Context: Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.**
Nature of the consultancy: IOM is seeking an international expert to lead an assessment of the existing practices and policies of the Republic of Azerbaijan on remittances and its consumption models and prepare recommendations to address any identified legal, social, gender and economic gaps for the remittances flow.
The assessment will be conducted based on various methodological approaches. The international expert will carry out a desk review with the aim to analyse the governments’ policies, strategies and regulations pertaining to (digital) money transfers from/to Azerbaijan, the existing infrastructure, best practices, technology, and models, with strong gender considerations. Furthermore, the international expert will design and conduct a series of interviews to get inputs from all the relevant stakeholders, including diaspora/migrants’ associations, government officials, policy makers, financial institutions, remitters associations, bankers’ associations, customs officials, immigration officials, private sector within the banking industry, and the development partners. Additionally, a survey will be developed by the international consultant targeting remittance receivers and senders from Azerbaijan specifically to identify any legal, social and gender related challenges, which currently impede their access and sustainable use or investment of remittances going beyond immediate needs. The international expert will be responsible for conducting the survey with Azerbaijani remittance senders abroad. Another national consultant will be responsible for conducting the surveys with remittance receivers and immigrants living and working in Azerbaijan. The assessment report should thus include an overview of the current remittance system in terms of legislative framework, infrastructure, types of services available to migrants and receiving families, as well as consumption models and decision-making pertaining to the sending and use of remittances among Azerbaijani remittance senders and remittance recipients, as well as immigrants living and working in Azerbaijan. The international expert will deliver the assessment report along with recommendations to relevant stakeholders, based on which a roadmap for developing digital remittances systems will be prepared.
Within this project, it is foreseen also that a Working Group (WG) be formed, consisting of relevant government agencies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the private sector within the banking industry, diaspora organizations, international and regional organizations. The international expert is expected to develop scope and objectives of WG and participate in its meetings.
The expert will work under the supervision of IOM Azerbaijan. The IOM Regional Office in Vienna can provide support, if needed. The international expert will be assisted by a national expert and will guide and coordinate his/her work.
Project Context and Scope: IDF-funded “Enhancing the Socioeconomic Benefits of Remittances in Azerbaijan” project aims to contribute towards greater financial inclusion and use of digital financial services among Azerbaijani emigrants abroad/migrants in Azerbaijan and remittance recipients in Azerbaijan/abroad to support sustainable livelihood development.
This aim will be achieved by (1) assessing with relevant gender considerations current remittance flows, related practices and services, existing national legislative framework, and policies; (2) developing and validating a stakeholder analysis and mapping, as well as a roadmap for establishing an innovative digital remittances system; (3) piloting a digital remittance application and disseminating lessons learned for further actions and sustainability.
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing: IOM Baku for implementation of “Enhancing the Socioeconomic Benefits of Remittances in Azerbaijan” (TK.0020).
*Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment:* International consultant will be hired to deliver an assessment report and present its findings on a four-instalment payment basis.
1. First deliverable – (i) Terms of Reference for WG, including scope, general and specific objectives –– within 1 week of starting date of assignment (the latest by 7 April 2022); (ii) Research plan, including methodology, research questions, data collection methods, sampling approach, and workplan –– within 3 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 21 April 2022); and (iii) Survey forms, interview questions and other required research materials –– within 5 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 5 May 2022). First instalment payment (20%) –– provided that all deliverables sent by email for review and approval with IOM Azerbaijan and IOM Regional Office in Vienna by 5 May 2022.
2. Second deliverable – (i) Interview results –– within 7 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 19 May 2022); (ii) Survey results –– within 9 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 2 June 2022); and (iii) Draft report –– within 13 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 30 June 2022). Second instalment payment (25%) –– provided that all deliverables sent by email for review and approval with IOM Azerbaijan and IOM Regional Office in Vienna by 30 June 2022.
3. Third deliverable – (i) Final report with recommendations –– within 17 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 28 July 2022). Third instalment payment (30%) –– provided that all deliverables sent by email for review and approval with IOM Azerbaijan and IOM Regional Office in Vienna by 28 July 2022.
4. Final deliverable – (i) Presentation of the findings of the report at the WG meeting in Azerbaijan –– within 33 weeks of starting date of assignment (the latest by 14 November 2022). Final instalment payment (25%) –– provided that presentation delivered in person by 17 November 2022.
*Performance indicators for the evaluation of results:*
· Quality of the assessment report produced.
· Timely delivery of outputs.
· Professionality of communication with IOM project team.
Education, Experience and/or skills required:
· At least Master’s degree in economics, financial economics, development finance, development studies, law, public policy, or similar field.
· At least 5 years of relevant work experience in conducting research, especially on migration and remittance-related issues, remittance transfer and its constraints, and digital transfer service and security.
· Excellent knowledge of statistics, interview, survey and assessment methodologies, data gathering and analysis (quantitative and qualitative).
· Excellent analytical, research, reporting, communication, documentation, presentation, and workshop conduction/facilitation skills.
· Experience of similar assignments in similar international or CIS development contexts.
· Knowledge of labour migration corridors from/to Azerbaijan is an advantage.
· Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations to clearly distil critical issues.
· Ability to work independently and demonstrate excellent teamwork, coordination, and facilitation skills, as well as to respond constructively to feedback and differing points of view.
· Experience working with specialized international agencies (UN Agencies, international organizations, etc.).
· Excellent written and spoken English. Fluency in Azerbaijani and Russian language is a distinct advantage.
· Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and in a deadline driven environment.
· Computer literate with ability to operate Windows applications.
· Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.
· Ability to establish and maintain effective and constructive working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds while maintaining impartiality and objectivity.
*Travel required**:*** Subject to COVID 19 restrictions the international expert is expected to travel to Azerbaijan twice. In June, for a period of 5 working days to conduct interviews with relevant stakeholders, and in November for a period of 2 working days to present findings from the report at the WG meeting.
Competencies
Values
· Inclusion and respect for diversity: respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible.
· 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.
Core Competencies – behavioral 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 action and delegated work.
· Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.
How to apply
How to apply:
Interested candidates are requested to submit their application in English by indicating name of the position applied with its CFA number in the subject line of the e-mail to bakuhr@iom.int by the end of 04 March 2022
Application should consist of:
· Curriculum Vitae with Motivation Letter
· Expected consultancy fee
Please note that only applications with required documents will be reviewed and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted