Result of Service

Expected tangible and measurable output(s)/deliverable(s): Based on the Terms of Reference, the consultant will produce the following outputs:

Technical Support to PROTECT Project Implementation: Technical inputs and support throughout the consultancy to agreed PROTECT activities. including research and mapping, stakeholder meetings, consultations and workshops in Indonesia and Malaysia, with relevant meeting materials and documentation.
Stakeholder Consultation Report: Summary and analysis of consultations with relevant government and other stakeholders, including stakeholder perspectives, key findings, identified good practices and issues requiring further assessment.
Integrity Risk and TIP Vulnerability Assessment: Technical assessment of key integrity and corruption risks, TIP vulnerabilities, institutional gaps, safeguards and oversight mechanisms within Malaysia’s migrant worker recruitment, placement and employment processes, drawing on desk research, process mapping and stakeholder consultations.
Malaysia Validation Workshop: A validation workshop convened with relevant Malaysian government and other stakeholders to present and discuss the preliminary findings of the integrity risk and TIP vulnerability assessment, including workshop materials, documentation of stakeholder feedback and agreed or proposed revisions to the assessment.
Indonesia–Malaysia Synthesis: Report: An integrated technical analysis combining the Malaysia and Indonesia assessments to identify cross-border integrity risks, vulnerabilities to TIP, institutional and procedural gaps, good practices, and priority recommendations across the Indonesia–Malaysia labour migration corridor.
Indonesia–Malaysia Findings Workshop: A joint workshop involving relevant stakeholders from Indonesia and Malaysia to present the consolidated findings of the assessments, facilitate discussion of cross-border integrity risks and TIP vulnerabilities, and identify priority recommendations and opportunities for strengthened bilateral cooperation.

Work Location

Home-based with travel in Southeast Asia countries

Expected duration

16 November 2026 - 19 March 2027

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Background of the assignment: Corruption remains a significant obstacle to development globally and throughout the Southeast Asia and Pacific (SEAP) region. It is a cross-cutting enabler of a range of illicit activities, including trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM). Corruption involving public officials can facilitate serious and organized crime, undermine the rule of law, and weaken countries’ ability to advance their development agendas. In the context of labour migration, corruption and integrity failures can create or exacerbate vulnerabilities at multiple stages of the migration process, including recruitment, documentation, placement, border crossing, workplace inspection and access to protection and remedy, thereby creating opportunities for exploitation and trafficking The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), together with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (TIP Protocol), provide comprehensive international frameworks for strengthening anti-corruption, organized crime and TIP prevention and response. All countries in the SEAP region have ratified these universal legal instruments. UNODC provides technical assistance to countries to prevent and combat these crimes, including by strengthening legal and policy frameworks, criminal justice responses, institutional capacities and international cooperation, in accordance with the rule of law and human rights. The UNODC Regional Programme for Southeast Asia and the Pacific 2022–2026 is designed to respond to both current and emerging challenges in the region, with the overarching objective of securing and reinforcing the rule of law in Southeast Asia and the Pacific and ensuring that vulnerable groups and communities are protected from crime. In support of this objective, UNODC’s Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP) implements a range of capacity-building projects that strengthen the ability of national authorities to prevent TIP and SOM, identify and protect the rights of trafficked persons and smuggled migrants, and investigate and dismantle the criminal networks that profit from these crimes, including through strengthened regional cooperation. One such initiative, the Ensuring Decent Work and Reducing Vulnerabilities for Women and Children in the Context of Labour Migration in Southeast Asia (PROTECT) project, focuses on reducing vulnerabilities to exploitation and trafficking within labour migration processes. As part of this work, PROTECT seeks to identify points within recruitment, placement and migration processes where corruption and integrity risks may arise, assess existing oversight and accountability mechanisms, and provide targeted technical support to address identified gaps. By strengthening integrity and oversight measures, the project aims to reduce opportunities for corruption to facilitate trafficking and exploitation and contribute to more transparent, accountable and rights-based labour migration systems. 2. Purpose of the assignment: The international consultant will provide technical and analytical support to UNODC in assessing integrity and corruption risks, institutional vulnerabilities and existing responses related to TIP SOM, with a particular focus on the recruitment, placement and employment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. The consultant will identify practical measures to strengthen transparency, accountability, oversight, prevention, detection and institutional responses across the Indonesia–Malaysia labour migration corridor. 3. Specific tasks to be performed by the Consultant: Under the supervision of the UNODC Regional Coordinator – Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling based in Bangkok and working in close consultation with other UNODC staff, the individual consultant will undertake the following substantive duties:

Provide technical support to the implementation of the PROTECT project, including ongoing research and mapping activities as well as facilitating of consultation workshops with government and CSOs in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Lead the assessment of integrity and corruption risks and related TIP vulnerabilities within Malaysia’s migrant worker recruitment, placement and employment processes, including relevant actors, safeguards and oversight mechanisms.
Identify systemic gaps and good practices, liaising with relevant government and other stakeholders, and providing practical recommendations to strengthen transparency, accountability and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.
Present and validate the preliminary findings of the Malaysia integrity risk and TIP vulnerability assessment through a national validation workshop in Malaysia, engaging relevant government agencies, civil society organizations, migrant-worker representatives and other stakeholders, and incorporate relevant feedback into the final assessment
Review the corresponding Indonesian process map and assessment findings and synthesize them with the Malaysian findings to produce an integrated analysis of the Indonesia–Malaysia labour-migration corridor.
Support and participate in a regional presentation and findings workshop involving stakeholders from Indonesia and Malaysia, presenting the consolidated findings of the assessments, facilitating discussion on cross-border risks and vulnerabilities, and identifying priority recommendations and areas for strengthened bilateral cooperation.
Other tasks as assigned by the Regional Coordinator.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, international human rights law, business administration or a related field is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. - A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in anti-corruption, integrity, governance, trafficking in persons, labour migration, migrant worker protection, or related areas, including substantial experience working in Southeast Asia, is required. - Demonstrated experience conducting governance, integrity, corruption-risk or institutional assessments, including qualitative research, stakeholder consultations, process mapping and analysis, is required. - Experience working with government agencies, migrant-worker representatives, private-sector stakeholders, academic institutions and international organizations is required. - Experience working with the United Nations in Southeast Aisa is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in English, i.e. oral and written proficiency, is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an advantage.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

International Consultant (Anti-Corruption and Trafficking in Persons)