National Consultant on Migration Profile and PoE Assessment

CONSULTANCY NOTICE

(Open to national candidates)

1. Background and Rationale

A.           Migration Profiles are country-owned tools, prepared in consultation with a broader range of government and non-government stakeholders, which can be used to enhance policy coherence evidence-based policy making and the mainstreaming of migration into development planning.

To build a comprehensive people centred policy to address migration from Viet Nam, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the lead in the development of the Viet Nam Migration Profile in 2016, with financial and technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Viet Nam Migration Profile 2016 was based on the successful Review of Vietnamese Migration Abroad report released in 2011. Both reports provided an overview on international migration from Viet Nam and contributed to the development of a comprehensive migration policy suitable to the context and specific features of Viet Nam.

The relationship between migration and development, as well as the reasons for migration and the challenges faced during the migration process, were presented in detail throughout the report in 2016, based on an analysis of information and data provided by relevant Government agencies and branches of Vietnamese Government covering the period 2012–2016.

Managing safe, orderly, and regular migration is a high policy priority of the Vietnamese Government, therefore a new and updated analysis is needed on recent and current migration trends, including the social and economic benefits, as well as impacts migration has on socio-economic development and governance in Viet Nam.

B.           Migration is an increasingly important economic lifeline and a factor driving social mobility for families in Viet Nam. While destination countries for Cambodian and Vietnamese migrant workers differ, both countries are sending migrant workers abroad both through formal and informal recruitment channels. As such, the two sending countries share some commonality on migration drivers, recruitment, migration costs, indebtedness, protection issues, access to essential health and social services (such as maternal and reproductive health), impact of COVID-19 on cross-border mobility, and return.  The informal recruitment channels also cover more informal arrangements with neighbouring countries that facilitate the movement of seasonal workers and small-scale traders who traverse the land borders on daily, weekly, and monthly basis. These movements are not always captured and recorded in national border management systems. On the governance side, border authorities, customs and health officials are still yet to adapt to new standard operating procedures that will allow them to safely resume border operations and maintain a high level of efficiency, security (both health and national) while maximizing benefits (trade, tourism, business). However, there is a general lack of disaggregated data to facilitate evidence-based decision making by the authorities in Viet Nam with regards to resuming operations at the Port of Entry (POE).

2. Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is two-fold: i) To draft and complete a quality Viet Nam Migration Profile; and ii) To conduct a Port of Entry (POE) risk assessment at land border between Viet Nam and Cambodia.

3. Scope of work

The consultant will be responsible for two tasks: a) Development of Viet Nam’s Migration Profile; and b) Conduct an assessment at POEs along Viet Nam – Cambodia border in relation to risk factors and potential hazards to transmission of COVID-19.

a.       Development of Viet Nam’s Migration Profile

The consultant will be responsible for guiding data collection and analysis, drafting and finalizing the Migration Profile in consultation with Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CD-MOFA) and IOM. The consultant will also provide technical guidance and inputs for the meetings of the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG)[1] as well.

Key activities which the consultant will be involved with include:

• Participate in regular meetings of the IAWG to provide inputs to the project;
• Conduct a mapping of migration data sources and stakeholders, including an overview of available data and data quality;
• Prepare guidelines and technical advice on the process of data collection; support the team in collecting data;
• Identify new types of data that have not yet been collected or analysed, and suggest sources and methodologies for generating this evidence (e.g. migration and development, gender-disaggregated data, returned migration, destinations countries, Brain drain/gain, Health, Education, etc.).
• Collect additional data where deemed appropriate.
• Consolidate the past five years (2017-2021) of data on migratory stocks and flows to/and from Viet Nam in a concise and internationally compatible way;
• Carry out a comprehensive and objective analysis of data to assess the trends, characteristics and impacts of migration on Viet Nam’s socio-economic development;
• Draft Migration Profile report that:
  
  • Provides comprehensive and objective analysis of migration trends, characteristics and impacts (both positive and negative) on Viet Nam’s social and economic development;
  • Assesses existing migration related policy and legislation, including any administration and statistical framework for migration management, as well as its coherence with broader development goals in Viet Nam;
  • Gives specific policy briefs and policy recommendations; and
  • Provides review of international cooperation on migration and the direction of further collaborative work and support.
• Attend consultation meetings to finalize the Migration Profile;
• Finalize the Migration Profile report and submit to the project management;
• Support CD-MOFA and IOM in project activities related to the Migration Profile. 

b.       Port of Entry Risk Assessment

The consultant will be responsible for carrying out an assessment at POEs along Viet Nam - Cambodia land border to identify existing risk factors and potential hazards to transmission of COVID-19 and recommend appropriate mitigation measures to prevent transmission of COVID-19 or other viruses during the medical and immigration clearance procedures to manage safely the local and international travellers crossing the POEs. In consultation with the project team and the Inter-Agency Working Group and using the developed assessment questionnaire, the consultant will conduct the following list of task:

• Carry out a desk review focusing on a stakeholder analysis and collecting situational data and information from relevant agencies and documents including previous assessment reports, Government data, relevant policy and guidance related to the POE and border health compliance;
• Adapt the already developed multisectoral questionnaire to be used to assess each POE following the situational assessment of the desk review;
• Conduct field visits, together with the project team, to 5 POEs[2] to have key informants discussions with officials from Health Quarantine Office, Immigration Office, Customs officers, and Border police/guards usingsemi-structured and in-depth interviews;
• Conduct consultations with POE officials, in-depth interviews with frontline officers, and observations at POEs;
• Do analysis and prepare preliminary assessment report;
• Participate at a validation workshop to present preliminary assessment report findings, and revise the report as necessary;
• Finalize the assessment report and submit to the project management;
• Attend the joint cross-border workshop to present findings of the assessment;
• Develop and finalize recommendations for policy and procedures for managing cross-border migration between Cambodia and Viet Nam, for government validation and endorsement.

4. Tangible and measurable output of the work assignment

• The draft data sources mapping plan, guidelines and tools are finalized to ensure a comprehensive collection of data and data sources in relation to international migration in Viet Nam;
• Guidelines and technical advice on the data collection and National Migration Profile development process are in place to ensure quality;
• Draft and final version of Migration Profile are refined and finalized by April 2023[3] consolidating inputs of the teams from IOM, Consular Department, IAWG and other stakeholders;
• Draft POEs assessment report is available and presented at IAWG meetings for consultation and inputs before finalization in March 2023;
• Draft recommendations for policy and procedures for managing cross-border migration between Cambodia and Viet Nam in May 2023.

5. Delivery dates and details as to how the work must be delivered

The consultancy work is intermittent from July 2022 to June 2023[4].

6. Consultancy management and administration support

The consultant will report to the IOM Project Manager as well as the Project Manager from CD-MOFA. The consultant will provide monthly progress reports to the IOM Project Manager.

The consultants will liaise with the CD-MOFA’s officials, IOM’s relevant staff members, and the IAWG members in all the activities required in the consultancy.

The consultant will receive necessary technical and administrative support from CD-MOFA and IOM project team

7. Qualifications

Essential

• Master’s degree in international development, international relations, policy management, development economics, etc.
• At least 7-10 years of professional experience in the area of international migration and migration policies, migration and development;
• Considerable expertise in research and publications, excellent skills in data collection and writing report;
• Substantial consultancy experience with a record of providing high-quality and expert advice;

Desirable

• Understanding migration situation, especially international migration of Viet Nam and immigration and border management;
• Experience in working with the Vietnamese government system;
• Facilitation and presentation skills in a cross-cultural setting;
• Understanding on gender issues in migration and gender analysis.

How to apply:

Completed applications, including cover letter, CV and copies of diplomas and certificates and proposal may be delivered to the IOM Mission Office in Hanoi at 304 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh District, Ha Noi or submitted electronically to [email protected] referring to this Consultancy Notice’s Position Title.

Applications are non-returnable and only short-listed candidates will be contacted.