USAID’s Connecting Pathways for Rights (CCD) program supports the transition between humanitarian aid and medium- and long-term development for Venezuelan migrants, Colombian returnees and host communities in Colombia. It aims to increase community cohesion and citizen security, to guarantee the right of all members of society to live free from all forms of crime and violence, regardless of their legal status in the country. CCD is implemented by a consortium comprised of ABA ROLI, Freedom House, Internews and Pact. CCD operates in metropolitan areas with large migrant populations such as Riohacha, Maicao, Cúcuta, Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellín, Bogotá, Pasto and Ipiales.
CCD addresses the human rights violations prevalent in host communities that pose the greatest risk to cohesion and security. The project supports the prevention and protection of people from labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, forced recruitment, human trafficking, forced disappearance and gender-based violence (GBV). Among the populations prioritized by CCD, emphasis is placed on women, children and youth, indigenous people, Afro-Colombians and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Under Objective 1 -Prevention of human rights violations- CCD strengthens the Colombian government’s legal framework and institutional capacity for the prevention of human rights violations and the regularization of Venezuelan migrants. At the same time, it has an impact on the strengthening of the comprehensive migration policy at the national and territorial levels.
CCD strengthens the work of the migration roundtables and the municipal and departmental migration councils to promote a comprehensive response to the needs of the migrant, refugee and returnee population in border territories, in those areas of transit, entry and circulation. To this end, it develops processes of analysis of the situation in border areas, providing recommendations to migration authorities and other institutions responsible for guaranteeing the rights of these populations, to qualify their interventions and improve their institutional coordination. Likewise, it designs and implements training methodologies aimed at public officials in migration matters who make up the migration roundtables and councils, contributing to their strengthening and permanent updating in migration policy. CCD supports the construction of territorial migration plans with a rights-based approach.
Likewise, CCD contributes to the strengthening of civil society organizations, leaders, so that they learn and appropriate the concepts regarding the rights of migrant, refugee and returnee populations, care routes, territorial migration dynamics and the construction of advocacy plans that guarantee their participation in migration policy issues.
Based on the above, it is considered appropriate that USAID’s Connecting Pathways for Rights Program continues to strengthen institutions, institutional coordination bodies and civil society organizations, leaders in the field of migration policy, for which a person with a “Professional degree in Law, Political Science, Humanities and/or Social Sciences, with at least (5) years of professional experience related to work in the field of institutional strengthening, rights of the migrant population and migration policy” will be hired.
Consultant Responsibilities
The consultant will be responsible for providing professional services to support institutional strengthening in the area of migration policy at the national and territorial level, including border areas, as well as to civil society organizations, leaders and defenders of the rights of the migrant population.
Main duties and responsibilities
1. Accompany the development of a Technical Roundtable for the presentation of the draft Departmental Ordinance and the presentation of the reasons for updating the Departmental Council for Integral Attention to the migrant population of the department of Norte de Santander, built with the technical assistance of CCD.
2. Support the development of a space for socialization of the Migration Action Plan of the Government of Norte de Santander to the Council of Government, built with the technical assistance of CCD.
3. Systematize and consolidate the process of building the Migration Action Plan of the Government of Santander, initiated with the technical assistance of CCD.
4. Support the Governor’s Office of Norte de Santander and/or the Mayor’s Office of Cúcuta, in the implementation of the instruments previously developed by CCD in terms of migration policy with the department and strengthen the migration roundtables and/or councils that are prioritized.
5. Support the High Council for Migration of the Office of the Mayor of Bogota in the development of a participatory and co-creation process for the design and validation of the District Public Policy on Migration.
Deliverables
6. Methodology and systematization document of the validation and consultation process within the framework of the design process of the District Public Policy on Migration.
Consultant Supervision
The consultant will have the technical and managerial guidance of the Human Rights Violations Prevention Leader from ABA ROLI and the support of the territorial coordinators in Bogotá and Cúcuta to guarantee the quality and execution of the activities and deliverables.
Basic Qualifications
- Professional in Law, Political Sciences, Humanities and/or Social Sciences with specialization or Master’s degree in areas relevant to the project, preferably in human rights, international law or migration law.
- Minimum of eight (8) years of demonstrated professional experience institutional and community strengthening, preferably in the context of migration.
- Work experience in a professional environment with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Strong commitment to the principles of the rule of law.
- Fluency in Spanish (written and oral) is required.
- Experience with Microsoft Office software.
Preferred Qualifications
- At least five (5) years of relevant technical and academic experience in the analysis and elaboration of training contents in Colombia, including institutional and community strengthening processes, as well as in planning processes and construction of action plans, preferably in the migratory context.
- Colombian National strongly preferred.
How to apply:
To apply, please send your CV and cover letter to lac-recruitment@americanbar.org.
Include the name of the position and the country “Expert in Migration Policy and Border Zone” - Colombia) in the subject line.
