Individual Consultant-Expedited

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

Ngara District Council in Kagera Region occupies one of Tanzania's most strategically exposed geographic positions for cross-border disease transmission. The district shares international borders with Burundi to the west and Rwanda to the north, with the Kabanga and Rusumo One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) as the two designated official crossing points. Both sites are characterized by high volumes of cross-border movement driven by trade, livelihoods, family visits, and health-seeking behavior.

The regional public health risk is substantially elevated by the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease (BDBV) outbreak in Ituri Province, eastern DRC, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 17 May 2026. The outbreak has since spread to South Kivu province, which shares the Great Lakes corridor with western Tanzania. Confirmed EVD cases have also been reported in Uganda, and the temporary closure of the Uganda-DRC border on 27 May 2026 has heightened the risk of movement diversion through informal and unmonitored crossings into Tanzania.

Kagera Region has an estimated 110+ informal border crossing points, meaning that a significant proportion of cross-border movement occurs outside formal surveillance and health screening systems. There is currently no systematic, evidence-based understanding of population movement patterns at Kabanga and Rusumo OSBPs, mobility corridors, informal crossing points, congregation sites, or the profiles and behaviours of mobile populations.

IOM's Population Mobility Mapping (PMM) has demonstrated its critical value as a foundational preparedness and response tool for disease outbreaks by characterizing the profiles of migrants and mobile populations, identifying major mobility routes and spaces of vulnerability, prioritizing locations that are vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health threats, assessing preparedness and response capacities, supporting resource allocation, and informing the design and implementation of public health interventions and action plans at identified priority locations. These Terms of Reference (ToR) engage a consultant to conduct a PMM exercise in Ngara District Council.

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing

Programme Coordination Unit/ Programme Support

Responsibilities

Tasks to be performed under this contract

Objective of the Consultancy

To generate systematic, geo-referenced evidence on population mobility dynamics in Ngara District Council, with a focus on Kabanga OSBP and Rusumo OSBP, to inform risk-stratified EVD surveillance, targeted public health messaging and community engagement, and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures.

Specific objectives include;

-To co-facilitate a two-day training for data collectors, supervisors, and stakeholders covering: PMM methodology and tools, ethical considerations, data collection protocols and use of digital tools.

-To co-facilitate a two-day Participatory Mapping Exercise (PME) with key stakeholders to support the identification of mobility routes, crossing points, and high-risk sites.

-To characterize the profiles of migrants and mobile populations and the major mobility routes used in Ngara district, with particular focus on the Kabanga and Rusumo OSBPs.

-To assess the coverage, adequacy, and functionality of existing IPC measures, WASH infrastructure, and health screening systems along identified mobility corridors and at prioritized sites.

-To evaluate the level of EVD awareness, perceived risk locations, and health-seeking behaviors among mobile populations and border-adjacent communities through structured community surveys and KIIs.-To generate actionable spatial outputs including hotspot maps, mobility corridor profiles, and risk-classified site inventories that directly guide the targeting of surveillance resources, public health messaging, community engagement, and IPC interventions.-

-To draft a comprehensive PMM report in English and prepare an action-oriented analytical brief in both English and Swahili, including geo-referenced maps, key findings, and 5–7 prioritized actionable recommendations for EVD preparedness and response.

-To work in close coordination with the IOM Public Health Specialist and Programme team, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Kagera Regional Health Management Team (RHMT), and the Ngara District Council Health Management Team (CHMT), to ensure that the PMM process, fieldwork, analysis, and final outputs are technically sound, contextually relevant, and aligned with public health preparedness and response priorities.

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

1. Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

S/N

Deliverable

Activity

Timeline

Data collection tools drafted

Produce an inception report outlining the methodology, tools for the PME, site evaluation, KIIs, community survey, and traveller flow monitoring survey, consistent with the IOM PMM framework and adapted to the Ngara context.

By end of Week 1

Tools loaded onto tablets

Populate all draft tools onto data collection tablets

By end of Week 2

Data collector training co-facilitated

Co-facilitate a two-day training for data collectors covering PMM methodology, tool use, ethical data collection, and field protocols. Training report/attendance log to be submitted.

By end of Week 3

Pre-test and finalization of the tools

Conduct pre-testing in the field and document any revisions required.

