External Collaborator to Development of Overseas Employment Guideline for Ethiopia – Ethiopia 5 views

Terms of Reference

I. Background and purpose

Ethiopia is a major country of origin for labour migration, particularly to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the Middle East, neighbouring countries and South Africa. Labour migration continues to be an important livelihood pathway for Ethiopians. Despite its benefits, many migrant workers face various vulnerabilities like irregular migration, lack of accurate information, unfair recruitment practices, skills gaps, weak understanding of legal requirements, contract substitution, inadequate pre-departure preparation and limited awareness on rights and responsibilities.

The Government of Ethiopia, through the Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS), prioritizes safe, regular and productive labour migration within its skills‑led job creation agenda. Several reforms have been introduced, such as the Overseas Employment Proclamation No. 923/2016 (as amended), signing Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements (BLMAs), tightening licensing for PrEAs, and establishing pre‑departure training systems. However, Ethiopia still lacks a comprehensive guideline that translates laws, policies and procedures into clear, user‑friendly operational guidance. Such a guideline is essential to ensure fair recruitment, effective coordination among stakeholders, clear roles for PrEAs, standardized deployment procedures, worker protection mechanisms and alignment with BLMAs and international labour standards.

MoLS, with support from the ILO’s BRMM Programme, is working to strengthen policy, institutional and operational mechanisms for overseas employment, enhance the capacity of TVET institutions to train potential migrant workers. To support these efforts, the ILO seeks to recruit a National Consultant to develop a comprehensive Overseas Employment Orientation Guideline that will serve as a standard reference for MoLS, TVET institutions, PrEAs, government agencies, and other stakeholders to provide harmonized, accurate, and practical orientation to potential migrant workers.

II. Scope of work

The consultant will lead the full development of an Overseas Employment Orientation Guideline tailored to the Ethiopian context. The scope includes desk review, consultations with stakeholders, drafting, validation and finalization of the guideline, and develop model employment contract based on ILO standards. The guideline should integrate relevant national labour migration laws, bilateral labour agreements, model contracts, international labour standards, and destination-country requirements. It should also provide pedagogical guidance and learner-friendly tools to support TVET trainers in delivering standardized orientation sessions.

To meet this objective, the consultant will:

1. Map existing systems, laws, and institutional roles across recruitment and deployment processes.
2. Identify gaps, bottlenecks, and inconsistencies in current procedures.
3. Conduct consultations with stakeholders (MoLS, PrEAs, MoFA, TVET, Migrant Associations, NGOs).
4. Develop a step-by-step Overseas Employment Guideline covering:
   • Recruitment
   • Training
   • Contracting
   • Pre-departure procedures
   • Travel & deployment
   • Welfare and protection overseas
   • Return and reintegration
5. Ensure strong alignment with international labour standards and ILO Guideline on Fair recruitment.
6. Prepare supportive training tools for TVET institutions, including handouts, job aids and PPT slides.
7. Validate the guidelines through stakeholder workshops and finalise the document.

The scope also includes integrating relevant laws, BLMAs, SOPs, destination‑country requirements and digital systems used for overseas employment, while ensuring clear roles, coordination mechanisms and protection pathways for migrant workers.

III. Detailed tasks

The consultant will undertake the below tasks:

Inception Phase

• Meet with ILO and MoLS to clarify scope & expectations
• Develop an inception report with methodology, workplan & outline

Desk Review
• Review national and international documents, including ILS, Proclamation 923/2016, amendments and directives, BLMAs signed by Ethiopia (KSA, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, UAE, Qatar), TVET/pre‑departure training materials and tools, PrEA regulations and recruitment processes
• Benchmark good practices in similar countries
• Review MoLS & Regional Bureau SOPs

Stakeholder Consultations

• Conduct interviews and FGDs with: MoLS, Regional Bureaus, PrEAs, Pre‑departure centres, Ethiopian Missions (virtual), Returnee associations, NGOs, PrEAs in major destinations
• Document roles, workflows and gaps

Drafting the Guideline
Guideline should cover, at minimum:

