Consultancy to Support the Implementation of SADC Roadmap Towards Migration Data Harmonization At International Organization for Migration

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – CFA/ROSA2023-01

Position Title: Consultancy to Support the Implementation of SADC Roadmap Towards Migration Data Harmonization – Development of harmonized data collection instruments to support disaggregated migration data collection

Duty Station: Remote/Desk-based

Type of Appointment: IndividualConsultant (IC)

Closing Date: 12 February 2023

Estimated Start Date: March 2023

Duration 30 days within the period of March 2023- July 2023

1. Project Context and Scope:

The need for timely and reliable data to inform migration policies and programming within Southern Africa has been highlighted by Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) including in the context of the 2017 and 2019 Ministerial Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA). Furthermore, in June 2020, the Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) of SADC endorsed the Concept Paper for the development of the Regional Migration Information Management System which proposed the development of a Roadmap towards the Harmonization of Migration Data Management in the SADC region. The roadmap was developed and endorsed by SADC statutory body in July 2021 and includes technical and strategic recommendations aimed at facilitating work and cooperation among the 16 SADC Member States in the following areas: data definitions; data collection and storage; data quality, processing and analysis; accessibility and exchange of data; data dissemination and advocacy on migration; and data governance and coordination mechanisms.

The goal of the Harmonization process is to ensure data comparability across Member States, thereby enhancing the capacity of relevant stakeholders to capitalize on migration’s development potential, in view of reporting progress on commitments made in the context of global and regional processes such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), and other regional consultative processes. The full Roadmap proposal outlined recommended joint actions by both IOM and SADC, as well as the proposed Harmonization Plan of Action to be assessed and discussed by SADC Member States.

The first steps of the Roadmap were implemented with a specific focus on activities aimed at strengthening the regional and national migration data governance and harmonized approach for migration data definitions including the migration data mechanism and approaches. A report outlining the guidelines for the definition of migration variables, the mechanism for access to and exchange of migration data, and the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the role of National and Regional Coordination Groups was adopted by SADC at technical level in May 2022 and at a statutory level in July 2022.

To better support governments and partners to strengthen the evidence base on migration, IOM, in partnership with the SADC Member States and key stakeholders, established the Regional Migration Data Hub (RMDHub) for Southern Africa, to generate information on migration through data collection, collation and analysis of migration trends, to help advance migration policies at the national and regional levels.

In light of the above and the key recommendations to strengthen migration data governance in the region in view of the endorsed and initial implementation of the harmonization roadmap for migration data in the region, IOM is looking for a consultant to develop harmonized statistical tools to assist both SADC Secretariat and its Member States to collect, validate, produce and disseminate migration statistics. This is the next step to be implemented to move in the ultimate objective of harmonizing migration data in SADC region. The data collection tools shall be primarily used for capacity building and for implementation at Member States level.

1. Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing: (including Project Name and Code)

The overall objective of the proposed IOM MIRAC-funded Consultancy is to “contribute to strengthened migration management through better understanding of migration trends as well as enhanced data governance and capacity at national and regional level.” This objective will be achieved by ensuring timely and reliable disaggregated data on migratory trends and patterns published by the RMDHub are utilized to inform policies, frameworks, and programming in the Southern Africa region.

1. Core Functions / Responsibilities:
2. In coordination with the SADC Statistics Unit, the Member States and IOM, lead the development of practical harmonized data collection instruments in line with the regional and international instruments to support collection of disaggregated migration statistics.
3. Assess and recommend data sources such as census, existing surveys for the collection of data;
4. Draft harmonized data collection instrument;
5. Draft questionnaires or other appropriate mechanisms to capture current state of data collection tools available and administered by Member States and the current state of migration data collection tools in Member States;
6. Conduct desk review and key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders on existing institutional arrangements, data collection methods and techniques in use by Member States and regional actors.
7. Prepare relevant background documents on the practical guidelines to be circulated to the Member States.
8. In coordination with the SADC Secretariat, support the organization of regional technical workshop for the presentation and validation of the harmonized data collection instruments for implementation by the Member States.
9. Based on inputs received in technical workshop, incorporate any changes into practical harmonized data collection instruments and draft workshop report(s) including concrete recommendations on operationalization of the national and regional coordination mechanisms.
10. Deliverables:

