Programme Officer (Labour Migration) at the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) – 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. 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Programme Officer (Labour Migration)

Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Classification: Professional Staff, Grade P2
Type of Appointment: Special short-term graded, six months with possibility of extension Estimated Start Date: As soon as possible

Context

• The African Union (AU)-International Labour Organization (ILO)-International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Joint Programme on Labour Migration Governance for Development and Integration (the Joint Labour Migration Programme (JLMP) in Africa is a long-term joint undertaking between the four organizations, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is the instrument dedicated to the implementation of the 5th Key Priority Area of the Declaration and Plan of Action on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development which were adopted by the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments (AU/Assembly/AU/20(XXIV)/Annex 3, January 2015) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 2015. Its strategy is focused on intra-African labour migration. It is in line with and supports the achievement of the First 2023 Ten Year Plan of the AU Agenda 2063 and of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recently adopted by the UN. The Programme conducts coordinated and simultaneous interventions across two main thematic areas: governance and operational implementation.
• The governance component addresses the critical need to develop in concert the four cardinal pillars of labour migration governance: law based on international labour standards, establishing viable and coherent policy, strengthening core institutions, and engaging a whole society approach stakeholders including World of Work actors (Ministries of Labour, and employers and workers’ organizations) relevant Ministries, diaspora associations, migration organizations and associations, academia, among others and cooperation among the main employment and labour market economic actors at the national, regional and international levels.
• The operational implementation component covers key inter-dependent technical operational areas: decent work and social protection for migrant workers and their families, addressing the key constraint of skills shortages, and obtaining essential data and knowledge for governance of labour migration and protection of migrants. Each of these reflects a specific area of standards and policy and technical competences, addresses distinct institutions and constellations of stakeholders, and each intersects with different international actors and distinct migration employment and labour market structures.
• In order to have a significant yet realistic take-off of the Programme a three-year project was developed with the overall objective to improve the governance of labour migration to achieve safer, orderly and regular migration in Africa as committed in relevant frameworks of the AU and Regional Economic Commissions (RECs), as well as international human rights and labour conventions and other cooperation processes. In order to achieve the overall goal this three year programme stands on four main strategic pillars: Enhance effectiveness and transparency of operations of labour migration stakeholders, such as migration authorities, labour market actors and institutions, in consultations and cooperation with private sector and civil society organizations, in delivering improved labour migration governance services; Improve policy and regulatory systems on labour migration at Member state and REC levels, taking into account the gender dimension; Multi stakeholder policy consultation and practical coordination on labour migration and mobility to provide advisory support to MSs’, AU’s and RECs’ decision makers and continental and regional operational leadership; and Capacity to spearhead/steer coordinate the implementation of the JLMP at all levels.
• Under the overall guidance of the IOM Special Liaison Office in Ethiopia Chief of Mission, the administrative supervision of the IOM Chief of Mission, Nigeria as relevant, and in regular technical oversight of the JLMP Programme Coordinators at the African Union Commission (AUC) and IOM in coordination with the Director of Social Sectors at the East African Community (EAC), Secretariat, and in close cooperation with the Programme Steering Committee, the successful candidate will be responsible for assisting with the coordination and implementation of the Programme.

Core Functions / Responsibilities

• Act as JLMP Priority Project Coordinator and focal point in coordinating and streamlining JLMP Priority Project interventions to the overall JLMP at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
• Facilitate the timely implementation of the JLMP Priority Project in the ECOWAS region in accordance with the planned activities in the workplan.
• Attend expert meetings and relevant consultative forums at the ECOWAS and work to increase awareness about the JLMP.
• Provide substantive support for communication, report writing and resource mobilization to relevant institutions at the ECOWAS and MS level on Labour Migration Issues.
• Assist in strengthening and support the ECOWAS migration programme portfolio in the operationalization of the ECOWAS Migration Policy Framework at regional and national level.
• Strengthen linkages and coordination of the JLMP Programme with other thematic areas, units and specialized institutions within the ECOWAS and its development partners on issues related to labour migration.
• Maintain good working relationships with key interlocutors engaged with migration policy issues within and beyond ECOWAS.
• Conduct preliminary Labour Migration policy analysis and development at the ECOWAS and MS level and assist in managing the JLMP programme, its implementation, and its Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).
• Provide assistance to decision makers at ECOWAS and the MS level for the adoption and mainstreaming of JLMP activities and initiatives through relevant policy organs.
• Enhance coordination between ECOWAS, AUC, the AUC Project Support Unit (PSU) and the JLMP Implementing Partners.
• Provide recommendations to improve regular labour migration management in the region.
• Coordinate the Labour Migration and Social Protection Working Groups of the Social Dialogue Forum.
• Work to promote engagement with a broad spectrum of labour migration actors within and beyond the ECOWAS region.
• Act as the ECOWAS M&E focal person monitoring Programme implementation as stipulated in the M&E framework.
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Required Qualifications and Experience
Education:

• Master’s degree in Development Economics, Political Science, Business Administration, Project Management, Public Administration / Management 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:

• Proven ability to establish and maintain strong working relations with relevant Government and Non-Governmental counterparts, international organizations, civil society or private sector entities;
• Familiarity with the Labour migration aspects, Labor migration policy and legal frameworks;
• Proven knowledge and experience on project management, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting;
• Experience in budget formulation, financial and financial management and administration;
• Experience in developing and maintaining partnerships with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners; and
• Excellent command of office software, such as MS Office, spreadsheets, databases.
• Familiarity with the AU-ILO-IOM-ECA Joint Programme on Labour Migration Governance for Development and Integration (better known as the Joint Labour Migration Programme or JLMP) in Africa;
• Capacity to provide technical advice in the area of labour, employment and labour migration, labour market information systems, as well as on AU Policy Organs relevant for the project implementation, policy oversight and monitoring (Specialized Technical Committee on Social Development, Labour and Employment, Executive Council, Assembly of Heads of States and Government, Pan African parliament, etc.);
• Knowledge of, and ability to perform a variety of conceptual analyses in the field of the project;
• Experience in working with the RECs, IOM, ECA, ILO and EU on the fields of labour, employment, social protection, labour migration and labour market information systems;
• Working experience and collaboration with continental and regional social partners’ organizations (Business Africa, Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Africa); M&E, follow-up on employment, labour and social protection policy frameworks, including MS, RECs and international partners;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment.
• Problem solving capability;
• Ability to prepare high quality and technically sound reports.

Languages:

• IOM’s official languages are English, French and Spanish.
• For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish is an advantage.
• 1 Accredited Universities are the ones listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database (https://whed.net/home.php).

Required Competencies:

• 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 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 level 2:

• 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.

Managerial Competencies – behavioural indicators level 2:

• Leadership: provides a clear sense of direction, leads by example and demonstrates the ability to carry out the organization’s vision; assists others to realize and develop their potential.
• Empowering others & building trust: creates an atmosphere of trust and an enabling environment where staff can contribute their best and develop their potential.
• Strategic thinking and vision: works strategically to realize the Organization’s goals and communicates a clear strategic direction.
• IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link: https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/about-iom/iom_revised_competency_framework_external.pdf
• Competencies will be assessed during a competency-based interview.

Other:

• Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile.
• Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.
• This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations. Recommended candidates will remain eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.
• The list of NMS countries above includes all IOM Member States which are non-represented in the Professional Category of staff members. For this staff category, candidates who are nationals of the duty station’s country cannot be considered eligible.
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

Application Closing Date
20th February, 2020.