Recognition of the skills of African migrant workers. Case of Zimbabwe (Consultant)

Result of Service The consultant will deliver the following documents (in electronic format):

- An inception report - An analysis report including : o A country status report o A country policy report

- A final report, along with a guidance document and a capacity building plan

The Consultant's performance will be evaluated on the basis of the following elements

- Punctuality of report submission - Implementation of the capacity building plan - Alignment with the objectives and methodology as outlined in the TOR - Produce quality reports, as evidenced by the comments received. All work must be the Consultant's own work, with citations of authors and data sources

The Consultant shall provide ECA with all databases (preferably in Excel format), figures, presentations All deliverables should be written in English.

Work Location Zimbabwe

Expected duration The consultant will be hired for a period of 4 months starting on the signature of the contract

Duties and Responsibilities I- BACKGROUND

The policy debate on migration to, from and within Africa needs to be anchored on evidence. For example, illegal migration to Europe represents a small fraction of all African migrations within and from the continent and there is relative neglect of legal migration (representing about 90 percent of total extra-continental migration), intra-African migrations representing approximately 70 percent of African migratory flows are just among the most conspicuous evidence-based observations for policy interventions. Negative stereotyping and misperception of migration in Africa is fed, in part, by a lack of reliable data and information about migration levels and trends, local, national and international drivers of migration, migration impacts and the profiles of migrants. The Economic Commission for Africa in collaboration with UNDESA and ILO will implement the project to build capacity among member States to develop evidence-based migration policies and programmes in line with the regional protocols and frameworks on migration, including the African Union Convention on Cross Border Cooperation (Niamey Convention); the African Union Border Programme and Measures for its Consolidation; the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa; the African Common Position on Migration and Development; the Declaration on Migration; the Joint Labour Migration Programme; the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) agreement; and the Protocol on Free Movement of People and Goods and the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration that was adopted in December 2018 in Morocco calls upon regional economic commissions to support Member States in the review, follow-up and implementation of the Compact. The project will build on the work undertaken during the regional consultations in Africa for the Global Compact led by ECA, by strengthening national capacities to: “…facilitate mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences” (Objective 18 of the Global Compact). The project will also build on the existing initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Union Protocol for the Free Movement of Persons that focus on free movement of people, goods and services across the continent.

II- PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

The Economic Commission for Africa - ECA together with UNDESA and ILO will implement a project to increase capacity among member States to develop evidence-based migration policies and programmes in line with the regional protocols and frameworks on migration (including the African Union Convention on Cross Border Cooperation (Niamey Convention); the African Union Border Programme and Measures for its Consolidation; the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa; the African Common Position on Migration and Development; the Declaration on Migration; the Joint Labour Migration Programme; the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) agreement; and the Protocol on Free Movement of People and Goods) and the GCM and the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The project seeks to strengthen capacities of selected countries to collect, analyse and disseminate standardized migration-related data and enhance mutual recognition of skills and qualifications of African workers for implementing the migration-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Migration. The project will pay a special attention to capture and consider gender-specific migration trends and statistics. The 6 countries selected – Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Morocco, Zimbabwe and South Africa- were based on (i) linguistic and sub-regional representation from Africa; (ii) a distribution among countries of origin, transit or destination; (iii) based on country demand; (iv) express both intra-African and extra-continental migratory flows; (v) country support in the High level Panel on Migration - HLPM and technical meetings; (vi) relevance for implementation of the two main outcomes (OCs) of this project. The project is to be implemented in 2020-2023 in partnership with ILO, UNDESA, IOM, UN Resident Coordinators in respective countries. The project will: (i) develop informed understanding among key senior-level government officials of the contribution of migration to economic growth and reduction of poverty and vulnerability; (ii) enhance capacities of member States to monitor and report on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and regular Migration. To achieve these objectives, the project will: i) organize a series of national/regional meetings and training workshops to generate/share knowledge and identify data gaps and challenges in sustaining and enhancing the effectiveness of migration and labour policies; (ii) develop a set of guidelines to assist countries to better monitor migration and enable policy-makers to adopt appropriate policies to harness migration for development; III) organize a high-level regional conference to foster policy dialogue, share experiences and disseminate key results on migration policies so as to increase investment in social protection.

