Project Context and Scope
MBHR in Asia is a regional programme aimed at promoting corporate responsibility to respect migrant workersโ rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). It is being implemented in the Philippines, as well as Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam. ย Through MBHR in Asia, IOM collaborates with governments, private sector and civil society to uphold the human and labour rights of migrant workers in key sectors and migration corridors. Furthermore, the programme recognizes the critical and central role private sector has in facilitating fair and ethical recruitment and decent work for migrant workers; and the importance of working with businesses and other stakeholders towards having policies and systems in place for the conduct of human rights due diligence, ensuring respect for workersโ rights throughout the migration cycle, and providing effective and accessible grievance and remedy systems to workers. ย Background and Scope of Research: ย Since the start of its labour migration program in 1974, the Philippines has built on 50 years of experience in continuously developing and strengthening its institutions, laws, and policies to protect the welfare and rights of international labour migrants. Often at the forefront of global efforts, the Philippines has set an example in advancing migrant workers protection. The establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in 2022 marks a significant milestone, underscoring the Philippineโs commitment to improving its migration governance and enhancing protection of Filipino migrant workers. The DMW is an executive agency created to fulfill the Stateโs mandate to: protect the rights and promote the welfare of OFWs and their families, regulate all manner of legal recruitment and foreign employment of its nationals, ensure overseas employment is a choice rather than a necessity, strengthen the domestic labor market for the effective reintegration of OFWs, and progressively align programs and policies with the 23 objectives of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). Additionally, the creation of the DMW introduced into Philippine law its first formal definition of ethical recruitment: โthe lawful hiring of workers in a fair and transparent manner that respects and protects their dignity and human rightsโ and formalized its longstanding commitment to promote ethical and professional recruitment. ย Despite the advancement, the Philippines has yet to fully adopt one of the key principles of fair and ethical recruitment: the prohibition of the charging of recruitment fees and related costs to migrant workers, otherwise known as the Employer Pays Principle (EPP). As embodied in ILO Convention No. 181 (which has not yet been ratified by the Philippines), the EPP is an international best practice meant to reduce risks of forced labour, debt bondage and exploitation to migrant workers by preventing workers from accumulating recruitment-related debt. Under current regulations, it remains legally permissible in most cases to charge overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) up to one monthโs salary as recruitment/placement fee, along with certain specified recruitment related costs. However, the private sectors are encouraged to go beyond this minimum standard by voluntarily adopting the EPP framework; in cases when the law in the country of destination already adheres to EPP by prohibiting the charging of recruitment fees to migrant workers, Philippine law also explicitly requires that this higher standard should be followed.
To strengthen their human rights and welfare protections for OFWs, and to incorporate fair and ethical recruitment practices in their stakeholder incentives systems, the DMW is exploring ways to promote EPP among employers, private recruitment agencies (PRAs), and countries of destination, and implement measures to reduce (or eliminate) recruitment fees and related costs for workers and jobseekers as per the ILO Fair Recruitment definitions1. However, information is not readily available on what is the total and actual scope of recruitment fees and related costs are in the Philippines, and how much each recruitment stakeholder (OFW, PRA and employer) currently spends for the successful recruitment process of an OFW. Therefore, there is not enough information to advise stakeholders on how to practically apply EPP in recruiting OFWs, or whether and how recruitment fees and costs could be reduced in the Philippine context.
The IOM has been a longstanding partner of the DMW (and formerly the POEA) on initiatives involving the promotion of migrant worker rights and welfare, advocacy for an enabling environment for fair and ethical recruitment standards, and prevention of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, forced labour, and exploitation of OFWs. Thus, in continuous support for the above initiatives, IOMโs proposed research aims to provide the DMW with comprehensive evidence and data on recruitment fees and related costs involved in the recruitment of OFWs through Philippine PRAs, and subsequent recommendations for the reduction of these fees and costs and the promotion of EPP. This approach is in line with the NAP-FER, which does not directly espouse a blanket prohibition of elimination of recruitment fees, but instead emphasizes the development of a supportive policy and regulatory environment to enable more recruitment and employment stakeholders to implement EPP and align their business practices with international Fair and Ethical Recruitment standards.ย
ย Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing ย The Consultant will report to IOM Philippinesโ Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion (LMI) Unit, under the MBHR in Asia Programme. ย Project Code: LM0532 Tasks to be performed under this contract
The key objectives of the research would be the following:
The results of the research shall also inform and compliment IOMโs ongoing partnership with the DMW on strengthening overall labour migration policy, including initiatives to incentivize private sector stakeholders practicing fair and ethical recruitment and human rights due diligence, and to support capacity-building and professionalization of the recruitment industry by standardizing management systems requirements for PRAs.
