Project Associate

Location: Ankara, Türkiye

Turkiye hosts the largest refugee population in the world, with over 4.6 million foreign nationals living in the country, including approximately 3.2 million Syrians under Temporary Protection (SuTPs) and around 300,000 Persons under International Protection (PuIPs). Given the considerable size and diversity of the migrant and refugee population, providing means for their social and economic integration is a very challenging process for both national and local authorities. Türkiye was also hit by a series of debilitating earthquakes in February 2023, which caused widespread displacement, damage and disruption in 11 provinces that already hosted half of the SuTPs and PuIPs in the country. The disaster affected the local labour market dynamics, skills needs and social cohesion in the region. 

In response to the challenges, the “Promoting Sustainable and Socially Inclusive Labour Market Integration” project aims to increase formal employment of SuTPs, PuIPs and host community members and strengthen the harmonization process in Türkiye. The project will be implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS), the Social Security Institution (SSI) and the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) of the Ministry of Interior. 

The project will propose a two-prong approach that will ensure that targeted populations have improved levels of employability and are better integrated in their host communities. This will be done by strengthening the institutional capacities at the national and provincial level for delivering efficient employability and integration services for the targeted populations. The project will also promote respect for all groups, without distinction of race, gender, religion, colour, national origin, marital status, age, and physical disability, and pay special attention to the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities. 

The main beneficiary institutions of the project are MoLSS, SSI and PMM. The target groups of the project are government institutions, non-government institutions, employers, employability service users and private sector partners involved in the labour market and harmonization process. The final beneficiaries of the project are SuTPs, PuIPs and host community members.

Under the direct supervision of the National Project Officer (coordination), the incumbent will be responsible for supporting and coordinating the achievement of the objectives and results of the projects as well as successful day to day implementation of the activities under EU funded project ‘Promoting Sustainable and Socially Inclusive Labour Market Integration’.