National Consultant: Legal and Technical Support to MLSP on NRMV Implementation

About the role

IOM in the Republic of Moldova is implementing a project to reduce community-level vulnerabilities to trafficking in human beings, and MLSP plays a central role in developing and coordinating the National Referral Mechanism for Victims (NRMV). This consultancy provides targeted support to MLSP to review selected aspects of NRMV implementation and identify feasible improvements. It is a focused 20-working-day exercise, scoped with MLSP and IOM at the start, and reports to the Protection Unit of IOM Moldova.

Key responsibilities

• Agree with MLSP and IOM on priority areas, methodology, documents, stakeholders and work plan.
• Review legislation, policies, regulations, methodologies and implementation information on NRMV, victims' rights and protection.
• Assess legal, institutional and operational aspects of NRMV implementation against EU, regional and international standards, distinguishing legal amendments from regulatory, methodological or operational measures.
• Analyse multidisciplinary cooperation, referral and case-management arrangements, the roles of specialists at central and local levels, and coordination and access to specialised services.
• Consult MLSP and stakeholders on implementation challenges and possible solutions.
• Prepare preliminary findings and prioritised recommendations, revise them after feedback, and write a concise final report with next steps.
• Facilitate a final workshop to present and validate results, then submit all deliverables in Romanian in editable format.

Required profile

• Advanced university degree in law, human rights, social policy, public administration, European studies or a related field; a first-level degree plus relevant experience may be accepted.
• At least five years of experience in legal or policy analysis, legislative reform, victim protection, social services or related areas.
• Demonstrated knowledge of victims' rights, victim assistance and referral mechanisms, including trafficking in human beings.
• Experience in stakeholder consultations, workshop facilitation and preparing practical recommendations.
• Fluency in Romanian and English is mandatory; knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Required skills

• Excellent analytical, drafting and communication skills.
• Knowledge of Moldova's institutional and social assistance context is an advantage.

Deliverables are due by 26 November (inception note), 7 December (desk review), 8 December (workshop) and 22 December (draft final report). IOM covers consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under its compensation plan, and offers reasonable accommodation during recruitment.