Participatory Mapping Exercise (PME) conducted

Co-facilitate a two-day PME with selected district and community stakeholders using base maps of Ngara District.

By end of Week 4

Prioritized site list

Produce a structured, prioritized list of sites for field-based site evaluation, derived from PME outputs, with preliminary risk categorization (high/medium/low).

Digitized GIS map layer

Digitize all PME map outputs into a georeferenced GIS base layer, incorporating all identified crossing points, routes, congregation points, and risk zones.

Clean dataset generated

Compile, clean, and validate the full dataset collected by data collectors across all three components. Submit the clean dataset in an agreed format (e.g., Excel/CSV/SPSS) alongside a data quality notes memo.

By end of Week 8

Full PMM Report (English) produced

Draft a comprehensive PMM report detailing methodology, findings by component, geo-referenced maps, prioritized site risk classifications, KII and survey findings, and actionable recommendations.

By end of Week 9

PMM Analytical Brief (English and Swahili) produced

Produce a 4–6-page action-oriented analytical brief in both English and Swahili, including geo-referenced maps, key findings, and 5–7 prioritized actionable recommendations for EVD preparedness and response.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in data science, Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geomatics, Cartography, Spatial Data Science, Public Health, Epidemiology, Migration Studies, or a related field from an accredited academic institution.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of academic or professional experience in GIS, spatial analysis, cartographic production, population mobility mapping, public health emergency preparedness, border health programming, or related humanitarian and development contexts.
• Demonstrated experience designing and producing high-quality geospatial outputs, including mobility corridor maps, hotspot maps, risk-classified site inventories, route analysis products, and operational dashboards for decision-making.
• Proven experience transforming field-based, participatory, and survey data into clear visual products for technical and non-technical audiences, including maps, infographics, analytical briefs, and presentation-ready graphics.
• Experience with mixed-methods data collection and analysis, including quantitative surveys, key informant interviews, site assessments, participatory mapping exercises, and digital data collection workflows.
• Prior experience supporting PMM, mobility tracking, public health mapping, displacement mapping, or similar exercises in East or Central Africa, preferably in border health, migration, disease surveillance, or emergency preparedness contexts.
• Demonstrated experience supporting mobility data initiatives, including data management, cleaning, validation, analysis, mapping, dashboard development, and preparation of analytical products for operational and programme decision-making.
• Experience working with government counterparts, UN agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent actors, regional or district authorities, and/or border management institutions in Tanzania or the wider East African region is desirable.

Skills

• Advanced proficiency in GIS software, including ArcGIS, QGIS, or equivalent platforms, for geospatial analysis, georeferencing, digitization, spatial database management, route mapping, hotspot identification, and production of publication-quality maps.
• Strong cartographic design skills, including map layout, symbology, labelling, scale, legends, spatial accuracy, and visual hierarchy for operational, analytical, and public-facing products.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator for refining GIS map outputs, designing infographics, preparing publication-quality visuals, and developing clear visual communication products for reports, briefs, presentations, and dashboards.
• Proficiency in Adobe InDesign for layout and production of analytical briefs, reports, factsheets, maps, dashboards, and other publication-ready knowledge products in line with institutional branding and reporting standards.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Power BI for developing interactive dashboards, visual analytics, indicators, charts, maps, and decision-support products using PMM, DTM, survey, site assessment, and flow monitoring data.
• Strong data cleaning, validation, management, analysis, triangulation, and documentation skills, including the ability to work with spatial, survey, key informant interview, site assessment, flow monitoring, and other DTM-related datasets.
• Experience with digital data collection platforms such as Kobo Toolbox, ODK, or equivalent, including tool configuration, skip logic, data quality checks, export, cleaning, and preparation of datasets for GIS and dashboard integration.
• Ability to translate complex spatial, mobility, public health, and DTM data into concise visual products, analytical narratives, and actionable recommendations for programme teams, government counterparts, and operational decision-makers.

Languages

For this consultancy, Fluency in English and Swahili (both written and spoken) is required

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Required Competencies

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five values:

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.
• Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.
• Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.
• Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators

• Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.
• Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.
• Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.
• Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work.
• Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

Notes

IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work.

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment system (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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