Category B Consultant shall be hired to deliver an output on an instalment payment basis:
OutputsRelated TasksDeadline
Proposed research plan/inception report based on the objectives and parameters discussed in this TOR Conduct desk review to gather primary and secondary data on the subject matterSubmit proposed outline of technical paper and draft research design; discuss and finalize these until approved by IOM.ย Identify and recommend specific migration corridors and/or skills/occupational sectors which shall be the focus of the research.Identify and recommend stakeholders to engage and propose a stakeholder engagement plan aligned with the workplan;ย discuss and finalize these until approved by IOM.Ensure that gender and other relevant parameters are captured in the research design and process.Friday, 23 May 2025
First draft of the report on recruitment fees and related costs Design agendas, objectives, and guide questions for stakeholder Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) KIIs and FGDs to gather inputs on the subject matter. Discuss and finalize these until approved by IOM.Take the lead in organizing consultations, coordinating and following up with stakeholders, and conducting KIIs and FGDs for the research.Provide IOM with documentation of the KIIs and FGDs.Conduct additional desk review and/or follow-up discussions to gather inputs on the subject matter, including to determine ranges of recruitment fees and related costs particular to PRAsย Submit initial draft of the report.ย Present the draft report to IOM for feedback and inputs. Revise the draft based on inputs/suggestions.Friday, 22 August 2025
Final draft of the report Design the agenda and mechanics for validation meetings with stakeholders. Discuss and finalize these until approved by IOM.Take the lead in organizing validation meetings, coordinating and following up with stakeholders, and present revised draft to stakeholders for feedback.Provide IOM with documentation of the validation meetings.Revise the draft based on stakeholdersโ inputs and recommendations until approved by IOM.Submit the final report to IOM.Friday, 3 October 2025
ย ย Performance indicators for the evaluation of results Required deliverables are submitted in accordance with the agreed-upon deadlines.Submitted output clearly delivers high-quality, impactful research that expounds on the currently available literature.Submitted output ensured that all writing and formatting are consistent and aligned with the IOM Brand Style Guide.Issues raised are resolved amicably with outcomes accepted by the involved parties.Institutional Experience and/or competencies required for the Consultant
Must have completed minimum bachelorโs degree in economics, business management, public policy, social science, international relations, international development, migration studies or related courses with at least seven years of relevant professional experience; preferably have a graduate degree in any of these or other related fields with at least five years of professional experience.Must have advanced knowledge on migration and cross-cutting issues, and Philippine labour migration context.Having managerial experience in working in the Philippine private sector or at multinational level is an advantage.Established network of contacts in government agencies and companies involved in Philippine labour migration is an advantage.Needs to have excellent writing and research skills with a demonstrated capacity to produce impactful research.Proficiency in English is required; working knowledge of Filipino is an asset.Languages Fluency in English is required.IOMโs 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 The consultant may work remotely but may be required to travel within Metro Manila to attend in-person meetings with stakeholders and with the project team.Required 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.Scope of Financial Proposals and Schedule of Payments:
All financial proposals should be in Philippine pesos (PHP).ย The Consultant must include all relevant fees in the computation of their financial proposal, inclusive of professional fees of any support personnel; coordination and communication costs; planning of activities; etc.Key outputs of milestone activities for which payments will be made, the corresponding percentage of the contract price that will be paid per milestone/output, including the conditions/documentation required prior to the release of any tranches of payment, are as follows:Payment tranchesDeliverables30%Upon submission and acceptance by IOM of the proposed outline of report and research designย 30%Upon completion of stakeholder KIIs and FGDs, and submission of the first draft of the report40%Upon completion of stakeholder validation events and submission and acceptance by IOM of the final reportย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ยHow to apply:ย ย
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. ย
The submission should include:ย
1. A cover letter (not more than one page)ย
2. Motivation letter and Curriculum Vitae
4. A detailed financial proposalย following above payment terms
5. Minimum of two (2) samples of previous research/technical writing work (such as links to published research or other written output).ย
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Job Type: Contract
Contract length: 5 months
Schedule: Day shift
Application Deadline:ย 04/18/2025
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