• Inception report describing approach, methodology, assumptions, risks and related to ensure successful delivery of the assignment.
• Draft practical harmonized data collection instruments with metadata and guidelines for use by Secretariat and by migration statistics experts.
• Detailed Questionnaire to capture Member States current data collection tools and institutional arrangements for migration statistics.
• Concept Note and Agenda for the Regional Validation Workshop.
• Present the tool at the Regional Validation workshop and develop the workshop report including national practices in migration statistics data collection instruments available Revised practical harmonized data collection instruments with metadata and guidelines for use by Secretariat and by migration statistics expert taking SADC/IOM and workshop recommendations.

1. Evaluation Criteria

Prospective consultants will be evaluated for suitability to undertake the task based on the following criteria

Criteria Points

Education and Training 20

Specific Skills 50

General Skills 10

Facilitation Skills 20

1. Management Arrangements and Conduct of Work
2. The SADC Statistics at the SADC Secretariat will be responsible for overall execution of the consultancy, with technical support from IOM under the overall guidance of the RMDHub Coordinator and in close coordination with the Regional Research Officer and the relevant IOM’s Regional Thematic Specialists.
3. The consultant will be expected to work from his or her own offices and to use his/her own facilities
4. The consultant will be home-based and regular travels for consultations and facilitation of workshops may be required.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation

The consultant will be required to ensure reporting against measurable indicators. These indicators should reflect the consultant’s commitment to delivering quality outputs in a timely manner, aligned to the agreed deliverables as proposed.

1. Remuneration and Payment Schedule

The Consultant will require 30 working days, spread over the period March 2023- July 2023. The breakdown of consultancy will be paid as follow:

S/N Deliverables Consultancy fee due

1. Inception Report 25%
2. Draft practical harmonized guidelines for disaggregated migration statistics including questionnaire, Concept Note and Programme for workshop 50%
3. Regional Validation workshop and revised practical harmonized guidelines 25%
4. Required Qualifications and Experience

Education and Experience

1. Master’s degree in Statistics, migration studies, development studies, demography, or related field.
2. The candidate must have significant experience in the topic of developing and implementing data collection instruments, preferably in migration statistics at national level. Experience in Southern Africa Region is an advantage.
3. Experience in census and household survey sampling and weighting, methodology, questionnaire design, analysis and reporting of data.
4. A minimum of 10 years of experience on migration data.
5. The candidate must a have former experience with working with National Statistics Offices and in facilitating high-level multistakeholder capacity building workshops with government officials.
6. Previous knowledge and/or engagement on regional migration data harmonization processes is a distinct advantage.
7. Languages

Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in any language of the region is an advantage.

1. Travel required

The consultant will be home-based and regular travels for consultations and facilitation of workshops may be required.

1. Required Competencies and Values

• Inclusion and respect for diversity encourages the inclusion of all team members and stakeholders while demonstrating the ability to work constructively with people with different backgrounds and orientations.
• Integrity and transparency: maintain impartiality and takes prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour.
• Professionalism: demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter and willingness to improve knowledge and skills.

1. Core Competencies

• Teamwork: establishes strong relationships with colleagues and partners; relates well to people at all levels.
• Delivering results: produces quality results and provides quality services to clients.
• Managing and sharing knowledge: shares knowledge and learning willingly, and proactively seeks to learn from the experiences of others.
• Accountability: operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules.
• Communication: encourages others to share their views, using active listening to demonstrate openness and to build understanding of different perspectives.

1. Other

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment.