Job Description

Duty Station of the Consultancy: Pretoria, South Africa
Duration of Consultancy: 6 Months
Nature of the consultancy: The consultancy will lead the end-to-end development of national Bilateral Labour Migration Agreement (BLMA) Guidelines for South Africa, grounded in labour-market and skills-gap evidence and aligned with the South Africa's regulatory frameworks and relevant AU/UN standards. Working under the technical oversight of IOM and the Technical Working Group (TWG), the consultant will (i) design and present a detailed methodology and workplan at an inception workshop; (ii) draft practical, rights-respecting guidelines that set out processes for BLMA scoping, negotiation, signature, implementation, and regular monitoring, evaluation, and periodic review; and (iii) convene and incorporate feedback from a multi-stakeholder validation. The guidelines will directly support NLMP implementation and will be field-tested by informing negotiations with a selected partner country, thereby validating the tool and identifying refinements.
Project Context and Scope
South Africa is a key player in regional labour migration, serving as a major destination for migrants from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The country faces significant labour market challenges, including high youth unemployment, gender disparities, and critical skills shortages, exacerbated by the emigration of highly skilled professionals. In response, the government has developed the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and the Employment Services Amendment Bill (ESAB), aiming to strengthen migration governance, regulate recruitment practices, protect migrant workers' rights, and facilitate international employment opportunities for South Africans.
The project aims to contribute to the Government of South Africa's efforts to institutionalize a coordinated, migrant-focused labour migration system that maximizes the benefits of regular migration pathways and protects migrant workers' rights. Central to this assignment is the development of robust BLMA guidelines, which will provide a framework for negotiating contemporary BLMAs with partner countries to address South Africa's current and future labour needs, to ensure ethical recruitment practices, labour migration governance, offering a structured, equitable framework that balances economic needs, migrant rights, and social stability. Robust BLMAs lay the foundation for regional cooperation, lawful migration, and inclusive growth These guidelines will be based on labour market data, skills gap analysis, and aligned with international standards, including those of the African Union (AU), SADC, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and United Nations (UN).
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing
IOM South Africa Sub-regional Office, Project: Global Pathways, Local Impact: Strengthening SOUTH Africa's Labour Migration Systems
Responsibilities
Tasks to be performed under this contract

• First deliverable: Inception Report.

Duration: 15 working days after contracting.
Expected output: the inception report should include a brief literature review, detailed workplan, proposed methodology for conducting the gap analysis and drafting the Guidelines, stakeholder engagement plan outlining how consultations and workshops will be conducted.

• Second deliverable: Gap Analysis Report

Timeline: 30 working days
Expected output: A concise gap analysis report to ensure the BLMA Guidelines respond to South Africa's real labour-market needs and governance constraints. The analysis will analyze gaps related to the following: migration governance context, labour demand-supply and skills, legal and policy, Institutional arrangements and governance processes, and migrant protection and inclusion. The gap analysis report should include a detailed outline of the Guidelines.

• Third deliverable: Draft BLMA Guidelines

Duration: 40 working days
Expected output: A complete draft of the BLMA Guidelines, organized by chapters and annexes, with every clause explicitly traceable to the gap analysis and underlying migration governance/labour-market/skills evidence. The Guidelines should be a practical, end-to-end playbook for South Africa's government. At a minimum, the Guidelines should specify the following dimensions: purpose, scope and users; governance and implementation architecture; state guiding; require an evidence-led gap analysis and partner-country selection with a clear mandate; detail negotiation preparation and strategy; drafting protocols; operationalization of migrant protection and ethical recruitment standards; links labour-market intermediation and skills; mobility facilitation; MEL indicators and reporting; capacity building and change management; and dissemination and public communication. The draft guidelines will be reviewed and approved by IOM technical experts and Government of South Africa officials.

• Fourth Deliverable: Stakeholder Validation Report

Duration: 30 working days
Expected output: IOM and the Government of South Africa will convene a key stakeholders validation workshop to confirm the technical soundness, feasibility, and stakeholder ownership of the draft BLMA Guidelines for South Africa. During the workshop, the consultant will present the methodology, key clauses, and implementation tools; facilitate structured feedback from stakeholders; and align the draft with applicable laws and standards. The expected outputs are a concise Validation Report - capturing agreed changes, unresolved issues, and action points - and a clean set of incorporation inputs (tracked edits and an issues inventory) for integration into the final Guidelines.

• Fifth deliverable: final BLMA Guidelines

Duration: 65 working days
Expected output: A publication-ready Final BLMA Guidelines for South Africa, accompanied by an Implementation Roadmap (roles/RACI, sequencing, budget, capacity plan, MEL indicators, and risk/contingency). The document must include clear traceability to prior deliverables.
Qualifications
Education

• Advanced degree, in Migration Studies, International Relations, Labour Studies, Development Studies, Economics and Public Policy, or related fields.

Experience

• At least 8 years' experience in designing or implementing migration governance modalities, and international labour standards implementation. Proven experience designing or implementing labour-migration/mobility instruments is a distinct advantage.
• Familiarity with South Africa's labour migration context, and Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements.
• Proven track record leading multi-stakeholder processes (government, employers, unions, recruiters, civil society, international partners) and facilitating high-stakes validation/inception workshops.
• Experience translating labour-market and skills data into policy frameworks or programmes.
• Strong writing, research, and analytical skills and stakeholder engagement to support legal/policy drafting and negotiation.
• Facilitation and negotiation skills; diplomacy, consensus-building, and management of sensitive political economy issues.
• Results-based project management

Languages

• Fluent written and spoken English.

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

• Duty station: Pretoria, South Africa
• Domestic travel will be necessary to engage with government officials and other stakeholders as necessary.

Required Competencies
IOM's competency framework can be found at . 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.

Notes * Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, verification of residency, visa, and authorizations by the concerned Government, where applicable.
• IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work.
• IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.
• IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.
• IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM online recruitment system. The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

Skills Required