Terms of Reference (ToR) National Consultant to provide technical assistance for mainstreaming ILS reporting for Somalia

• 1. Background and Justification

Somalia, according to the World Bank’s classification, is categorized as a low-income country with an estimated per capita income of US$ 513 in 2016. It is also classified among the Heavily Indebted Countries. Somalia has an estimated population of 15 million persons, which is growing at a fast rate. Around 42 per cent of the country’s population lives in urban areas, 23 per cent resides in rural areas, while 26 per cent is nomadic. The population includes approximately 2.65 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who live in IDP settlements, many of which are in urban and peri-urban areas. The country is urbanising rapidly at about 4 per cent nationally. Somalia has a predominantly young population, with 46 per cent of the population being below the age of 15 years and 81 per cent below 35. On the other hand, the population aged 65 years and above accounts for 6.5 per cent of the total population.

Somalia’s economy has grown modestly in recent years; the real annual GDP growth during 2013 – 17 averaged 2.5 per cent, with growth touching a peak of 4.4 per cent in 2016 but contracted to 2.3 per cent in 2017 due to a severe drought. Growth was expected to recover gradually in 2018-2020 to reach 3.1 per cent by 2020. However, a triple crisis of COVID-19, locust infestation and floods in 2020 caused the economy to contract by 1.5%. In recent years, economic growth has been driven by a combination of private consumption, financed mainly by remittances from the diaspora, and on the supply side, by growth in services and agriculture.

The National Development Plan 9 (NDP-9), covering 2021-2025, outlines Somalia’s overall national development priorities. It serves as a roadmap for the Federal Government of Somalia for interventions and investments, as a source of strategy and alignment for the Federal Member States’ plans and as a guide for development partners in their planning. The NDP-9 is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and serves as an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), enabling the country to seek debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The poverty reduction strategy of the NDP-9, developed through broad-based consultations with all stakeholders, has four Pillars; i) Inclusive and Accountable Politics; ii) Improved Security and the Rule of Law; iii) Inclusive Economic Growth (including increased employment) and iv) Improved Social Development. Employment-related concerns fall under Pillar 3 (Inclusive Economic Growth). Pillar 3 seeks to transform the economy by improving traditional livestock and crop production industries’ resilience to meet the growing challenges from climate change and inducing growth elsewhere in the private sector to broaden and sustain the growth base and provide more employment opportunities.

Somalia has ratified 26 international labour conventions, of which 20 are in force. These include eight out of the ten ILO fundamental Conventions. After two decades of conflict, in March 2014, the Federal Government of Somalia ratified three fundamental conventions, including the conventions on Freedom of Association Nos. 87 and 98 as well as the Worst Forms of Child Labour No. 182. The other five fundamental conventions ratified earlier by Somalia are the Forced Labour Conventions Nos. 29 and 105, the OSH conventions Nos. 155 and 187 and the Discrimination Convention No. 111.

In May 2019, the Federal Government of Somalia conveyed its willingness to ratify the remaining two fundamental conventions – the Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100 of 1951; and the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 of 1973. The Government has also communicated its commitment to ratify the governance Convention on employment policy No. 122. The ratification of these conventions is still pending.

On the other hand, in March 2021, Somalia ratified one governance convention on tripartite consultation (ILS) No. 144. In addition, it ratified the two migration conventions Nos. 97 and 143, two conventions related to occupational safety and health, Nos. 155 and 187, and the Private Employment Agencies Convention No. 181. Somalia became the second African country to ratify the Violence and Harassment Convention No. 190. These seven new ratifications were formally deposited in a ceremony with the ILO Director-General.

Of the total 19 technical conventions, the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention No. 94 of 1949 and the Protection of Wages Convention No. 95 of 1949 are most relevant, while several older conventions need to be replaced by their more up-to-date conventions on labour inspection, mining, employment injuries and the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006.

The Federal Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (MoLSA) has the responsibility to collect inputs from all Federal Member States and Line Ministries, compile a Country Report, get it endorsed by tripartite constituents and send it to the relevant ILO Committees. MoLSA also represents Government of Somalia in different international forums – relating to ‘Labour’. It is therefore imminent for the Ministry to work closely and develop a robust mechanism for reporting on international labour standards. Keeping in view the positive outlook of Somalia’s national commitment towards Decent Work promotion, it is a high time to support the tripartite stakeholders (Government, Employers and Workers) to jointly initiate a process for reporting on ILS.

Accordingly, the ILO will support capacity development of Government and social partners to effectively report on ratified ILO Conventions and support the Ministry in reducing the reporting backlog on ratified conventions (Article 22 reports). After many years of absence, in 2019, Somalia produced its first report on C. 182 and regular reports on Convention Nos. 87 and 98. In 2021, through ILO technical assistance Somalia was able to produce reports on Conventions Nos. 29, 105 and 111. Further to reporting, capacity building among tripartite constituents regarding the ILO normative system is also critical.

The Ministry of Labour of Somalia plays a crucial role in shaping the labour policies, ensuring compliance with labour laws, and reporting on labour standards both domestically and internationally. To enhance the effectiveness of these tasks, the Ministry through the support of the ILO seeks to engage a National Consultant to support capacity building and technical assistance in its reporting obligations. The national consultant will be engaged to support Technical Working Group to prepare regular reports on ILO conventions C019, C087, C094, C097, C098, C105, C143, C144, C155, C181, C182, C187, C190. This will be a demonstration support – where most of the work will be done by the Consultant – but the entire Working Group will be fully informed and engaged in getting relevant information from relevant quarters.

1. Objectives and Expected Results

The overall objective of this assignment is to support national and state-level institutions, policymakers, and social partners in Somalia to effectively understand, implement, and report on ILO Conventions ratified by the country. Moreover, provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Somalia in preparing, compiling, and submitting comprehensive 13 reports on ratified Conventions for which Report is due.

More specifically,

1. Provide technical support to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and social partners in preparing, revising, and submitting overdue reports on ratified ILO Conventions.
2. The reports should describe a clear context of the labour legislation, including the new labour law, and labour administration systems prevalent in the Country, wherever applicable or possible, process of legislative and regulatory framework development and identification of key stakeholders for consultation and process of consultations/dialogue.
3. Develop instruments and adopt a process to get detailed inputs from all stakeholders on the above-mentioned Conventions.
4. Adopt a process to mainstream ILS Reporting in the basic functions of Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs.
5. For the consultant to share his working methodology as example approach toward the preparation by the Ministry of the 13 reports (Conventions nos. C019, C087, C094, C097, C098, C105, C143, C144, C155, C181, C182, C187, C190) as requested by the Committee of Experts, requested in 2025.

Strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of government officials, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and other stakeholders to effectively apply international labour standards, with a focus on labour migration.

7. Enhance understanding of ILO Conventions and labour migration governance among national actors to support coherent policies and informed decision-making.

1. Scope of Work and Methodology

• Prepare a list of institutions (Government, and non-Government) from where most of the information will be collected; (already available from the earlier consultancy)
• Gather and analyze data from various sources to ensure accurate and up-to-date information is used in reports.
• Liaise with different departments within the Ministry, social partners and other external stakeholders to gather necessary information and ensure timely submission of reports.
• Conduct preliminary meetings with ILO Somalia Office and MoLSA Focal Person(s) to get relevant documents and other sources of information.
• Organize individual meetings with other stakeholders (Line Ministries through MoLSA, Employers and Workers, ILO and other stakeholders) for maximum information gathering.
• Compile first draft of Report and submit to MoLSA (copy to ILO) for review – by tripartite stakeholders (Submission should be through email – with MS-Word version of Report).
• Provide training (with the guidance of ILS specialist) and mentorship to Ministry staff and social partners (tripartite team for report preparation) on effective implementation and report writing of ILS.
• Revise and finalize all the report and submit to MoLSA (copy to ILO) as final deliverables (submission should be through email – with MS-Word version of Report).
• Provide technical support with MoLSA and social partners to prepare and submit overdue reports to the ILO on conventions that has been ratified by Somalia.
• Facilitate a tripartite workshop on ILS, in particular labour migration conventions with policymakers and social partners at both national and state levels.
• Create a space for dialogue, learning, and joint problem-solving on labour migration, and international labour standards.
• Provide practical tools and recommendations to make the reporting process more manageable and sustainable.
• Prepare and submit reports of the workshop and technical assistance provided to MOLSA and National constituents on reporting of ILO conventions.

3. Deliverable

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• support the submission of due report on ILO report on ratified conventions.
• Training on ILS for the Ministry staff and social partners.
• Documentation of training sessions conducted for Ministry staff and social partners.
• Deliverables shall be submitted in line with the requirements explained in these Terms of Reference in a timely manner, in accordance e with the planned deadlines between the ILO and the selected National consultant. All deliverables of these Terms of Reference are subject to the approval of the ILO.

4. Confidentiality

The consultant must maintain the confidentiality of all sensitive information obtained during the consultancy and adhere to the Ministry’s and ILO’s policies on data protection and privacy.

• 1. Qualifications and Experience

Qualified individual who wishes to apply for this consultancy should meet the following criteria:

• A university degree holder in labour law, social science, public administration, international development, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years proven experience in international labour standards, labor policy analysis, report writing, and data management or ILO Convention reporting processes.
• Solid understanding of the socio-economic and institutional context of Somalia, particularly in relation to labour, employment, and migration issues.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate stakeholder dialogues, policy discussions, and capacity-building workshops.
• Strong analytical and writing skills, with experience in preparing technical reports and documentation.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including fluency in English and Somali.

1. Supervision and logistical arrangements

All activities within the scope of these Terms of Reference will be carried out under the overall supervision of the NORMES Specialist in ILO DWT Cairo and Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO BRMM project in ILO Country Office Addis Ababa, with the support from National Project Coordinator, based in Mogadishu Office.

1. Timeline and Payment Schedule

This assignment will be carried out over a period of 22 working days within two months, from 15 July 2025 to 15 September 2025**.**

Deliverables

Timelines

% of Payments

• Submission of inception report including his/her understanding of the assignment, detailed methodology and detailed workplan.

30 July 2025 20%

• Draft report- Facilitate and Submit Tripartite capacity-building workshop Report – Mogadishu.

15 August 2025 30%

• Final Report- Provide technical support and ensure the timely submission of the due report by the MOLSA

1 Sept 2025 50%

Total 100%

• 1. Evaluation Criteria

The submitted offer will be assessed against the following criteria:

Evaluation Criteria

Maximum marks

A university degree in labour law, migration studies, public policy, international development, or a related field. 25

Minimum of 5 years proven experience in international labour standards, or ILO Convention reporting processes. 20

Demonstrated Technical and Contextual Understanding and Provide at least two of provide sample work related to international labour conventions, Report of ILO conventions 25

Proven ability to conduct stakeholder dialogues, lead policy discussions, deliver capacity-building workshops, and prepare high-quality technical reports in English and Somali 20

Experience working with Ministry of Labour, migrant workers or for the ILO or UN agencies. 10

Maximum Points 100

Minimum Acceptable Score for the Proposal to be considered for financial evaluation. 70

Weight:

• Technical Evaluation – Qualifications, understanding of the assignment and Experience – 70%
• Financial evaluation – 30%

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