Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is committed to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. This is achieved through the provision of services and advice to governments and migrants.ย
IOM focuses on maximizing labour migration benefits for migrants, their families, and both countries of origins and destination through promoting safe, regular labour pathways and collaborating with governments, local partners, and private sector. This approach develops effective labour migration policies that support migrant inclusion into the host communities. The design, negotiation, implementation and evaluation of rights-based and gender-responsive labour migration agreements may receive support from IOM. These agreements โ whether in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLAs), Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs), or Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMPs) โ serve as tools for the cross-border labour mobility management, providing structured frameworks that safeguard migrant workersโ rights, clarify responsibilities between sending and receiving states, and facilitate mutually beneficial labour cooperation.ย
The development of such agreements, despite their value, often involves complexity and intensive resources requiring extended negotiations, specialized legal and policy expertise, and access to up-to-date international practices.ย
To address these challenges, IOM has developed an AI agent tool to support initial drafting of labour migration agreements. The AI tool is designed to generate customized, policy-aligned draft models that reflect international best practices and national priorities while reducing negotiation timelines, enhancing consistency and quality across agreements, and strengthening evidence-based migration policymaking.
Given the complexity of the above mentioned agreements, IOM seeks to engage an international consultant with strong expertise in labour migration policies, legal framework and bilateral agreements to support the training and testing of this AI tool in drafting labour migration agreements. This initiative is being funded under the Regular Pathway Flagship programme.
The Consultant will contribute to the development and testing of the AI tool by ensuring its outputs are legally robust and sound, and aligned with the IOM and international standards on labour migration. This will be done under the overall coordination of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (specifically the Labour Mobility Unit), and under the direct supervision of IOM Romania. In particular, the Consultant will carry out the following tasks:
a. Develop a structured and annotated database of international labour agreements, model contracts, and relevant IOM/International Labour Organizations (ILO) guidelines and standards.
b. Support the training of the AI tool using historical labour agreements and policy documents, in consultation with relevant experts (internal and external).ย
c. ย Test and asses the toolsโs functionality in generating draft BLMA content and ensure alignment with IOMโs principles and international norms.ย
d. ย Prepare a user manual and guidance note for government stakeholders.
e. Provide recommendations for further improvements, including potential integration with existing IOM tools and platforms (e.g. Migration, Business and Human Right โ MBHR AND Migration Governance Indicators - MGI).ย
4. Specific tasks to be performed by the Consultant:ย Deliverable Description Timeline Inception Report and annotated database Methodology framework (database development, AI training methodology, timelines); data sources and legal framework analysis (mapping of IOM/ILO guidelines, international labour agreements, existing models/templates); ethical considerationsย Week 6 User Manual & Guidelines Instructions and ethical use policy for stakeholders (e.g., handling sensitive information, confidentiality requirements; human oversight, etc.); tool capabilities and limitations; workflow for creating BLMA drafts;ย Week 14 Final Report Analysis of generated drafts against legal standards and practices; time savings achieved compared to traditional drafting methods; feedback from countries participating in the initiative; data protection. Evaluation of performance, technical documentation, and scalability plan Week 16 ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 5. Expected tangible results:ย
Evaluation of tool performance based on analysis of at least 3 generated drafts for labour agreements in coordination with selected IOM Country Missions (countries of origin)
Educationย
University degree in Political or Social Sciences, Business Administration, Migration Studies, International Relations, Law, or related field.ย Masterโsย degree in Law, Public Policy, International Relations, or related filed.ย Demonstrated knowledge of labour migration governance framework and at least 5-year experience in assisting governments and other relevant stakeholders in developing labour migration policies and legislation, labour agreements and/or labour migration schemesยExperienceย
ย Experience in planning and conducting research, desk review, analysis, synthesis and other evidence-generating activities is a must.ย Proven capacity to produce high-quality technical documentation Demonstrated professional experience on migration-related topics, human rights, law, and/or governance is highly desirable.ย Experience in liaising with government institutions, diaspora organizations, academia, civil society organizations, UN agencies and/or other international organizations as well as migration-related stakeholders is an asset.ยSkillsย
Soundย understanding of research and desk-review analysis.ย Excellent proven analytical and communication skills, including presentation skills.ย Excellent organizational and creative thinking skills.ย Excellent time-management skills and ability to meet deadlines.ย Demonstrated proficiency with Ms Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.ยLanguages:ย
Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of Romanian would be an advantage.