latest international statistical standards adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians.

In 2024-2025, Iraq conducted its first Population and Housing Census in nearly four decades, along with the third round of the Iraq Household Socioeconomic Survey (IHSES III). The completion of these large-scale data collection efforts has created a unique opportunity to update national statistical efforts, particularly in areas critical for evidence-based decision-making on employment and social protection reforms.

Building on these advancements, the LFS 2025 will be implemented alongside efforts to establish a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) and other key statistical activities, including the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). The LFS 2025 will play a vital role in updating labour market data and hence enhancing labour market governance, economic planning, and policy formulation in Iraq.

1. Rationale

To ensure accurate processing, analysis, and presentation of labour force survey data, a data processing and tabulation expert is needed to process the raw data, develop and generate statistical tables aligned with international standards and reporting requirements.

1. Specific Duties

The external collaborator/ Data Cleansing and Tabulation Expert will undertake the following tasks:

1. Assist the CSO and KRSO in documenting in Arabic and/or English all operated data cleaning codes and convention made on data collected from the field.
2. Assist the CSO and KRSO in Iraq in writing commented syntax of the LFS;
3. Assist the CSO and KRSO in preparing the full indicators list;
4. Support the CSO and KRSO in data processing.
5. Prepare the tabulation to be used by both CSO and KRSO;
6. Prepare and write a full report including all definitions used.
7. Payment Schedule:

First payment: 15% upon completion of the deliverable task number one, (1);

Second payment: 45% upon completion of the deliverable task number two, three and four, (2,3);

Third payment: 40% upon completion of the deliverable task number four, five, and six (4, 5,6);

1. Required Qualifications:

Education***:*** University degree in statistics, maths, and/or any other related field. A PhD in Statistics is an advantage

Experience***:*** At least 5 years of professional experience in working in social surveys anddata processing, coding, and tabulation. Previous experience in working with UN agencies and/or National Statistical Office is an advantage.

Languages***:*** Fluency in Arabic and English.

AdditionalRequired Competencies*:* strong tabulation and syntax skills.

1. Timeline and estimated budget

The consultancy will span a total of 20 working days, distributed over the period from April 2025 to September 2025. The budget will be based on the proposed daily fees for a selected consultant.

1. Supervision and logistical arrangements

Throughout the assignment, the consultant will work under the direct supervision of the ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq, and under the overall technical supervision of the ILO ROAS Labor Statistician and the Chief Technical Chief Technical Advisor on Social Security. The consultant will closely coordinate with both CSO and KRSO.

The consultancy is expected to be performed remotely.

1. Application process

The ILO invites qualified consultants who have relevant experience in delivering similar services to submit their applications comprised of technical and financial parts, as described below, toiraq-procurement@ilo.org with the subject line “LFS 2025 – Cleansing and Tabulation Expert” no later than 19 April 2025. Incomplete applications or applications not matching the requirements specified in these Terms of Reference will not be considered. The announcement is open for both National (Iraqi) and international candidates

Technical Proposal

Technical proposal should comprise of:

• CV describing education, qualifications, experience in similar assignments as outlined in the required qualifications for the assignment. The CV should also include the candidate’s contact details, language proficiency, and at least three professional references.
• Tentative schedule/timeline (1 page) a candidate proposes to compete the assignment.

The External Collaborator may also add any other document(s) and information to demonstrate its technical and professional capacities and competencies to fulfil the requirements as specified in the Terms of Reference.

Technical Proposals must be submitted in English in PDF format.

Financial Proposal

• A financial proposal for conducting this assignment, based on a total of 30 working days.
• Proposed daily fees should exclude transportation and daily allowances.
• If and when travel is required, transportation costs and daily subsistence allowances will be covered by the agreement as per UN regulations and standards.

The financial proposal/daily rate can be submitted in US Dollar or Iraqi dinar[1].

Selection and evaluation process and criteria

Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by an Evaluation Panel, to determine compliance with the requirements specified in these Terms of Reference.

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the Proposals, with evaluation of each Technical Proposal constituting 40 points being completed prior to any Financial Offer which constitute 10 points being opened and compared.

Each Technical Proposal (40 points) is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to these Terms of Reference according to the criteria described below. The minimum passing score is 30 points:

1. Maximum 30 points for the relevance of consultant’s education, qualifications and experience, including experience at the international level and in similar consultancies;
2. Maximum 10 points for feasibility of the proposed timeline.

Please note that fluency in English and Arabic is mandatory for the assignment. Candidates lacking fluency in any of these languages will not be considered.

If multiple candidates achieve high scores, ILO might invite top three highest scored consultants for interviews to determine the final selection.

During the second stage of the evaluation, the Financial Proposals (10 points) of all qualified national consultants who have attained at least the minimum score during the technical evaluation (30 points) will be compared. The maximum number of points – 10 points – will be assigned to the lowest Financial Proposal submitted by applicants. All other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion.

The process of evaluating the proposals will be based on the percentage combination of Technical and Financial elements.

ILO Website Link: Data Processing and Tabulation Expert (External Collaborator) | International Labour Organization