Consultant- Migration Law

Reference Code : CON#NP/01/2024

Position Title: Consultant- Migration Law

No. of vacancy: 1 Position
Duty Station : Kathmandu
Classification : Consultant, OTHER
Type of Appointment : Consultant, 3 months
Estimated Start Date : As soon as possible

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental partners. 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.

Context:

Project context and Scope

The 2021 census reveals more than 2.1 million Nepali citizens, constituting 7.4 per cent of the national population, reside outside the country. Among them, 81.3 percent are men, and a substantial number of Nepali students also pursue education abroad. The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MoEST) issued ‘no objection certificates’ (NOCs) to 416,364 Nepalis for studying abroad between 2008/09 and 2020/21, with approximately 120,000 young students obtaining NOCs in 2022 alone. This migration trend reflects a significant outflow of Nepal’s young and educated population, driven by aspirations for improved economic opportunities.

Every year about half a million people enter in the job market. Due to the limitation of internal labour market capacity to absorb all the new entries a considerable share of the workforce pursues employment opportunities abroad. According to the record of Department of Foreign Employment (DOFE) a total 771,327 (women 72,134) people received labour permit in the fiscal year 2079/80. The Nepalese household economy largely depending on remittance brought by migrants working abroad. As per the annual report of Nepal Rastra Bank, USD 9.33 billion remittance was received in 2022/23. According to the third Nepal Labour Force Survey (2074/75), 71.5 per cent of population are from productive age ranging from 15 to 64 years. The unemployment rate is 11.4 per cent, where 10.3 per cent are men and 13.1 per cent women. Moreover, 36.5 per cent of the labour force works in the formal sector, while the overall labour force participation rate is 38.5 per cent. The national census 2078 indicates that 65.5 per cent of the population of Nepal is economically active, which is an opportunity for Nepal to capitalise on the demographic advantage to foster economic growth and prosperity.

The 2021 census highlights a noteworthy trend, with 32 per cent of the population relocating from their usual places of residence, contributing to demographic shifts. The hill and mountain regions, comprising four-fifths of Nepal’s land area, are witnessing depopulation, while the Terai plains and valleys, covering one-fifth of the land, are accommodating nearly two-thirds of the total population. These demographic changes underscore the need for a comprehensive understanding and policy response to the multifaceted challenges posed by internal migration. Furthermore, climate change has added complexity to migration dynamics.

Nepal’s designation as a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) champion country and its past chairmanship of the Colombo Process, active engagement in several regional and global migration processes demonstrate its commitment to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration for all. However, migration is yet to be fully mainstreamed in the policies of all three tiers of government, and the national development strategy. Migration governance in Nepal is multi-sectoral with the engagement of different ministries. At the moment, respective ministries implement initiatives as part of migration governance, however these lack an overarching comprehensive and harmonized approach to migration for development.

Despite the fact that numerous challenges exist, transition to a federal structure and the devolution of power, clarifying the responsibilities of the three tiers of government to focus on national priorities, enhancing effective inter-governmental coordination to establish harmonised relations in policy development and implementation, the existence of an integrated data management system, the development of skilled and competent human resources to address the demand of the local and international markets, and ensuring the protection and social security of migrants and victims of trafficking are highlighted challenges.

To understand and address the comprehensive migration dynamics, challenge, and harness positive impact of the migration, under the leadership of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, IOM is supporting an initiative to draft a comprehensive National Migration Policy. A technical task force has been formed, consisting of representatives from the government agencies, experts, civil society, and development agencies to collaborate on drafting this policy. This initiative is further to the development of National Labour Migration Policy (under process) that will be part of the comprehensive migration policy of Nepal.

To support the process of drafting the Migration Policy of Nepal, IOM calls for application from the interested individual consultant to support the drafting process and in conducting background studies required. The Consultant will directly report the IOM Nepal Head of Migration and Development Department and work in close coordination with the Under Secretary/focal official for the Migration Policy at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and technical committee.

Core functions / Responsibilities:

Tasks to be performed under this contract;

1. Draft the migration policy within the outline and framework provided following the governments standard, share with technical committee, and get suggestions and feedback.
2. Review migration policies of other countries, analyse policies and implementation gaps and make a recommendation to technical committee.
3. Support in facilitating consultative meetings, draft meeting minutes and update to the technical committee. The travel and related cost will be covered by IOM as per standard practice.
4. Support in reviewing reference documents: relevant international and national policies, framework, SDG indicators, government priorities/programs required for drafting of migration policy.
5. Organizing multi stakeholder policy consultations at province level and prepare reports.
6. Provide support in translations of the policy required.
7. Any other responsibility assigned in relation to drafting of migration policy by MoLESS and IOM.

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results:

Satisfactory completion of the deliverables and final submission will be subject to approval of IOM and MoLESS. Coordination with IOM should be maintained through regular updates on work progress in person and in case either through email or virtual meetings, as needed.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education/ Experience/Skills

• Must be an expert who has completed minimum master’s degree in law and or international law with at least 5 years of relevant professional experience. MPhil and PhD are an added advantage.
• Advanced knowledge of migration and cross cutting issues.
• Solid experience in providing expert support in development of national policies and action plans.
• Sound knowledge and demonstrated capacity in designing the tools and methodology and developing national action plans.
• Demonstrated ability to draw lessons from relevant international, regional and national practices and processes.
• Excellent presentation, oral and written communication skills.
• High level of proficiency in Nepal and English and good analytical, drafting skills.
• Ability to deliver according to specified timeline while maintain quality of the output.
• Strong organizational, analytical and writing skills.
• Knowledge of and or working experiences of Nepal’s federal context and its governance.

Languages

English and Nepali is required. Working knowledge of any other local language is an advantage.

Other:

The consultant must adhere to the IOM Data Protection Principles (IN/138) and maintain confidentiality.

Required Competencies:

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.

How to apply:

Interested Candidates are invited to submit their application referring to this advertisement with CV and three references to the following address: Human Resource Department, International Organization for Migration, P.O. Box 25503, Baluwatar, Kathmandu or email to iomnepaljobs@iom.int by 12 February 2023.