Introduction
Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.
Project Context and Scope
Legal Identity is relevant to a broad range of IOM programmatic areas and constitutes a cross-cutting theme integrated into IOM’s mandate and programmes.
At the 110th Council in 2019, IOM’s Director General announced the intention to develop an institutional approach to legal identity, document management, and civil registration. This commitment led to the development of the IOM Institutional Legal Identity Strategy, which provides a coherent framework to guide IOM’s engagement on legal identity, strengthen programmatic coherence across sectors, and support Member States in advancing inclusive and rights-based legal identity systems. Since the adoption of the Strategy, the global migration landscape, institutional priorities, and Member States’ needs have evolved significantly. Most notably, the adoption of the IOM Strategic Plan 2024-2028 has reaffirmed legal identity as a strategic priority and a critical enabler of safe migration, protection, and sustainable development outcomes. The Strategic Plan recognizes that access to legal identity and documentation is essential for migrants to exercise their rights, access services, regularize their status, and pursue safe and regular migration pathways. It further highlights IOM’s role in supporting Member States to strengthen civil registration systems, identity management frameworks, and consular services in a manner that is inclusive, rights-based and responsive to mobility dynamics.
The Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) is a strategic cooperation between IOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currently in its second phase, COMPASS is a multi-year, multi-region programme that contributes to strengthened migration governance systems and multistakeholder cooperation. It also supports services that facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration while protecting and upholding the rights of migrants. COMPASS operates across four regions—Asia and the Pacific, East, Horn, Southern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and West and Central Africa, characterized by mixed migration patterns and movements driven by a multitude of interconnected drivers.
It contributes to strengthening migration governance and IOM’s operational capacities in 14 countries spanning these regions: Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tunisia. Legal Identity is one of the priority areas of the COMPASS programme, and the programme has supported the implementation of the Legal Identity Strategy across COMPASS programme countries and at the global level. [JK2.1][BA2.2]In line with the Strategy, COMPASS has focused on three complementary areas of work: developing practical tools and guidance on legal identity, enhancing skills and knowledge of a variety of stakeholders through capacity-building and learning, and fostering convening and dialogue to strengthen collaboration, partnerships, and policy engagement on legal identity.
Building on the experience gained since the adoption of the Legal Identity Institutional Strategy, there is a need to take stock of its implementation, capture lessons learned, and update its strategic direction to reflect IOM’s evolving mandate, operational experience, institutional priorities, and emerging opportunities for engagement. The revised Strategy will ensure alignment with the IOM Strategic Plan 2024–2028, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and other relevant global frameworks and commitments. It will also respond to the increasing demand from Member States for technical assistance and policy support on legal identity issues.
The revision of the Strategy is closely aligned with COMPASS programme which identifies legal identity as a strategic priority for strengthening migration governance and protection outcomes. The updated Strategy will provide a clear institutional framework for IOM’s engagement in this area, enabling more coherent, effective, and scalable support to Member States, including through the COMPASS Legal Identity workstream.
The Consultant to Update Legal Identity Strategy will provide the institutional framework necessary to guide and strengthen the implementation of the COMPASS Legal Identity workstream. It will establish a clear organizational vision, strategic priorities, programmatic entry points, and implementation parameters for legal identity interventions across all regions and contexts. By clarifying IOM’s comparative advantage, defining areas of engagement, and identifying opportunities for partnerships and resource mobilization, the Strategy will support more coherent, effective, and scalable legal identity programming under COMPASS and beyond.
Furthermore, the updated Strategy will streamline and strengthen synergies across IOM’s legal identity interventions, recognizing legal identity as a cross-cutting thematic area that spans multiple mandates and programmes. This will contribute to ensuring a more coordinated and integrated organizational approach to legal identity. The Strategy will also identify institutional strengths, gaps and capacity-building needs, while defining the scope of IOM’s engagement and the key policy positions that guide IOM’s interventions [JK3.1][AB3.2]on legal identity.
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing
Legal Identity Unit (IBG), Border Management, Return and Readmission Division
Category B Consultants: Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment
The consultancy will include a comprehensive consultation process with both external and internal stakeholders.
The entire scope of the Consultancy Contract will be fulfilled in 3 deliverables:
Performance indicators for the evaluation of results
The performance of the consultant will be evaluated based on the following indicators:
Education
- Master's degree in International Relations, Identity Management, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience.
Experience
- Proven experience in developing training materials and toolkits for identity management or migration-related services; and,
Skills
- Familiarity with ICAO standards, civil registration, and identity management;
- Previous work with international organizations is an advantage;
- Familiarity with IOM’s Legal Identity Strategy and Activities is an advantage;
- Strong knowledge of civil registration, nationality law, and identity management systems;
- Understanding of protection-sensitive and rights-based approaches; and,
Languages
For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.
Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.
Required Competencies
Notes
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.
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, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.
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.
No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.