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.
IOM invites candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process when required. Learn more about IOM’s workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration
Project Context and Scope
The position cut across multiple sectors within IOM Ethiopia programming, ensuring private sector engagement is on track and in line with IOM’s guidelines.
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing
Protection, Programme Support Unit with linkages to all IOM Ethiopia Units to promote an Integrated Approach.
Tasks to be performed under this contract
The consultant will support the development and operationalization of an Economic Reintegration, Private Sector Engagement and Financial Inclusion for IOM Ethiopia through the following tasks:
A. Private Sector Engagement and Market Development
Develop a Private Sector Engagement Strategy for IOM Ethiopia's reintegration programming based on the already existing private sector mapping.
Engage with relevant government stakeholders to analyze their private sector engagement and identify entry points to work together.
Organize a private sector engagement event for the mission in coordination with the private sector focal point of the mission (Senior Programme Support Coordinator).
Follow up from the private sector engagement event and engage with interested parties.
Facilitate private sector dialogue forums and networking platforms.
Support identification of private sector financing and investment opportunities.
Participate and support with the Private Sector Engagement Taskforce led by the Senior Programme Support Coordinator.
B. Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship Support
- Support the operationalization of partnerships with Kifiya, financial institutions, microfinance institutions, fintech providers, and other financial service providers.
- Facilitate beneficiary access to financial literacy services, business development services, digital financial services, savings mechanisms, and financing opportunities.
- Strengthen linkages between financial inclusion initiatives and reintegration assistance programmes.
- Support entrepreneurship promotion, enterprise development, and market-oriented business growth opportunities for returnees and host communities.
Develop practical guidance and tools to prepare beneficiaries for financial inclusion opportunities, including financial literacy orientation, business planning support, mentorship linkages, responsible borrowing practices, and use of digital financial services.[HL1]
- Pilot financial inclusion and entrepreneurship referral mechanisms, document lessons learned, and recommend improvements for scale-up and sustainability.
C. Private Sector Partnerships and Market Systems Engagement
Engage chambers of commerce, employer associations, sector associations, business membership organizations, and private sector firms to identify opportunities for returnees and vulnerable community members in target regions.[HL2]
- Establish and maintain partnerships with private sector actors willing to provide employment, apprenticeships, internships, mentoring, supplier development, and market linkage opportunities.
- Promote the integration of returnee-owned businesses into local market systems, value chains, and private sector networks.
- Facilitate collaboration between private sector actors, government institutions, and reintegration stakeholders to strengthen economic inclusion pathways.
- Identify opportunities for private sector engagement in business incubation, enterprise development, and workforce development initiatives.
D. Employment and Labour Market Linkages[MM3] [HL4]
- Coordinate engagement with Job Centres, BoLS structures, OSSCs, and other government employment service providers as well as with TVTs.
- Facilitate employment matching, job placement, apprenticeship, internship, and labour market integration mechanisms.
- Support beneficiary linkages to Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS) and government employment services.
- Identify and promote opportunities for skills development in coordination with TVTs, workplace readiness, and employer engagement in coordination with BoLS and Chamber of Commerce.
- Strengthen collaboration between employers, public employment services, and reintegration actors to improve access to decent work opportunities
Support the integration and development and pilot referral mechanisms and economic inclusion pathways within existing government structures, including BoLS, Job Centres, OSSCs, and other relevant institutions.[HL5]
E. Referral Systems Development and Operationalization
- Develop practical referral pathways linking beneficiaries to employment, apprenticeships, internships, entrepreneurship support, business development services, financial literacy, microfinance, digital financial services, and access-to-finance opportunities.
- Develop and standardize SOPs, referral tools, service mapping resources, and tracking templates covering beneficiary identification, eligibility screening, informed consent, referral processes, partner roles and responsibilities, documentation requirements, follow-up procedures, data protection, safeguarding, and escalation mechanisms.
- Operationalize referral pathways with relevant actors, including BoLS/OSSCs, Job Centres, chambers of commerce, employer associations, private sector firms, financial institutions, fintech providers, entrepreneurship support organizations, and other economic inclusion service providers.
- Establish referral coordination and feedback mechanisms to monitor service uptake, beneficiary outcomes, and partner performance.
- Pilot referral pathways and SOPs in selected locations, document lessons learned, and recommend improvements for broader replication and scale-up.
F. Capacity Building and Sustainability
Identify opportunities to embed referral tools, SOPs, and service coordination mechanisms within existing government and service delivery systems.
Develop a sustainability and transition plan outlining roles, responsibilities, and resource requirements for continued operation of referral pathways and economic inclusion services after project closure.
Assess and strengthen the capacity of government institutions, private sector partners, and service providers to support economic inclusion, employment creation, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and referral systems.
Design and deliver capacity-building initiatives, including training, coaching, workshops, practical learning activities, and user-friendly guidance materials to enhance stakeholder knowledge and implementation of economic inclusion interventions.
Facilitate the establishment and strengthening of referral pathways, coordination mechanisms, and partnership frameworks between government entities, private sector actors, financial institutions, and service providers to improve service delivery and beneficiary access to opportunities.
Promote sustainable and locally owned economic inclusion systems by strengthening government leadership, fostering private sector participation, and institutionalizing partnerships that support employment, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion beyond project implementation.
G. Monitoring, Learning and Reporting
Produce recommendations for scaling and sustainability.