• Introduction & Legal Framework
• Institutional Roles & Coordination
• Recruitment Processes & Fair Recruitment
• Recruitment Licensing & Monitoring
• Deployment Workflow: job identification, advertisement, selection, skills assessment, contract verification, medical/insurance/clearance, pre‑departure training, integrate common skills (entrepreneurship, ethics, civic responsibility, human‑edge and digital skills)
• Matching with BLMAs/job orders
• Complaints Handling & Grievance Redress
• Workers’ Welfare Overseas: grievance channels, shelters, rescue protocols, embassy support
• Return, Reintegration & Referrals
• Digital systems
• Rights & responsibilities of migrant workers
• Monitoring, Reporting & Data Management
• Annexes: templates (contracts, checklists, forms), flowcharts, roles & responsibilities matrix
• Develop training materials like job aids/handouts/checklists & PPT

Validation Workshop

• Present the draft guideline, gather feedback & revise

Finalization

• Final guideline in English (and optionally Amharic)
• Prepare a cascading implementation strategy for rollout across 80 TVETs
• Submit all meeting notes, raw data & consultation reports

IV. Expected deliverables

1. Inception report including methodology, workplan and annotated outline – within 10 days of contract start.
2. First draft of the Overseas Employment Orientation Guideline – within 30 days.
3. Training support package (handouts, trainer guides, job aids, PPT slides) – together with the first draft.
4. Workshop presentation and facilitation materials – prior to validation workshop.
5. Final Overseas Employment Orientation Guideline incorporating validation feedback – within 10 days post validation workshop.
6. Final cascading implementation strategy for roll-out through TVET institutions.– submitted together with the final guideline.

All deliverables must be of high professional quality, well structured, gender-responsive, user-friendly and aligned with ILO’s labour migration approaches which is centered on rights-based and decent work while promoting fair recruitment, social protection and equal treatment for migrant workers.

V. Reporting arrangements

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the ILO BRMM Project CTA in Addis Ababa and the Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS) – Overseas Employment Directorate.

All deliverables will be reviewed jointly by ILO and MoLS. The consultant will participate in periodic coordination calls/meetings as required.

VI. Detailed qualifications, experience and skills required

• Advanced degree in labour migration, public policy, law, labour Studies, social sciences, TVET, or a related field

• Minimum 10 years and above of professional experience in labour migration governance, overseas employment systems, or skills development.

• Demonstrated experience in developing guidelines, training materials, curricula or policy documents.

• Strong familiarity with the Ethiopian labour migration context, relevant legislation and institutional frameworks.

• Experience working with government, TVET institutions, international organizations or development partners.

• Excellent analytical, drafting and facilitation skills.

• Ability to produce gender-responsive and rights-based training materials.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work with multiple stakeholders.

• Fluency in English and Amharic required.

  VII. Indicators for evaluation of outputs

• Deliverables completed within agreed timelines.

• Quality, clarity and relevance of the content in relation to Ethiopian legislation, ILO standards and BRMM objectives.

• Practical applicability of the guideline for MoLS and TVET institutions.

• Degree to which stakeholder feedback is incorporated.

• Professional formatting, accuracy and completeness of final outputs.

VIII. Payment terms

1. Lump Sum Payment divided into three instalments upon acceptance of deliverables:

• 30% upon acceptance of inception report and outline
• 40% upon acceptance of the first full draft and training support tools
• 30% upon acceptance of the final guideline and cascading strategy

1. In case of progress payments, payment schedule and timeframe shall be based on the number of days corresponding to the deliverables.
2. The daily fee shall be established within the fee range corresponding to the complexity of assignment and the external collaborator’s country of residence, as per the ILO Daily Fee Range Table.
3. If the external collaboration contract is to be established in local currency, the amount will be converted from USD to local currency using the United Nations Operational Rate of Exchange effective at the time of establishing the contract.

X. Travel arrangements (if applicable)

Local travel within Ethiopia may be required for consultations or participation in the validation workshop. All travel must be pre-approved by ILO and will be covered according to ILO travel policy, including DSA, transport and other allowable expenses.