Consultant for Regional Migration Pathways Mapping Consultant

International Organization for Migration

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

Duty Station of the Consultancy: Remote and working with IOM Regional Office for MENA- Cairo, Egypt.

Duration of Consultancy: Four (4) months, subject to the medical clearance.

Nature of the consultancy: Consultancy to conduct the first region-wide, corridor-sensitive, and implementation-assessed mapping of regular migration pathways within, into, and out of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The assignment encompasses a systematic inventory of binding and non-binding instruments governing regular pathways across all major thematic families, including labour, education, family, humanitarian and complementary, climate and environmental, health and care, business and investor, and return and circular pathways combined with a structured assessment of the data systems capable of tracking those pathways and corridors. Findings will be validated through a regional stakeholder workshop and synthesized into a policy brief and analytical report for use by IOM MENA, Member States, and partner agencies. Consultancy type B.

Project Context and Scope:

The MENA region represents one of the world's most complex and consequential migration governance spaces. Northern Africa and Western Asia together hosted 54.1 million international migrants in 2024, including 49.2 million in Western Asia alone (UN DESA, 2025). The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) collectively host approximately 10 per cent of all migrant workers worldwide (IOM, 2025). Official remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries in MENA reached an estimated USD 58 billion in 2024 (World Bank, 2024). At the same time, UNHCR (2025) reported that more than 17.8 million people were forcibly displaced or stateless across the region by mid-2025. Despite this scale, no consolidated, corridor-sensitive, or implementation-assessed inventory of regular migration pathways exists for MENA as a whole. Existing documentation is fragmented across national, bilateral, and multilateral sources; existing inventories frequently record treaty signatures without assessing implementation quality; and non-labour pathway families, including education, climate, health, and complementary protection pathways remain systematically under-documented.

IOM has made facilitating regular pathways one of the three central pillars of its Strategic Plan 2024-2028 and its 2025 Regional Strategy for MENA explicitly identifies regular pathways as a priority investment area (IOM, 2025). The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) Objective 5 calls on States to adapt and expand regular pathways for labour mobility, education, family life, and protection. This assignment responds directly to both the institutional mandate and the evidence gap. Protection sensitive migration and labour policies.

The assignment requires the Consultant or Expert Team to deliver a comprehensive, multi-phase analysis of regular migration pathways in the MENA region. It begins with designing an analytical framework and database structure, supported by an inception report and coding manual. This is followed by a systematic desk review to compile and classify migration-related instruments across 18 countries, alongside building a structured inventory of relevant data sources, assessing their quality, accessibility, and gaps. The work also includes conducting key informant interviews with government entities, international organizations, and other stakeholders to enrich findings. Finally, the team will produce a regional analytical report, validate results through a stakeholder workshop, and deliver practical outputs including corridor fact sheets and a policy brief with evidence-based recommendations to guide policymakers on strengthening regular migration pathways.

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing

Regional Data Hub (RDH), IOM Regional Office for Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Travel required

Travel may be required.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education, Experience and/or skills required

• Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in Migration Studies, International Relations, Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Economics, Human Geography, or a closely related field from an accredited academic institution, with a minimum of seven years of relevant professional experience. A PhD in a relevant field may substitute for two years of professional experience.
• Proven experience in comparative legal and policy analysis of migration governance frameworks, including bilateral and multilateral agreements.
• Demonstrated experience producing structured migration databases or mapping exercises at regional scale, with sound methodological documentation.
• Solid knowledge of the MENA region's migration governance landscape, including GCC labour systems, North Africa outward migration, and Mashreq country profiles.
• Strong understanding of GCM Objective 5, IOM's Migration Governance Framework (MiGOF), and relevant SDG targets on migration governance.
• Proven ability to synthesize complex evidence and produce clear, policy-relevant analytical reports for a practitioner and government audience.
• Strong academic writing skills and demonstrated APA or equivalent referencing practice.
• The candidate is required to be fluent in English; good knowledge in Arabic is an advantage.