Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Migrant women and gender non-conforming migrants are at increased risk of human and labour rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, harassment and abuse, and exploitative working conditions at all stages of labour migration, and often lack information that would support them in making informed decisions and subsequently how to migrate safely and access protection services and assistance. The limited information they may have tends to be derived from personal social networks and may not reflect the harsh realities that women and girls and LGBTIQ+ migrants are often confronted with during the migration process. In order to ensure that their migration experience is safe, it is critical that orientation programmes effectively mainstream gender equality considerations. This requires that training manuals, materials and tools are specifically designed to inform migrant women and girls and gender non-conforming migrants about safe migration, their rights and responsibilities, and the gendered risks and challenges during the different stages of migration. Furthermore, orientation programmes have the potential to engage men and boys through gender transformative approaches. Training manuals can be designed to change attitudes and behaviours related to gender, including with regards to sexual and reproductive health and parenting.

In order to address this challenge, UN Women and IOM will jointly develop a global guidance document on how to mainstream gender equality into comprehensive information and orientation programming.

This guidance document will be produced as part of UN Women’s “Making Migration Safe for Women” programme which seeks to ensure that migration is safe for women migrating from, into and through Niger, and that international norms and standards for protecting and promoting migrant women’s rights are strengthened, and as part of IOM’s “Comprehensive Information and Orientation Programme (CIOP)” approach. The CIOP approach aims to support stakeholders in developing and effectively managing practical and tailored orientation programmes throughout the labour migration cycle. These programmes seek to be harmonized among countries of origin, transit and destination; responsive to different learning and information needs; and rooted in a multi-stakeholder approach. The four main CIOP points include the following:

1. Pre-Employment Orientation (PEO): Equips prospective migrant workers with information to support well-informed decision-making processes on foreign employment and provide accurate information on safe and ethical recruitment.
2. Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO): Supports outgoing migrant workers to ensure their departure process is safe while also providing information on the upcoming journey, adjustment period and how to access support and assistance.
3. Post-Arrival Orientation (PAO): Provides newly arrived migrant workers in the country of destination with information regarding national labour laws, sociocultural norms and practices, workplace expectations and good conduct.
4. Pre-Return Orientation (PRO): Helps prepare returning migrant workers before leaving the country of destination, with useful information to support their access to social protection schemes, skills development opportunities and related resources.

This joint knowledge product aims to provide concrete guidance on how to design gender-responsive and inclusive training manuals and materials to ensure that the development and implementation of orientations mainstream a gender perspective and address the specific needs, challenges and situations specifically of women and gender non-conforming migrants. Given the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that many migrants face at all stages of migration, the guidance document will take an intersectional approach. The guidance document will outline all the essential information that women and gender non-confirming people require for undertaking safe migration, living and working abroad, and returning and reintegration, free from discrimination, exploitation and abuse. The guidance document should also cover the following topics in a gender-responsive manner: conflict management and negotiation skills, understanding and analyzing work contracts, documenting and reporting rights violations and how to access help and services, including essential services for survivors of GBV and consular services, as well as practical information such as on housing and transport.  

The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a global guidance for comprehensive information and orientation programming which will discuss how to mainstream gender equality into new or existing programmes.

The consultant will receive overall supervision by and report to the UN Women Making Migration Safe Global Coordinator with additional support provided by the IOM Head of Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion. Both UN Women and IOM will review and provide feedback on the deliverables.

Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

• Develop the global guidance for integrating gender equality into comprehensive information and orientation programming for migrants building on the available literature

Deliverables:

• Develop an outline and workplan for developing the global guidance for integrating gender equality into comprehensive information and orientation programming for migrants
• Carry out a literature review and background research
• Draft the global guidance for integrating gender equality into comprehensive information and orientation programming for migrants, which includes two rounds of feedback.

The consultant will draft all the documents in English, using the appropriate design and lay-out, and submitted to UN Women and IOM in digital copies and revised as necessary. The design, translation and publication of all the documents will be the responsibility of UN Women and IOM.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Required Skills and Experience

Required Qualifications, Experience and skills:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Gender Studies, Migration, Social Sciences, or a related field is required; 
• At least seven years of technical experience on addressing the linkages between gender and migration, including intersectional forms of discrimination
• A proven track record of developing training manuals/ materials on migration preferably with a focus on gender equality issues; working experience within the migration sector (including skills development, recruitment process, and migration governance) is required;
• Familiarity with pre-departure trainings of aspirant migrants is required;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.
• Experience working with the UN system an asset

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency in another UN language is an asset but not required for this consultancy.