Duty Station of the Consultancy:ย Tbilisi, Georgia (Remote assignment)
Duration of Consultancy:ย June - December 2025 (60 working days).
Nature of the consultancy
Support the compilation of best practices on the migration, environment, and climate change (MECC) nexus mainstreaming and implementation of a case study to assess the nexus between migration, environment, and climate change in the most affected areas in Georgia to compile a report with key findings and actionable recommendation that should guide the policy makersย and practitioners on addressing the challenges and opportunities of environmental migration.ย
Project Context and Scope
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, affecting human lives and livelihoods in multiple ways. Among the various impacts of climate change, human mobility is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that requires a holistic and cross-sectoral approach. Environmental migration refers to the movement of people within or across borders as a result of the adverse effects of climate change, such as sea-level rise, droughts, floods, storms, and desertification.ย
โEnvironmental migration is already a reality in Georgia. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Georgia had 39,000 people living in internal displacement due to disasters induced by natural hazards at the end of 2023. These displacements have serious implications for the human rights, dignity, and well-being of the affected people, as well as for the social, economic, and environmental development of the country.ย
โEnvironmental migration has different impacts on men and women, depending on their roles, responsibilities, and capacities in the society. Women are often more exposed and vulnerable to the effects of natural hazards, due to their limited access to resources, information, and decision-making, their higher dependence on natural resources for their livelihoods, their greater care burden for children, elderly, and sick people, and their higher risk of gender-based violence, exploitation, and discrimination. However, women are not only victims of environmental migration, but also agents of change, as they have valuable knowledge, skills, and experiences that can contribute to the prevention, adaptation, and resilience of their communities, which need to be taken into account when developing responses to address the phenomenon.ย
โEnvironmental migration is also linked to such forms of migration in Georgia, as: internal and international, temporary and permanent, regular and irregular.ย
โโWhile recognizing the important steps taken by the Government of Georgia on improving migration governance in the country, the comprehensive and ambitious Migration Strategy of Georgia 2021-2030 does not explicitly acknowledge the nexus of migration, environment, and climate change (MECC nexus) as a priority area, neither includes references to displacements due to disasters induced by natural hazardsย while at theย moment of its development it was decided to better assess the national context and adjustment mechanisms to MECC. This underscores the need for a holistic approach to the phenomenon, enabling a better understanding of it, as well as enabling institutions to reflect the complexities of environmental migration within the existing policy framework as relevant and applicable.ย
IOM has launched a programme entitled โEnabling Actions to Address Challenges of Environmental Migration in Georgiaโ to strengthen the evidence base on human mobility in contexts of environmental degradation, and climate change in the country.ย The Programme will support the collection and analysis of data and evidence on MECC nexus, as well as development and dissemination of good practices and policy recommendations for further mainstreaming into the Migration Strategy of Georgia and respective policy level documents of the country.
ย Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing ย โEnabling Actions to Address Challenges of Environmental Migration in Georgiaโ Tasks to be performed under this contract
ย
Under the direct supervision of the IOM Programme Manager, the International Consultant will support the compilation of best practices on the migration, environment, and climate change (MECC) nexus mainstreaming and implementation of a case study to assess the nexus between migration, environment, and climate change in the most affected areas in Georgia, and will be responsible for:ย
Compiling the best practices relating to theย migration, environment, and climate change (MECC)ย nexus, as relevant to Georgiaโs context, complementing the case study on environmental migration: Identify and select best practices relating to the MECC nexus, from a global repository of available practices, with the engagement of national research partner.ย Guide the national consultant in drafting a report on findings with recommendations and ensure due reflection of the findings and recommendations in the respective parts of the case study on MECC.Draft the final report with findings and recommendations, with the engagement of national consultant/ research partner2. Conducting ย gender sensitive case study on environmental migration in Georgia.ย
Lead the development of the research design (in English) in coordination with the IOM programme management team and the national research partner.ย Lead the development of the research tools (e.g., house list, questionnaire for data collection, etc.) (in English) in coordination with the IOM programme management team and the national research partner.Participate in the working group meetings and capacity development workshops for the relevant state institutions as required by the IOM programme management team.Facilitate a capacity development workshop (2 days) for the nationalย research partner and selected sectoral government and UN agencies. This capacity development workshop will focus on sampling methodology, data collection tool, data collection, data management, data analysis, and report writing. This capacity development workshop will be organized by IOM. The international consultant will develop the workshop agenda, workshop concept note, and workshop presentation materials and submit them to IOM before the workshop. The international consultant will lead the workshop sessions. S/He will develop the workshop report with country-specific actionable recommendations.Provide technical backstopping to the national research partner to facilitate a capacity development workshop (2 days) for the enumerators ahead of the data collection in coordination with the national consultant and the IOM programme management team. This capacity development workshop will be led and organized by the nationalย research partner. Based on input from the international consultant, the national consultant will develop the workshop agenda and workshop presentation materials and submit them to IOM before the workshop.Supervise the data collection by the national research partner according to the Work Plan and agreed research methodology.ย Research must comply with data protection standards in place in the context of research and should be aligned with IOM Data Protection Principles.Supervise the cleaning of data by the national research partner.Guide the national research partner to analyse the data. The national research partner will take the lead in analysing the data under the supervision and guidance of the international consultant. This exercise should be considered as developing the capacity of the national research partner.ย Draft the country-specific findings report. This report will be drafted by the international research partner. The national research partner will co-author of this report. This exercise should be considered as developing the capacity of the national research partner.ย This report will be in English (maximum 10,000 words including figures, references, and footnotes written in compliance with the IOM House Style Manual and Spelling List). The final findings report will go through a pre-defined review process, which may include internal and/or external peer review.Reflect the findings and recommendations of the best practices into the actionable recommendations of the case study.ย Present updates about the preliminary and final findings at regular meetings with the IOM programme management team and other relevant stakeholders.Review the information sheet (maximum 6-8 pages) (English version) that will be drafted by the national research partner to present the major findings.ยTangible and measurable outputs of the work assignmentย
Deliverable 1: Work plan and methodology/ research design of the best practices and case study on environmental migration in Georgia.Deliverable 2: Report on best practices relating to the MECC nexus, most relevant to the countryโs context, complementing to the case study on environmental migrationDeliverable 3: Final version of the case study on environmental migration in Georgia, report with actionable recommendations,ย Performance indicators for the evaluation of resultsDelivers the listed deliverables on time and with good quality. Education Advanced postgraduate degree (i.e., PhD, MA, MSc) in Demography, Economics, Sociology, Environment, Geography, Statistics, Development Studies, Migration Studies, Public Affairs, and/or other disciplines relevant to the assignments.Experience Demonstrated experience in research, policy analysis, and/or programmatic work related to the migration, environment, and climate change (MECC) nexus.Strong knowledge of climate-induced migration patterns, adaptation strategies, and resilience-building approaches.Experience conducting case studies, impact assessments, or research on migration and environmental change, preferably in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, or Central Asia.Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including field data collection, stakeholder consultations, and policy analysis.Demonstrated experience in sampling and designing surveys; experience in GIS will be an advantage.Previous engagement with government institutions, international organizations, or NGOsย on MECC-related issues is desirable.ย Languages Demonstrated ability to work in English, with excellent oral and written communication skillsIOMโs official languages are English, French and Spanish.Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.ย Travel required NoRequired Competenciesย IOMโs competency framework can be found atย this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.ย Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these three 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 Competenciesย โ 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 Organizationโs 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 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, verification of residency, visa, and authorizations by the concerned Government, where applicable.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.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 online recruitment system. The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website:ย IOM Careers and Job Vacancies