Migration Crisis Advisor

City/Country Location Details Danlí, Honduras

Employment Status

Job Type Project

1. BACKGROUND

The Honduras Local Governance (HLG) Activity works to enhance basic service delivery provision through increased citizen influence and improved governance in 35 targeted municipalities in both urban and rural areas. The Activity ensures that health, education, and other critical services are expanded, deepened, and made sustainable as part of a holistic effort to promote local governance.

The Activity strengthens governance actions at the national, subnational, and local level, where basic services are delivered and where most Honduran citizens interact with their government. In addition, HLG works to contribute to the increase in citizen security and access to health services for vulnerable populations in high crime urban areas. This is achieved through capacity development of local government and service providers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to strengthen the essential capacity of civil society groups, local governments, and service providers to provide citizens with improved services. In alignment with USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy for 2020-2025 and its goal of “A more prosperous, democratic and secure Honduras where citizens, especially youth, are inspired to stay and invest in their future,” the Activity will also contribute to the reduction of irregular migration and reintegration of migrant returnees, while adopting Positive Youth Development approaches within the HLG context.

On May 24, 2022, the Honduras Local Governance (HLG) Activity received a Task Order Contract Modification, to extend the Activity’s period of performance, increase the total estimated cost, and update requirements and deliverables. One of the changes required HLG to pivot not only geographically, but also adapt management structure, methodology, technical approach, and implementation strategy.

Honduras has become a transit territory of migrants coming from South America and the Caribbean and other continents, who decide venturing on a migratory route that exposes them to numerous risks along their journey to the North. Between January 1, 2022, and 6 August 2023, 384,978 people have traveled through the Honduran territory. More than 55,000 people have been reported arriving in Honduras during the month of August, mainly from countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Ecuador, and Colombia. The immigration situation on the eastern border of Honduras have reached unprecedented numbers.

In the municipality of Danlí (which concentrates the majority of mixed displacements at this time), a "migration crisis" has developed due to the complex and large-scale migration flows coming from the near Nicaraguan border. The need for protection and sanitation services to support migrants in transit exceeds the capacity of existing mechanisms from both the local and national government.

It is expected that irregular migrants in transit will experience a notable increase during the last months of 2023. The municipal authorities of Danlí are overwhelmed with the current situation as they don’t have the tools, experience or the resources to manage such situation, and therefore HLG proposes the hiring of a consultant, a Migration Crisis Advisor (MCA), who can help the mayor plan short-, medium-, and long-term actions to provide an integrated and safe humanitarian response to migrants in transit through this municipality.

2. OBJECTIVES

The Migration Crisis Advisor (MCA) will closely work with the Mayor of Danlí and the municipal council members to ensure appropriate planning and cross-sectoral coordination in response to the ongoing migration crisis. She / he will spearhead the development of short-, medium-, and long-term strategic plans, including key aspects such as information, migration processes, transit shelter, communications, health, food, hygiene, protection, and transportation, especially being sensitive to issues such as age, gender, diversity, HIV, and the environment.

During her/his tenure, the incumbent will work directly with the Danlí Mayor and will serve, with the mayor’s approval, as the municipal focal point for planning and coordination for the migration crisis response.

a. Place of Duty

Danlí, El Paraiso, Honduras

1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

The STTA will be responsible for the following:

A. Strategic Direction and Coordination

§ Lead, coordinate, and conduct needs assessments, including participatory assessments of the on-going migration crisis in Danlí.

§ Develop a map of assistance and humanitarian actors operating in Danlí.

§ Develop short-, medium-, and long-term strategic plans in a consultative process with the local government, national government agencies, and development partners including international cooperation, INGOs, CSOs and private sector and ensure that plans cover all identified humanitarian needs of migrants arriving in or passing through the municipality.

§ While developing strategic plans, ensure the integration of cross-cutting issues including age, gender, environment, and diversity.

§ Socialize plans with local, and national authorities, UN agencies and INGOs, CSOs and private sector, adjusting the plans as deem needed.

§ Provide transparent strategic direction to development of funding criteria, budget, and resource mobilization strategy.

§ Establish mechanisms for accountable and transparent resource allocation, use and reporting.

§ Provide coordination services, including meetings, in line with the Principles of Partnership, ensuring that coordination is inclusive, consultative and results oriented.

§ Ensure coordination with government counterparts and other relevant authorities.

§ Ensure that contingency planning and emergency preparedness measures are updated and developed.

§ Ensure the development and maintenance of the core documents such as strategic plans, meeting minutes, technical standards, agreements, and MOUs with third parties, and periodical factsheets.

B. Information Management, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

§ Ensure that the Municipality has a functional information management strategy and mechanism to report and share information with the central government agencies, and with the overall humanitarian community including donors, such as USAID, the UN and others.

§ Ensure that the Municipality produces analytical reports, including the Factsheets including information on migrants in transit is disaggregated by sex and age.

§ Ensure that the Municipality maintains an updated website and produces regular updates on the concerns of the migrants in transit, the ongoing response, the gaps, challenges and recommendations.

§ Promote and ensure monitoring and evaluation of the impact of operations carried out by cluster members and the performance of the coordination team.

C. Capacity Development

§ Coordinate initiatives to build the capacity of the local government, national government agencies, other relevant authorities, development and humanitarian partners, and civil society to respond to migration crisis.

2. QUALIFICATIONS

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

· Advanced university degree, preferably in humanitarian or migration-or other related sciences

· At least ten years’ relevant experience in working with international organizations (e.g. USAID, UN agencies, INGOs, Red Cross Red Crescent).

· Work experience in Honduras or Central America is preferable.

· Excellent leadership, coordination, and representation skills.

· Strong negotiation and interpersonal skills.

· Excellent knowledge of the role of the humanitarian community as well as the humanitarian protection principles to apply in a migration crisis.

· Updated knowledge of current the migration crisis in Central America

· Excellent knowledge written and oral skills in English and Spanish.

Managerial Competencies

§ Empowering and Building Trust

§ Managing Performance

§ Judgement and Decision Making

§ Strategic Planning and Vision

§ Leadership

§ Managing Resources

Cross-Functional Competencies

§ Analytical Thinking

§ Planning and Organizing

§ Stakeholder Management

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