Introduction

The temporary position is located in the Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Central America (DWT/CO San José) in San José. The DWT/CO San José covers Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and provides technical services to the ILO Country Office for Mexico and Cuba (CO-Mexico). The DWT/CO San José has the mandate to develop and implement, in partnership with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, a program of international development cooperation to assist countries to promote decent work for all and to provide capacity-building in the formulation of policies and programs to promote the full implementation of international labour standards, improve working conditions and enhance employment opportunities.

The Specialist on Labour Migration and Human Mobility will provide policy and technical advisory services to ILO constituents in the area of international labour migration and the promotion of decent work for migrant workers, with particular attention to promoting coherence between migration and employment policies, working conditions and wages, gender equality and non-discrimination, labour market institutions, fair recruitment, occupational safety and health, recognition of skills and prior learning, social protection and portability of social security benefits and labour mobility, including refugees’ participation in labour markets in the countries covered by DWT/CO-San José and in the countries covered by the CO-Mexico.

The Specialist will provide support to national ILO constituents in the design, implementation and evaluation of related national policies, in accordance with the provisions of the following Conventions: Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No 97) and Migrant Workers (Complementary Provisions) Convention (No 143), and their respective Recommendations No 86 and No 151, and all other labour standards relevant to migrant workers, as well as the International Labour Conference’s (ILC) 2017 Resolution and Conclusions on Fair and Effective Labour Migration Governance, the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration, and the ILO agenda on fair migration endorsed by the ILC in June 2014, General Principles and Operational Guidelines on Fair Recruitment and accompanying definitions, and Access of Refugees and Other Forcibly Displaced persons from the Labour Market, and the ILC 2004 Resolution and Conclusions on a Fair Deal for Migrant Workers in a Global Economy.

The Specialist will report to the Director of DWT/CO-San José who will determine the workplan, in coordination with the Director of CO-Mexico and the Regional Labour Migration Specialist in the ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima. The Specialist will collaborate closely and receive technical guidance and advice from the Labour Migration Branch (MIGRANT) in the Department of Working Conditions and Quality (WORKQUALITY) at ILO headquarters and coordinate with the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS) for issues and projects related to fair recruitment and forced labour prevention. The Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Regional Labour Migration Specialist and migration counterparts in the assigned countries and with other technical specialists in the DWT/CO San José and other ILO offices in the region, in particular the CO-Mexico and the ILO office for the United States and Canada.

Specific Duties

1. Provide technical guidance and policy advice to ILO constituents, and other national, subregional and regional institutions and coordination spaces dealing with migration and migration-related issues. Ensure coherence between the design and implementation of labour migration policies with those of employment policies in close collaboration with the Employment Specialist in the region.

2. Support social dialogue on labour migration within regional economic communities or integration processes to encourage the adoption of free movement schemes and protocols so as to provide protection to migrant workers and promote ILO standards related to migration. Liaise with regional consultative processes such as the Regional Conference on Migration to support efforts towards strengthening ties between employment, migration and social dialogue.

3. Develop and coordinate the design and implementation of national and subregional strategies and policies on labour migration, including those which are gender responsive, in close consultation with ILO constituents.

4. Develop and implement joint partnerships with other UN agencies, development partners and international NGOs, consistent with the ILO’s Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration and the Fair Migration Agenda.

5. Collaborate with the specialists of the concerned DWTs on the integration of labour migration priorities into their respective work programmes; on responding to the needs of the constituents, as expressed in the Decent Work Country Programmes; and on the development of the ILO’s knowledge base on labour migration, including data collection, analysis and processing in the region.

6. Design, conduct and/or coordinate relevant analytical and policy-oriented research on labour migration trends, flows, regimes, contributions of migrant workers to development, and barriers to achieving decent work at national and subregional level, as a basis for the formulation of relevant labour migration policy strategies, initiatives for projects and work programmes.

7. Develop and maintain good relationships with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, UN organizations, research institutions and non-governmental organizations that are involved in the field of labour migration to develop joint action plans.

8. Design country level, bilateral or multilateral development cooperation projects. Liaise with donors and potential partners with a view to securing resources and expanding the Office’s capacity to undertake various activities in the field of labour migration in the subregion.

9. Perform other relevant duties as required.

Required qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree in social studies, law, development studies, demographics, or economics or other relevant field. A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in one of the aforementioned fields or other relevant field with an additional two years of relevant experience, in addition to the experience stated below, will be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience

At least seven years of experience, including at the international level working on labour migration policy issues and/or other related areas.

Languages

Excellent command of Spanish and a working knowledge of English. Working knowledge of French is an advantage.

Competencies

In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:

Excellent knowledge and understanding of theories, trends and approaches in the area(s) of labour migration and mobility. Knowledge on addressing the complexities of mixed flows (including forced displacement and climate change related movements) will be an advantage. Ability to plan, coordinate and guide the development and implementation of new concepts policies, techniques and procedures in response to evolving technical needs.
Good knowledge of the substantive nature of Organization’s work programmes and activities and ability to address broader issues outside the field of specialization.
Ability to lead and manage individual and group assignments and to supervise those undertaking the work.
Ability to share knowledge and provide technical advice and guidance on latest policy developments in the technical area.
Excellent research and analytical skills.
Excellent drafting skills.
Excellent communication skills, excellent presentation skills, negotiation, promotion and advocacy skills. Ability to adapt communication style to diverse audiences.
Ability to adapt quickly to new software and systems.
Ability to network and build and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders and to create and promote synergies across the Organization and with external stakeholders.
Ability to represent the Organization and present/promote the technical area of work and the ILO’s position on it to partners with a view to gaining their support to advance the desired course of action.
Ability to mobilize resources.
Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-responsive, non-discriminatory and inclusive behaviour and attitudes.