III- Consultant's Mission objectives and Tasks description

Under the direct supervision of the Program Manager and the overall supervision of the Senior Economic Affairs Officer, the consultant will :

i. Conduct a review of national labor migration policies and flagship international, regional, and bilateral agreements to which the country is committed, including agreements promoting the free movement of persons and mutual recognition of diplomas, and assess the degree of implementation of these international, regional, and bilateral agreements at the national policy level, with a focus on the GMP, AU Agenda 2063, and the UN SDGs. ii. Conduct an assessment of national, institutional and legal frameworks related to labor migration and specifically those related to skills recognition. This assessment should cover all key ministries and institutions involved in the issue of skills portability and recognition. This assessment will address laws, legal texts, notes, etc. Particular attention will be paid to implemented practices (circulars, etc.) iii. Identify challenges in the processes, tools and methods of skills recognition at the national level and propose ways to improve these policies at the national, sub-regional and continental levels. iv. Prepare an analysis of existing agreements between countries promoting the free movement of persons, including good practices in mutual recognition of qualifications, with a focus on existing mutual recognition arrangements between selected countries. v. Analyze the certification frameworks adopted at the national level, with a view to developing an African framework for certification. vi. Conduct a country situation analysis on the availability and quality of data and statistics on labor migration, including relevant recommendations to improve the ecosystem of statistics and data on labor migration. vii. Propose procedures and strategies to ensure the portability of migrant workers' skills viii. Identify capacity building needs of national stakeholders to improve the skills recognition system. ix. Assess the impact of COVID-19 on national capacities for data management processes on labor mobility and skills portability x. Participate in project-related national, regional and subregional discussions and workshops, and act as a resource person in the work on labor migration,

IV- EXPECTED RESULTS :

The main deliverables of the consultant's assignment are: The establishment of a working group made up of the national actors of the project and involved in the implementation of the project

a- The preparation of an initial report framing, among other things, the undertaken work, the conceptual framework, the methodology, the work plan and the annotated outline of the report (R1) b- The preparation of a synthesis report including : (R2) a- A country status report on : - Statistics on labor migration and skills transferability data and their analysis - National institutional and legal frameworks related to labor migration and precisely regarding skills recognition and practices b- A country policy report on : - National labor migration policies and key international, regional and bilateral agreements to which the country is committed, including agreements promoting the free movement of persons and mutual recognition of diplomas (GPA, AU Agenda 2063, SDGs, etc.) - The degree of implementation of these international, regional and bilateral agreements

At this stage of reflection, the limits relating to the issue of recognition of the skills of African workers will be identified by all stakeholders. c- Preparation of a final report (R4) and policy paper on labor migration and skills recognition based on the synthesis report:

- Addressing the issue of good practices - Suggesting recommendations and ways to improve legislation and practices on the issue of skills recognition. - Evaluating the impact of Covid 19

d- Design and implement a capacity building plan on the recognition of competences for the benefit of the national actors concerned by this issue at the level of the different ministerial departments and other organizations.

e- Substantial support to the various workshops for presentation and validation of the work:

- Substantive contributions to the scoping notes and programs of the validation workshops - PowerPoint presentations during the scheduled workshops

f- Other expected results:

- Solid and concrete action-oriented conclusions and recommendations based on the results of the study. - Methodology and tools to take advantage of interconnections and promote implementation and complementary approaches, and related capacity building needs;

V- DURATION AND DEADLINES OF THE MISSION

The ECA organizes a meeting with the Consultant - 2 days after signing the contract The consultant presents to the ECA the composition of the working group which should be made up of the national governmental actors concerned and the project partners - 2 weeks after signing the contract The consultant submits to ECA an initial inception report (R1) detailing the conceptualization of the assignment that strongly demonstrates a clear understanding and interpretation of the objectives and tasks; and includes a conceptual framework; methodology, including data and information collection and analysis methodology; and an annotated report outline and work plan - 3 weeks after signing the contract First workshop : An inception workshop is organized to discuss the inception report, with the participation of national stakeholders and project partners - 4 weeks after signing the contract The consultant submits the initial inception report based on the comments and input provided by the participants at the inception report review meeting - 4 and half weeks after signing the contract The consultant submits the analysis report including the country status report and the country policy report (R2) - 8 weeks after signing the contract Second workshop: to review the report R2 with the participation of national stakeholders and project partners - 9 weeks after signing the contract The consultant submits the final report (R4) and the capacity building plan - 13 weeks after signing the contract Third workshop: presentation for review of the final report and capacity building plan with the participation of national stakeholders and project partners - 14 weeks after signing the contract The Consultant implement the capacity building taking into account comments and recommendations from the review - 15-16 weeks after signing the contract

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: A post-graduate degree (at least a Master's degree, MBA or equivalent) in political science, social science (Statistics, Development, Economics, Sociology, Demography, Population Studies, Migration, etc.) or any related field is required. A PhD in the same fields is an advantage Experience: At least 5 years of proven experience in issues related to migration in Africa and development withIN national migration agencies or national government institutions is required. Experience with the normative and/or operational work of the AU and the UN development system in Africa is highly desirable Language: English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this consultancy, fuency in both English and French is required.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.