Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 151 member states, a further 12 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants. IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people. The IOM Constitution recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement. IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management: Migration and development Facilitating migration Regulating migration Forced migration. IOM activities that cut across these areas include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants' rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration. IOM Nigeria commenced activities in 2001 and focused its interventions on counter trafficking activities, migration issues, return and reintegration of stranded migrants especially to Liberia, and Voluntary Returns from abroad.
Project Context and Scope
- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) seeks to enhance economic integration among its 15 MS, which experience significant mobility as millions of citizens and migrants’ cross borders daily.
- This migration, driven by a youthful and growing population facing limited access to quality education and decent job opportunities, manifests in both regular and irregular forms. Irregular migration arises from various factors, including conflict, climate change, and weak asylum systems.
- As West Africa grapples with environmental degradation and political instability, the region's rapid urbanization further reshapes migration patterns. Mobility remains crucial for many, offering vital access to employment and remittances, thus contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and providing essential livelihood strategies for families across the region.
Responsibilities
The tasks listed below, in the light of the progress made since the 2014 baseline assessment conducted, will be subject to review and, where necessary, proposed adjustments in consultations between the consultant and IOM:
Legal and Policy Framework:
- Take into consideration key international and continental standards and practices on migration data and statistics, such as those developed by UN Statistical Commission, the GCM, AUC, as well as take stock of all regional guidelines, policies and studies developed based on the baseline assessment of FMM I to identify gaps, recommendations and avoid inconsistencies and duplication of efforts.
- Review the existing ECOWAS legal, policy, guidelines and strategic framework governing regional cooperation and identify future priority areas in policy development, as relevant to the area of migration data collection and management.
- Compare legal frameworks of MS with regional standards- identify gaps and challenges in migration data collection and management.
- Assess implementation of the policy framework in migration data collection and management (both at ECOWAS and national levels) used in FMM I.
- Propose amendments or new policies to address identified gaps and challenges.
Institutional Framework and Coordination Mechanisms:
- Review of the mandate, responsibilities, and roles of the relevant ECOWAS Commission bodies, relevant government agencies and institutions related to migration data collection and management.
- Review ECOWAS coordination mechanisms with and among its MS, as relevant to migration data collection and management. Identify challenges and propose mitigation measures.
- Identify and review the mandate, responsibilities and roles of the relevant national institutions and coordination committees of the ECOWAS MS and Mauritania as related to migration data collection and management.
- Assess existing ECOWAS internal coordination mechanisms and internal knowledge sharing and collaboration practices in migration data collection and management and identify gaps and challenges.
- Review ECOWAS definitions of migration concepts/terms in comparison to the reformed UN recommended concepts/terms relevant to data collection and management to assess consistency and outline recommendations.
- Assess the capacities of the national institutions of the ECOWAS MS and Mauritania in migration data collection and management, considering institutional challenges and financial constraints.
- Assess inter-institutional coordination mechanisms and knowledge sharing and collaboration practices (amongst the relevant national institutions) in migration data collection and management and identify gaps and challenges.
- Review of ECOWAS coordination mechanisms with international partners and other third parties (including other international organizations, and implementing partners), as relevant to migration data collection and management and examine the contribution they can bring to the exercise.
Migration data collection and management methodology and tools:
- Map out existing ITC capacities and tools of relevance to migration data and statistics both at national and regional level, such as databases, web platforms etc. and identify areas of incompatibility and opportunity for integration, including with the global Migration Data Portal.
- Assess existing migration data sources available within the target ECOWAS Commission Departments and its MS, including ECOWAS Commission and national bodies’ interface with third parties in pooling and sourcing this data (third countries, organizations, etc.);
- Review existing migration data collection methods, tools and indicators (their strengths and weaknesses) in ECOWAS MS and Mauritania and assess their coherence and compatibility with regional and international standards and good practices.
- Provide for each MS a list of relevant available data sources on migration related issues (e.g. census, labour force surveys, household surveys, administrative records, new data sources such as big data, AI and MLetc.) and collect for each source the questions identifier for migrants.
- Review migration data collection, collation, analysis, sharing and dissemination – both at ECOWAS and MS level – and identify good practices, gaps and challenges.
- Assess the existence of data protection guidelines and their implementation at regional and national level.
Administration:
- Review of ECOWAS infrastructure and other technical capacities relevant to the work of ECOWAS on migration data collection, analysis and management.
- Review administrative processes including documentation, record-keeping, data, etc.
- Identify any migration-related data challenges that impacted the free movement protocol implementation and suggest improvement plans, if applicable.
Knowledge Management and Data Sharing:
- Review of existing knowledge/data management SOPs, guidelines, and their adherence to international standards and best practices.
- Review of the current operational capacity and implementation of knowledge management guidelines, SOPs, etc.
- Review of tools, instruments, and practices in the field of knowledge management within the ECOWAS Commission.
- Review of existing Data Protection and Sharing principles, their adherence to international standards, and their current implementation capacity.
Capacity-Building Needs:
- Provide an overview of key capacity-building gaps and needs in migration data collection and management in both the Directorate of Free Movement of Persons and Research & Statistics, as well as in any other relevant Directorate, including but not limited to policy development, institutional and administrative framework, human resources and training knowledge management, etc.
Final validation by the ECOWAS Commission, MS and Mauritania:
- Share final documents with ECOWAS Commission and key stakeholders.
- Present the final report, findings, and recommendations to adapt at the assessment validation meeting.
Performance indicators for the evaluation of results:
- Quality of work: Ability to accurately coordinate with the ECOWAS Commission relevant stakeholders.
- Timeliness: Ability to meet the consultancy timeline and deliver on time
- Clarity: Ability to communicate integrated border management and free movement contents clearly and concisely.
- Understanding: Ability to understand and interpret the complexities of the integrated border management and free movement-related programme.
- Collaboration: Ability to work collaboratively with other stakeholders.
- Adaptability: Ability to adjust to changes in scope or objectives.
- Knowledge: Understanding of migration data collection, management and FM context for West Africa region.
- Responsiveness: Ability to provide timely responses to inquiries.
Qualifications
Education:
- Master’s Degree from an accredited academic institution with six (6) to ten (10) years of progressive working experience in the field of statistics, information management, migration studies, economic or political science, or other related. A first-level university degree in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
Experience:
- Extensive work experience in migration data collection and management.
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience in regional integration, data management and the Free Movement Protocol
- Demonstrated experience and skills in facilitating stakeholder/working group consultations.
- Extensive knowledge and ability to draft and produce high-quality written reports
Skills:
- Excellent social and intercultural skills.
- Excellent understanding of gender-related needs, perspectives, concerns, and participation.
- Proficiency in English and French. Fluency in Portuguese is an advantage
Languages:
- IOM’s official languages are English, French and Spanish
- Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.
Travel required:
- The consultant may be required to travel on needs’ basis.
Required Competencies
- IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.
Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these three values: - Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.
- 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.
- Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.
- Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.
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 actions and delegated work.
- Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.
Method of Application
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