Introduction

The position is located in the Social Security Development Branch (SSD) of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The ISSA is the world’s leading international organisation for social security administrations and government departments. Founded in 1927 under the auspices of the International Labour Organization, the ISSA counts more than 330 member organisations in close to 160 countries. 

Under the direction of the Director of the SSD branch, which is the unit responsible for developing the knowledge base necessary to reach ISSA’s objectives, the incumbent is responsible for managing projects yielding innovative approaches to address the key challenges faced by social security administrations. The objective of these projects and activities is to accelerate the identification and development of new solutions and support ISSA member institutions effectively in strengthening their innovation capacity to implement, adapt, and improve their administrative systems. By the end of the contract, the incumbent will deliver the final outputs in the ISSA World Social Security Forum 2025. 

This includes providing input from an innovation perspective in various social security areas and activities of the SSD Branch. Activities will also include supporting the International Conference on Management and Innovation, collecting innovative approaches from Technical Commissions and Regional activities and other knowledge bases, and coordinating their publication and presentation in ISSA events. The incumbent will coordinate the development of a new approach for strengthening members’ innovation capacity to address issues requiring novel solutions in the context of the ISSA collaborative innovation hub. A particular focus will be placed on defining technical standards and solutions for the international data exchange, including the oversight of the working group on international data exchange and the development of specific deliverables on the subject. 

The incumbent reports directly to the Director of the SSD branch.  
 

Description of Duties

•    Contribute to projects on social security, notably to support member institutions in developing innovation capacities to address the key challenges of social security, particularly concerning strengthening the coverage, quality, effectiveness and efficiency of their systems as well as the inter-institutional collaboration in the context of the ISSA collaborative innovation hub. Coordinate activities of the working group on international data exchange.

•    Articulate and work with the Technical Commissions’ coordinators to harvest knowledge as it relates to the innovation programme of the ISSA, which mainly consist of research and innovation projects, contents for ISSA publications and events. These tasks comprise the monitoring of work plans for these activities in line with the ISSA Programme and Budget, members’ needs and available resources.

•    Strengthen the relevance of the ISSA knowledge, notably the ISSA Guidelines and related products, to facilitate member institutions applying innovative approaches. Contribute to the development of ISSA publications, guidelines and the associated knowledge. Prepare the final deliverables of the programme to be presented in the World Social Security Forum 2025.   

•    Prepare technical inputs to ISSA conferences, seminars and training activities, particularly for the innovation sessions, with a view to enabling highly relevant technical debates for members. In particular, prepare sessions in the World Social Security Forum 2025 presenting the main outputs of the programme related to the ISSA collaborative innovation hub.

•    Support the Director of the SSD branch on the development of capacity building activities to strengthen members’ innovation capabilities, particularly for establishing their modalities, planning and coordination with other branches aligned with the ISSA collaborative innovation hub. 

•    Contribute to the ISSA partnership strategy through the development of relations with innovation-focused organisations.

•    Contribute to the ISSA member engagement and recruitment strategies focusing on innovation-seeking social security organisations.

•    Perform other duties as required by the Director and by the Secretary General. 
 

Required qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree in a relevant field.

Experience

At least five years of relevant experience in a social security institution. Significant international experience.

Languages

Excellent command of English and good working knowledge of a second official language of the ISSA (French, German, or Spanish). 

Competencies

–    Very good knowledge of various aspects, challenges and priorities of social security systems as a whole. 
–    Good knowledge of the broad range of technical areas dealt with by the SSD branch. Sound knowledge of ISSA activities and governance.  
–    The ability to synthesise research and reach empirically based conclusions based on related members’ needs and use of the guidelines; ability to provide expert advice;
–    Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills.  
–    Demonstrated ability to work in a team and under pressure.  
–    Demonstrated ability to apply an interdisciplinary approach to social security issues.   
–    Ability to work in a multicultural environment and gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes are also required.