Duty Station of the Consultancy: Homebased with travel to Nigeria
Duration of consultancy: Three months - with possible gaps between the deliverables to be completed within the course of the consultancy to allow for implementation and feedback.
Project Context and Scope:
Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is part of the United Nations System as the leading inter-governmental organization promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all, with 174 member states and a presence in over 100 countries.
The IOM Regional Office for West and Central Africa, covering 23 countries, has defined three regional strategic objectives for the 2020–2024 period based on the three pillars of the IOM Strategic Vision (2019–2023). These objectives are mutually reinforcing and indicative of the Organization’s ambition to be the driving force in the global conversation on migration. They respond to current and emerging challenges, positioning the Organization to better serve Member States and migrant populations throughout all stages of their journey across the West and Central Africa region and beyond. Furthermore, they are in line with the commitment of IOM to assist Member States in implementing intergovernmental commitments, such as the Global Compact for Migration, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The IOM Regional strategy 2020-2024 is based on three pillars of resilience, mobility and governance.
The Migration Dialogue for West Africa (MIDWA) Process was established in 2001 to encourage the ECOWAS Member States to discuss common migration issues and concerns in a regional context for which immediate solutions may not be forthcoming on a national level. The focus areas of MIDWA have been Border management; Data collection; Labour migration; Irregular migration; Development; Remittances; Migrants' rights; Trafficking and smuggling; and Return and reintegration. MIDWA has established 8 Thematic Working Groups (TWG) on:
1. Border management and cross-border crime;
2. Diaspora and West African communities;
3. Labour migration;
4. Mixed migration;
5. Environment and climate change;
6. Migration data and statistics;
7. Return and reintegration;
8. Cooperation and partnership.
This consultancy is co-funded by the European Union (EU) - IOM Joint Initiative (JI) for Migrant Protection and Reintegration and its Special Measure and by unearmarked funding granted to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and internally allocated through the Migration Resource Allocation Committee (MiRAC). The JI has developed targeted interventions in 13 countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia) to protect the security, dignity and rights of migrants along this important and dangerous migration route and to help in improving the reintegration of returnees through an innovative approach. This will be achieved through different types of interventions including protection and assistance to vulnerable and stranded migrants, assistance for voluntary return, and support for sustainable reintegration in the communities of origin, the dissemination of accurate information on migration to migrants, potential migrants and communities, and the collection of data on migration flows.
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing: Policy and Liaision Unit
Objectives of the consultancy
The main objectives of the consultancy will be to strengthen MIDWA and its TWG. For this, the following is foreseen:
- Analyse the structure of MIDWA and identify challenges, gaps and provide recommendations for its strengthening.
- Take stock of the work of the working groups and analyse the structure and ToRs of each working group.
- Identify challenges and gaps of the work of TWGs and provide recommendation that could be used to strengthen the MIDWA TWGs.
- Analyse the monitoring and evaluation framework of MIDWA and identify gaps and best practices and propose recommendations that could be used to improve a better.
Proposed methodology
The consultancy will be home based with one expected travel to Abuja, Nigeria. The home based-part will rely mostly on a desk review and interviews with relevant IOM staff, government participants in the TWGs and ECOWAS Commission staff.
The consultancy will be conducted following the below steps:
- An inception remote meeting will be organized between the selected consultant and IOM Regional Office and IOM Abuja to refine the study questions, to discuss its data collection and analysis approach and to agree on its sampling method.
- The consultant will conduct a series of in-depth interviews with identified IOM staff, ECOWAS FP and participants in the TWG in the region. For this, s/he will also travel for 4 days to Abuja. The objective of the interviews is to assess the current structure of MIDWA and its TWG and to identify gaps, best practices, and priorities.
- The consultant will analyze the overall quantitative and qualitative information provided by IOM RO and IOM Abuja on MIDWA and its TWG.
- The consultant will synthetize the findings and conclusions of the interview and desk review analysis in a final report, including a recommendation section on how to strengthen MIDWA and its TWG. The report should include, but not be limited to, recommendations on the structuring of MIDWA, the ToRs for the TWG where relevant and on a monitor and evaluation framework.
Roles and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, the direct supervision of the Regional Policy and Liaison Officer and in close coordination with the IOM CoM in Abuja, the consultant will undertake be responsible for the following tasks:
- Prepare and conduct the interviews with the identified persons;
- Conduct desk review of existing structure of MIDWA; ToRs of the TWG; its monitoring and evaluation framework; visibility; including a thorough analysis of the impact and sustainability. The desk review should be conducted analyzing quantitative and qualitative data;
- Write a report in English (max 50 pages), summarizing the outcomes of the interview and desk research, highlighting the gaps and making concrete proposals, including recommendations on the way forward and operationalization of the findings.
In order to accomplish these tasks, IOM Regional Office in Dakar will be responsible for:
- Providing the consultant with the list of persons to be interviewed;
- Providing the consultant with key documents on ECOWAS, MIDWA, and its TWG;
An the IOM Country Office in Abuja will be responsible for:
- introducing consultant to key partners;
- supporting ECOWAS review of the report;
- organizing an online validation workshop.
Timelines and Deliverables
Deliverables
Due Date
Start of the consultancy
Inception Report and timeline for the consultancy
10 days after start
Interviews and travel to Abuja, start with desk review
First month
Desk Review, analysis and drafting of report
Second month
First version of the report.
Beginning of 3rd month
Review and feedback by IOM and ECOWAS
Mid of 3rd month
Final report, integrating IOM’s and ECOWAS feedback
End of the 3rd month
Payment will be against deliverable of the final report.
Education, Experience and/or skills required
Education
Master’s degree in Political Science, International Relations, Law, Migration studies or a
related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional
experience; or University degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience.
Experience
- At least 7 years’ experience in the development sector.
- Demonstrated knowledge on IOM’s mandate, and good understanding of migration issues.
- Practical experience in designing and drafting reports of publishable quality.
- Strong writing and analytical skills and exceptional ability in research methods.
- Strong interpersonal and communications skills.
- In depth knowledge and experience of cross cutting issues and thematic areas.
- Experience in working in West Africa and/or with the ECOWAS Commission is an asset.
Language
Fluency in English required. Fluency in French an asset.
Travel required
Nigeria.
Competencies
Values
- Inclusion and respect for diversity: respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible. - Integrity and transparency: maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct. - Professionalism: demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.
Core Competencies – behavioural indicators
- Teamwork: develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results. - Delivering results: produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner; is action-oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes. - Managing and sharing knowledge: continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate. - Accountability: takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own action and delegated work. - Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.
How to apply
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications (CV, cover letter and quota for consultancy) via email to recrutementdkr@iom.int indicating ‘‘ROWCA-HR-22-006-CFA IOM Consultant for the Sahel” on the subject line, by 24 May 2022.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.