The project meet its objectives through an innovative cross-border partnership that builds on existing national and regional initiatives to advance children’s rights along the Central Mediterranean Route. By strengthening national child protection systems to better include migrant children and promoting child-sensitive migration management, the project will support children’s best interests throughout their journey. Interventions will focus on building government capacity to develop inclusive policies, improve child protection and case management systems, expand access to legal identity, and strengthen regional data systems, ensuring a continuous and coordinated protection response along the route.
The activities will follow a systems-based approach aligned with the strategic frameworks of IOM and UNICEF, contributing to the strengthening of protection systems and to the promotion of children’s rights and equality, including for those in migration contexts, in line with their respective strategies and collaboration frameworks.
More specifically, the activities will:
support specialized protection interventions aimed at addressing human rights violations and restoring the rights of survivors and individuals at risk;
strengthen institutional knowledge and capacity through training and evidence generation, thereby improving the coherence and effectiveness of programming across COMPASS countries and beyond.
The coordinator reports to Coordinating Organization’s country lead / head of programs but works in close coordination with the regional focal points and IOM’s lead project manager.
Serve as “Secretariat”, ensuring staff directory and contact information is up to date; convening meetings for the Country Team, drafting meeting agendas, and notes; reliably saving documents and communications in the joint IOM-SC-UNICEF Sharepoint site; and ensuring timely, organized communication to keep all partners informed at country, regional and global level. When consensus cannot be obtained for decision-making at country level amongst partners, escalate any issues with global focal points.
Undertake desk review and co-author the Central Mediterranean Joint Report (scope to be defined) mapping promising practices, gaps and needs across the route – in collaboration with the Coordinators from the other Country Teams. Assist with feedback and revision process to finalize report, design, publication and dissemination.
Under overall leadership of IOM’s Programme Manager, co-organize a Regional Convening on behalf of the Country Team (in collaboration with the other Country Team Coordinators) for government delegates and stakeholders from the target countries to jointly develop a route-based framework focused on:
Inclusive child-sensitive SOPs, tools and referral pathways for cross-border case management that ensure continuity of care, including attention to legal identity documentation.
Implementation of interoperable information management systems in line with data protection standards and SOPs.
Generation and dissemination of evidence on good practices and costing of models where migrant children’s access to national services has improved.
Harmonized alternative care arrangements to ensure continuum of care along the route
Identifying relevant stakeholders to attend the convening;
Preparing participants and speakers for their interventions;
Sending invites and coordinating travel arrangements for government participants from the country
Facilitating sessions as needed.
Providing any other organizational support as needed
Specific activities for the Regional Convening include:
In order to develop a costed national action plan, depending on how this is determined to take place in each country, the Coordinator may be responsible for: pre-event, during-event, and post-event responsibilities for any events or meetings within a country, including but not limited to the activities listed above for the Regional Convening. If a formal convening is planned at national level, responsibilities could include:
co-drafting and disseminating Concept Note, invitation letters for speakers and participants, agenda and resource materials, session plans, run-of-show, etc. in consultation with the broader Country Teams.
Identifying and securing venue space, food, interpretation (if needed) and other on-the-ground needs; Managing participant travel logistics.
Coordinate quantitative and qualitative reporting for the Country Team in coordination with other Country Team Coordinators, Regional and global offices. Collate and share inputs to the final report for the Netherlands.
A Master's degree in one of the following fields is required: international development, human rights, psychology, sociology, international law, or another relevant social science field.
The Country Team Coordinator should be a senior professional with substantial experience in government liaison, partnership management, and multi-agency coordination. The following attributes are recommended:
Extensive Experience in Government Liaison: Demonstrated track record of engaging with government counterparts at national and sub-national levels, including facilitating high-level meetings, negotiating on behalf of multi-agency teams, and navigating complex political or operational environments.
Expertise in Child Protection and Migration Issues: Familiarity with child-sensitive approaches, cross-border case management, and the protection needs of migrant children
Analytical and Reporting Abilities: Ability to coordinate qualitative reporting, synthesize inputs from multiple partners, and draft analytical reports and contribute to joint reports and evidence generation.
Leadership in Multi-Partner Settings: Proven ability to coordinate and facilitate collaboration among diverse partners, ensuring equal participation, shared decision-making, and operational coherence in line with the principles of equal partnership among IOM, Save the Children, and UNICEF.
Partnership principles for Programme Delivery
Equal partnership is one of the overall guiding principles of the IOM-SC-UNICEF Global Programme[1]. Programme implementation is founded on the principle of equal collaboration between IOM, SC and UNICEF. Regardless of administrative, funding, or convening arrangements, all three organizations maintain equal voice, visibility, and decision-making authority throughout the implementation of the programme.
Joint operational planning and delivery - Implementation at country level is guided by a jointly agreed Country Workplan, endorsed by all three agencies. Each partner contributes to operational delivery in line with agreed roles, responsibilities and comparative advantages, while maintaining shared ownership of programme results and deliverables.
Country Team coordination - Programme implementation is coordinated through a joint Country Team. The designated Country Team Coordinator, appointed by the Coordinating Partner, serves in a facilitative and administrative capacity, supporting coordination, information-sharing and operational coherence. The Coordinator does not act as a gatekeeper, lead implementer, or sole representative of the partnership.
Joint decision-making and external communication - All substantive operational, programmatic and coordination decisions- including engagement and communication with government counterparts and other stakeholders related to this programme are jointly discussed and agreed within the Country Team. All partners are represented in meetings related to the programme unless agreed otherwise by the Country Team.
Exceptions, transparency and escalation - Where bilateral communication/engagement or deviations from jointly agreed implementation are required due to contextual or political considerations, these are discussed and agreed in advance within the Country Team, with full transparency. Where consensus cannot be reached at country level, issues are escalated to the global level focal points for guidance and resolution.