- Document best practices, lessons learned, success stories, and recommendations to support institutionalization, policy dialogue, and future scale-up initiatives.
Performance indicators for the evaluation of results
Number of Labour Market Assessment, Economic Inclusion Framework, Financial Inclusion Framework, Market Linkage Framework, and Private Sector Engagement Strategy.
Number and quality of stakeholders, employers, service providers, financial institutions, and business development actors identified, validated, and profiled in databases/directories : At least 50 institutions or service providers mapped; at least 10 private sector actors profiled; at least 5 value chains assessed; one service provider directory completed; one stakeholder engagement plan submitted; and the assessment report reviewed and accepted by IOM.
- Number of economic inclusion and referral system components established and operational, including: (i) one approved Economic Inclusion and Referral Framework; (ii) at least five standardized referral tools; (iii) one beneficiary tracking database; (iv) clearly defined referral pathways for key employment, business development, and financial inclusion actors; and (v) at least five draft partnership or referral arrangements for implementation and scale-up.
- Number of functional referral and partnership pathways established with government, employment, business development and financial inclusion actors, evidenced by at least five BoLS/Job Centre partnerships and three financial service provider or business development partnerships actively supporting beneficiary referrals, with coordination mechanisms operational and agreed actions implemented.
- Number of private sector actors actively engaged in economic inclusion initiatives and offering opportunities for beneficiaries, evidenced by at least 10 companies formally engaged and at least 5 companies committing to provide employment, internship, apprenticeship, mentorship, business development, or market linkage opportunities.
- Private sector ecosystem strengthened to support economic inclusion, demonstrated through an approved engagement strategy, a functional employer database, active engagement with at least 20 private sector actors, and regular public-private dialogue platforms facilitating collaboration and opportunity creation.
- Number and percentage of beneficiaries successfully connected to economic inclusion opportunities through referral pathways, including employment, apprenticeships, internships, business development support, financial inclusion services, and livelihood opportunities.
- Number of beneficiaries achieving tangible economic inclusion outcomes, evidenced by at least 50 documented employment, internship, or apprenticeship placements and increased access to economic empowerment services.
- Number of returnee-owned businesses linked to markets and growth opportunities, evidenced by at least 25 businesses successfully connected to buyers, suppliers, business networks, or market actors.
- Percentage of beneficiary referrals effectively monitored and tracked through the economic inclusion system, with at least 80% of referrals recorded and monitored through the beneficiary tracking database.
- Sustainable coordination and partnership mechanisms established to support continued economic inclusion programming beyond the consultancy period, evidenced by an approved sustainability roadmap, partnership continuity plan, and institutionalized coordination arrangements.
- Knowledge, systems and partnership assets transferred to IOM and stakeholders for long-term use, evidenced by the handover of databases, tools, templates, tracking systems, lessons learned, and final technical guidance required for continuation and scale-up.
- Strengthened collaboration and institutional ownership across IOM, government and external stakeholders, demonstrated through documented joint coordination mechanisms, stakeholder engagement processes, dissemination of lessons learned, and clear follow-up responsibilities for future implementation.
Education
Master’s degree in business administration, management or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience;
OR University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.
OR University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.
Experience
The successful candidate should demonstrate a minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience in at least several of the following areas:
Economic reintegration and livelihoods programming.
Employment promotion, workforce development and labour market interventions.
Private sector engagement, business development and partnership building.
Entrepreneurship, SME development and market systems programming.
Financial inclusion, access-to-finance initiatives and enterprise support services.
Employment promotion, apprenticeship and internship linkage programming.
Public-private partnerships involving government institutions, chambers of commerce, private sector actors and financial institutions.
Development and implementation of referral pathways, service linkage mechanisms and partnership frameworks.
Community stabilization, resilience, economic recovery or migration-related programming.
Programme design, implementation and monitoring within humanitarian, development or transition contexts.
Skills
Strong knowledge of economic reintegration, livelihoods programming, and IOM's Integrated Approach to Reintegration.
Proven experience in private sector engagement, employer outreach, and partnership development with businesses, chambers of commerce, and industry associations.
Expertise in labour market assessments, value chain analysis, market systems development, and local economic development.
Strong understanding of financial inclusion, access to finance, digital financial services, entrepreneurship support, and enterprise development.
Experience establishing referral mechanisms, partnership frameworks, and economic inclusion pathways linking beneficiaries to employment, business development, and financial services.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain partnerships with government institutions, Job Centres, financial institutions, private sector actors, and development partners.
Strong skills in stakeholder mapping, networking, negotiation, and facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms.
Experience in monitoring, evaluation, beneficiary tracking systems, data analysis, and results reporting.
Excellent analytical, report writing, communication, and presentation skills, including preparation of high-quality technical reports and strategic documents.
Strong project management skills, including planning, coordination, implementation monitoring, risk management, and results-based management.
Ability to develop sustainability strategies, coordination mechanisms, and partnership continuity plans that promote long-term ownership and institutionalization.
Good understanding of migration, return and reintegration programming, donor compliance requirements, and the Ethiopian institutional and labour market context.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and database management systems, with strong data management and organizational skills.
Demonstrated competencies in communication, teamwork, accountability, client orientation, planning and organizing, and results orientation, consistent with IOM's competency framework.
Languages
For this consultancy, English and Amharic language is required.
Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.
Travel required
Field visits to the project sites is required.
Required Competencies
IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.
Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five 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
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.
IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment system (for internal candidates link official source link). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.
No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies