A unique chance for
highly qualified Afghans living abroad to make a significant
contribution to their home country
The reconstruction of Afghanistan,
after years of war, conflict and destruction is an enormous task
requiring strategic planning, comprehensive, coordinated and
sequenced actions, substantial amounts of capital, and above all,
skilled human resources. Decades of conflict have resulted in the
displacement of Afghanistan’s professional work force and the
collapse of critical services in a wide range of sectors. In
order for the reconstruction efforts to succeed in a timely manner,
the placement of highly skilled Afghan professionals with
significant reconstruction and development experience to plug
critical skill gaps in ministries and other government agencies is
of vital importance.
The urgent need to include expatriate
Afghan professionals in the reconstruction of Afghanistan has been
recognized by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,
international organizations, as well as qualified Afghan expatriates. What is
urgently required is the placement of high level professionals
within key ministries/government agencies to enhance the
Government’s effectiveness to better manage the reconstruction
process.
The ARTF (Afghanistan Reconstruction
Trust Fund) is a multi donor trust fund administered by the World
Bank in support of Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts. The
Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC)
will implement the ARTF Expatriate Services (ARTF-ExS) Program with
the assistance of the International Organization for Migration
(IOM). The purpose of the ARTF-ExS program is to identify worldwide,
highly skilled human resources (expatriate Afghan professionals)
with significant reconstruction and development experience, in order
to place them within key ministries and other government
agencies/institutions to enhance the Government's effectiveness in
overseeing urgent policy and institutional reforms. The objective of
the 24-month program is to provide the IARCSC with technical
assistance and support in establishing a merit based recruitment
system by putting in place all necessary processes and procedures
for identifying Afghan Experts worldwide and placing at least
(initially) 60 highly-skilled Afghan expatriates into Afghanistan’s
public administration.
The ARTF-ExS will finance the
compensation and expenses of Afghan experts and professionals
residing abroad, who wish to make a contribution to the
reconstruction of their country. The initial contract duration will
vary between 6 and 12 months, with possibility of extension. Clear
and merit-based recruitment procedures and an equitable structure of
compensation in line with relevant principles embodied in a code of
conduct are set up in order to ensure a transparent recruitment
process.
