Capacity Building Expert for Private Recruiting Agencies on Ethical Recruitment Standards

International Organization for Migration · Tashkent

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Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants. 

IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.

IOM invites candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process when required. Learn more about IOM’s workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration
 

Project Context and Scope

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), under the Swedish Ministry of Justice-funded project “Promotion of Regular Pathways and Prevention of Irregular Migration to Sweden and the EU from Uzbekistan,” supports the Government of Uzbekistan in promoting safe, orderly and regular labour migration and strengthening regular labour migration pathways.

Private Recruitment Agencies (PRAs) play an important role in facilitating regular labour migration and connecting Uzbek workers with employment opportunities abroad. As the role of private recruitment agencies continues to expand, strengthening their professional capacity to apply ethical recruitment principles is essential to ensuring transparent, fair and responsible recruitment practices and reducing risks of exploitation, excessive recruitment costs, debt and other vulnerabilities faced by migrant workers.

IOM therefore seeks to engage a qualified Consultant to design and deliver an interactive capacity-building training curriculum for representatives of PRAs on international ethical recruitment standards and responsible recruitment practices, with particular emphasis on the Employer Pays Principle (EPP).

The Consultant should introduce participants to internationally recognized principles and standards for ethical recruitment, provide practical examples and lessons learned from other countries, and support participants in understanding how these principles can be applied in their day-to-day recruitment operations.

The training should be highly practical and participant-centred. It should combine short technical presentations with facilitated discussions, practical exercises, case studies, group work and scenario-based learning. Examples should reflect the operational realities of recruitment agencies working with Uzbek migrant workers and employers in destination countries.

The Consultant shall ensure that the content is adapted to the Uzbek context and relevant to the roles, responsibilities and business processes of PRAs. The training should also identify practical measures that agencies can introduce to strengthen transparency, worker protection, responsible fee practices, employer engagement, grievance mechanisms and overall compliance with ethical recruitment standards.

Background and Objectives

International labour recruitment can provide important employment opportunities for migrant workers but may also create risks where recruitment processes lack transparency or where workers bear inappropriate or excessive recruitment-related costs.

International standards and initiatives, including ILO fair recruitment principles, IOM’s ethical recruitment framework and the Employer Pays Principle, provide guidance for promoting responsible recruitment and protecting migrant workers from recruitment-related exploitation and financial burdens.

Against this background, IOM seeks to strengthen the capacity of PRAs in Uzbekistan to understand and apply internationally recognized ethical recruitment principles and to promote responsible recruitment practices in their engagement with workers and employers.

The main objectives of this initiative are to:

• Strengthen PRAs’ understanding of internationally recognized ethical recruitment standards and principles;

• Introduce participants to the Employer Pays Principle, its rationale, key elements and practical implications for recruitment agencies and employers; 

• Build participants’ understanding of Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking (CREST), including the role and responsibility of businesses and recruitment agencies in identifying, preventing and addressing risks of forced labour, exploitation and trafficking in recruitment and employment processes; 

• Introduce participants to Migration, Business and Human Rights (MBHR) principles and their practical relevance to recruitment agencies, employers and migrant worker protection;

• Present relevant international practices and experiences from countries that have introduced or promoted ethical recruitment and responsible recruitment systems;

• Strengthen participants’ ability to identify and address recruitment-related risks, including excessive or inappropriate worker-paid fees, lack of transparency, misleading information and contractual risks;

• Provide practical guidance on applying ethical recruitment principles throughout the recruitment process, from job order and employer engagement through worker selection, placement and post-placement support;

• Strengthen PRAs’ understanding of grievance, complaint and referral mechanisms relevant to migrant workers;

• Support participants in identifying practical steps that their agencies can take to improve ethical recruitment practices and compliance.
   

Scope of Work and Key Tasks

The selected Consultant will be responsible for the preparation and delivery of an interactive capacity-building training programme for representatives of PRAs, to be conducted over one or two days. The assignment shall include the following key tasks:

• Review relevant international standards, principles and guidance on ethical recruitment, fair recruitment and the Employer Pays Principle, including relevant materials and approaches related to Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking  and Migration, Business and Human Rights (MBHR);

• Introduce participants to practical approaches for promoting integrity and transparency throughout the recruitment process, including recruitment agency due diligence, responsible engagement with employers and workers, prevention of fraudulent and deceptive practices, proper documentation and record-keeping, and measures to identify and mitigate recruitment-related risks;

• Develop a concise and practical training package tailored to PRAs in Uzbekistan, including presentations, practical exercises, case studies, scenarios and supporting materials;

• Introduce participants to internationally recognized ethical recruitment standards and explain their practical relevance to recruitment agencies;

• Provide a clear and practical explanation of the Employer Pays Principle, including the respective responsibilities of employers, recruitment agencies and workers;

• Facilitate dedicated training sessions focusing on corporate responsibility for preventing and addressing slavery, trafficking, forced labour and other forms of exploitation within recruitment and employment processes;

• Design and facilitate training on Migration, Business and Human Rights (MBHR), focusing on the responsibilities of businesses and recruitment agencies to respect migrant workers’ rights and prevent, identify and address human rights risks in recruitment and employment;

• Present examples and experiences from other countries on ethical recruitment, responsible recruitment models, employer engagement and implementation of the Employer Pays Principle;

• Develop MBHR self-assessment tools;

• Facilitate practical exercises and case studies based on realistic recruitment scenarios, including situations involving recruitment fees, employer demands, worker contracts, deductions, misinformation and complaints;

• Use practical case studies and scenarios to help participants apply the above mentioned principles to the day-to-day operations of recruitment agencies;

• Conduct pre- and post-training assessments;

• Develop a set of feasable context-specific recommendations for the potential introduction and integration of international standards and principles on Migration, Business and Human Rights (MBHR) into Uzbekistan’s labour migration framework and the practices of private recruitment agencies.

The training should cover, at minimum, the following thematic areas:

• International principles and standards on ethical and fair recruitment;

• Key principles of responsible recruitment and worker protection;

• Employer Pays Principle – concept, rationale and practical application;

• Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking – corporate responsibility, prevention of forced labour and trafficking, identification of risks, and practical measures to strengthen responsible recruitment and worker protection;

• Migration, Business and Human Rights (MBHR) – business responsibilities, migrant workers’ rights, human rights risks in recruitment and employment, and practical approaches to prevention, mitigation and remedy;

• Roles and responsibilities of employers, PRAs and migrant workers;

• Transparency of recruitment processes, costs, employment conditions and contracts;

• Responsible recruitment fees and prevention of inappropriate worker-paid costs;

• Employer due diligence and responsible engagement with foreign employers;

• Job-order verification and prevention of misleading or fraudulent recruitment;

• Protection of migrant workers from exploitation, coercion and deceptive practices;

• Grievance, complaint, referral and remedy mechanisms;

• International country examples and practical lessons learned;

• Practical application of ethical recruitment, Corporate responsibility and MBHR principles in the Uzbek context;

• Development of agency-level actions to strengthen ethical recruitment practices.

The final structure and thematic emphasis of the training shall be agreed with IOM Uzbekistan based on consultations with relevant stakeholders and the identified needs of participating PRAs.

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