Consultant - IOM Legal Identity and Civil Registration Toolbox

Job Description

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non‑governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

Legal Identity is relevant to a broad range of IOM programmatic areas and constitutes a cross‑cutting theme integrated into IOM’s mandate and programmes. Launched in 2021, COMPASS is a multi‑year, multi‑region programme that contributes to strengthened migration governance systems and multistakeholder cooperation. It also supports services that facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration while protecting and upholding the rights of migrants.

Over the course of three years (2021–2023), COMPASS Phase I has evolved into a comprehensive platform for cooperation at national, regional, and global levels to improve migration governance, protect migrants, and support sustainable solutions through capacity building, knowledge sharing, and multi‑sectoral partnerships.

Building on this foundation, COMPASS Phase II (2024–2027) aims to support its partners in achieving their priority objectives in pursuing improved migration governance and in finding the most effective and sustainable ways of assisting migrants and promoting their rights, dignity, and well‑being. IOM and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs have identified three priority areas for the programme: i) Specialized Protection;

ii) Localization; and iii) Legal Identity.

Since the launch of the IOM’s Legal Identity Institutional Strategy in 2021, structured around four strategic pillars that define IOM’s Global Vision and its role within the UN Legal Identity Agenda Task Force group, the Legal Identity Unit (LIU) developed over ten specialized capacity‑building tools, aimed at strengthening both internal and external capacities on legal identity programming.

To continue and strengthen this work, IOM will develop the IOM Legal Identity and Civil Registration Toolbox, a structured, five‑step framework that guides governments and institutions across the full lifecycle of civil registration and legal identity management – from the registration of vital events to the establishment, issuance, authentication, and ongoing management of identity credentials and travel documents. It will integrate the use of digital and biometric technologies to strengthen civil registration systems and facilitate safe, dignified, and efficient mobility.

In doing so, the toolbox will promote inclusion and access to services, while underpinning broader objectives related to identity and migration management, border governance, and sustainable development in alignment with global frameworks such as SDG 16.9 (providing legal identity for all) and GCM Objectives 4, 7, 11, and 14.

Each Step will build upon the previous one, ensuring a coherent approach that addresses the entire identity lifecycle – from registration and verification to document issuance, authentication, and mobility enablement. The Toolbox will provide practical guidance and standardized tools covering key components of the identity ecosystem, including:

• Civil Registration and Identity Creation
• Identity and travel documents issuance
• Biometrics and digital identity credentials (linked to CRVS)
• Identity and document authentication systems
• Travel and mobility facilitation

The toolbox will offer detailed guidelines, methodologies, and training materials to assist Member States in improving or establishing comprehensive and inclusive legal identity systems at every stage – from assessment to implementation.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Officer (IBG), the Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Category B Consultants:
  Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment
• The entire scope of the Consultancy Contract will be fulfilled in 3 deliverables:
• Deliverable 1:
  Detailed workplan outlining the framework for the development of the “IOM Legal Identity and Civil Registration…