Senior Project Associate

Job Description

The position is based in Sabah to strengthen IOM Malaysia’s operational presence and engagement with state-level authorities, civil society organizations, community-based actors, service providers and other partners. The incumbent will support day-to-day field coordination, stakeholder engagement, activity implementation, and monitoring and reporting. 

The incumbent will contribute to the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting of project activities across multiple programme portfolios and provide regular updates on migration, protection, trafficking in persons, border governance and related developments in Sabah. The incumbent will support IOM Malaysia's efforts to strengthen government capacities, enhance stakeholder coordination, promote protection-sensitive approaches to migration management and facilitate durable partnerships in East Malaysia.

Responsibilities

1. In close coordination with the Programme Coordinator, National Programme/Project Officers  and relevant units in IOM Malaysia, support the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of project activities in Sabah.

2. Act as IOM Malaysia’s Sabah-based operational focal point for day-to-day liaison with state authorities, federal agencies operating in Sabah, civil society organizations, community leaders, service providers, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

3. Support the organization and delivery of project activities in Sabah, including coordination meetings, trainings, workshops, field assessments, consultations, learning visits, awareness activities and other project events.

4. Monitor field-level implementation progress, identify operational challenges, document emerging needs and propose practical follow-up actions to  support timely and context-responsive project delivery.

5. Contribute to strengthening victim identification, referral pathways, protection-sensitive case coordination and service mapping by maintaining regular engagement with relevant government and non-government service providers in Sabah.

6. Assist in collecting, consolidating and analysing field information, including stakeholder inputs, activity feedback, training needs, service gaps and protection-related observations, while ensuring compliance with IOM data protection standards.

7. Draft and support the preparation of correspondence, meeting notes, field visit reports, briefing notes, activity reports, talking points, presentations, research questionnaires, graphics, statistical tables, and other forms of project documentation.

8. Support knowledge management and learning through maintaining project archives/records of activity reports, capacity building tools, administrative documents, etc.

9. Coordinate with IOM Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur office on administrative, logistical, procurement, finance, security and travel arrangements required for project activities in Sabah.

10. Perform any other duties as may be assigned

Qualifications

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in Political or Social Sciences, International Relations, Development Studies, Migration Studies, Human Rights, Law or related fields from an accredited academic institution, with four years of relevant professional experience, or

• High School Degree/Certificate with at least six years of relevant professional experience.

• The candidate must be a Sabahan, with demonstrated understanding of Sabah’s local context, institutions, communities and migration-related dynamics.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience in liaising with state and federal governmental authorities, civil society organizations, community-based actors, United Nations agencies and other stakeholders in Sabah;

• Experience on migration, protection, counter-trafficking, community engagement, social services, humanitarian assistance or development programmes;

• Demonstrated experience in project implementation, field coordination, activity monitoring, report writing and administrative follow-up;

• Prior work experience with international organizations, non-government or government institutions/organization or community-based organizations in Sabah is an advantage;

• Familiarity with trafficking in persons, migrant protection, irregular migration, statelessness, labor migration or border governance issues in Sabah is desirable.

SKILLS

• Excellent coordination, communication, writing, documentation and computer skills;

• Strong interpersonal, facilitation, negotiation and stakeholder engagement skills with sensitivity to local dynamics and diverse communities in Sabah.

LANGUAGES
English and Bahasa Malaysia (oral and written). 

REQUIRED

• For this position, fluency in English and Bahasa Malaysia is required. Working knowledge of local Sabah languages or dialects is an advantage.

DESIRABLE

• Working knowledge of other languages are an advantage.

• [1] As per IN/233, staff members in a position in the Professional and GS categories are expected to be fluent in one of the Organization’s official languages, which are English, French and Spanish. At least a working knowledge of another official language is highly desirable and may be specified as mandatory in some cases. For positions in the GS category, proficiency in one of the local language(s) may also be required, as specified in the VN/SVN.

Required Skills

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