BACKGROUND The Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) is a time-bound cooperation framework at country level for the ILO and tripartite constituents, as well as other local partners working together to achieve common goal of decent work for all. The ILO and tripartite constituents jointly identify priority areas of the DWCP in accordance with ILO’s mandate and strategic objectives, national development plans and programmes, and UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), taking into account the 2030 agenda. The DWCP remains as the ILO’s accountability instrument vis-à-vis ILO constituents and a key tool to align and mobilize ILO technical and financial resources, as well as constituents’ resources, particularly government resources — to jointly achieve decent work results. The DWCP puts ILO’s knowledge, instruments and advocacy at the service of tripartite constituents. It comprises outcome-based programme activities with resources from regular and extrabudgetary funding. The DWCP is inclusive with gender lens and special attention to disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. The DWCP is the main platform for delivery of ILO support to countries mainly through Development Corporation (DC) and advisory services. Malaysia is a high-middle-income country and ILO DC has expanded in the past few years focusing on capacity building of social partners and government, facilitating dialogue, providing technical advice and promoting key International Labour Standards including in the areas of labour law reform and industrial relations, forced labour and child labour, skills, entrepreneurship, supply chain, labour migration and youth employment. DC is largely implemented through multi-bilateral donors and direct trust funds. ILO contributes staff time and specialists’ technical advisory services. The Malaysia DWCP 2019–21 provided a framework for the cooperation between the ILO, the Government of Malaysia, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), anchored on social dialogue principles and tripartism. Following an evaluation of cooperation through 2019–20, a revised DWCP document was developed for the period 2021–2025 and proposed to the tripartite constituents but it has not received official endorsement. The DWCP has an overarching goal to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” It has 3 priorities: 1. Protecting and promoting rights at work; 2. Strengthening national capacities to meet the needs of current and future of work; and 3. Strengthening labour migration governance. PROCESS OF DWCP ROADMAP The development of the DWCP spans five (5) phases: Preparatory Phase, Drafting Phase, Quality Assurance Mechanism (QAM) /Appraisal and Validation Phase, Finalization Phase and Launch. This reflects the evolving document which gradually builds up based on the results of consultations, culminating into a full the DWCP document in line with the ILO DWCP Template1 - starting with country programme review followed by a policy brief for government discussions, a discussion paper (or Prioritization desk Review) for the tripartite consultations towards a full Decent Work Country Programme with accompanying results framework. 1.1. Preparatory Phase (March-April 2025) The preparatory phase will begin with a series of meetings between the ILO and the MOHR to establish the groundwork for the formulation of the DWCP - to agree on the roadmap outlining the steps towards the DWCP formulation and the institutional collaboration. These preparatory meetings will aim to orient MOHR on the DWCP’s purpose and structure. Discussions will also focus on the programme’s coverage period and a short mention on DWCP’s alignment with the upcoming United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2026–2030. The UN SDCF draft is anticipated to be ready in January 2025. During this phase, the engagement from the ILO will be from the DC Projects in the ILO Kuala Lumpur Office, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), Decent Work Team (DWT) in Bangkok, and relevant Departments in headquarters for instance ACTRAV, ACTEMP, NORMES and GENDER to ensure that social dialogue (tripartism), international labour standards and gender and non-discrimination are cross-cutting. This process will be guided and led by the Deputy Regional Director of ROAP. During these discussions, MOHR may formally identify a technical focal point and may agree on establishing a DWCP Technical Working Group (TWG). Subsequently, a high-level tripartite meeting will be convened to orient stakeholders on the DWCP and its roadmap, highlighting results-based management framework. This meeting will also serve as an opportunity to finalize agreements on the DWCP’s period of coverage and to present the roadmap for its formulation. Finally, the MOHR may consider to issue a Ministerial Order to establish the tripartite DWCP mechanism, which will oversee the DWCP’s formulation, and further on monitoring, and implementation. A critical activity during this phase will be the Country Programme Review (CPR), which will evaluate the implementation of the current DWCP (2019–2025). The CPR will identify key 4 achievements, lessons learned, and gaps, providing a robust foundation for designing the new DWCP. Following the preparation of the policy brief/Decent Work Diagnostics by a consultant bearing the situation analysis, initially identifying ILO areas of work, consultations with the ILO Technical Working Group will be undertaken to refine the policy brief and validate the identified ILO’s areas of work. Using this revised policy brief as a foundation, further consultations will be conducted with government representatives adopting a "whole-of-government" approach. This includes the consultations with the UNCT in line with the draft UNSDCF 2026-2030 which is also in the formulation process. These discussions will validate the ILO’s proposed areas of work within the framework of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and ensure coherence with national development priorities as well as identify relevant government programmes that address the decent work agenda. 1.2. Drafting Phase (April-June 2025) Building on the Policy Brief and incorporating results of the initial consultations with the government, this phase will begin with the preparation of a Discussion Paper or Prioritization desk Review, which will integrate insights from the policy brief developed during the preparatory phase and the outcomes of the 13MP discussions. The Discussion Paper together with the CPR Report serve as a reference for the discussion for the identification and articulation of Malaysia’s Decent Work priorities outcomes including outputs and possible deliverables. It is at this phase when the consultations with the social partners – especially the workers and employers – will be initiated. The ILO will convene individual workshops / consultative meetings with workers’ and employers’ organizations to the proposed priorities, outcomes, and outputs. This will be followed by tripartite workshops where representatives of government, employers, and workers will collectively review the priorities, outcomes and priorities. Following these workshops, the refined priorities, outcomes, and outputs will be submitted to ILO technical units for comments, including feedback on Results-Based Management (RBM) and technical coherence. This feedback will be incorporated into the drafting of the first version of the DWCP document, which will outline the programme’s framework without the detailed indicators. Subsequent consultations will involve the MOHR, ILO, and a consultant to further refine the priorities, outcomes, and outputs statements. The updated draft will then be shared with tripartite constituents to solicit their comments and ensure that the document addresses their needs and priorities. Based on the feedback, a second version of the DWCP draft will be prepared, incorporating a results matrix and indicators to facilitate monitoring and evaluation in line with the DWCP template and guidelines. The complete version of DWCP will be shared with UN Resident Coordinator for review and endorsement that this DWCP is in line with the UNSDCF before it is submitted to the ILO ROAP’s Regional Programming Services Unit (RPS) for initial comments and the draft may be adjusted taking into account the RPS inputs. 1.3. Appraisal and Validation Phase (June-July 2025) The DWCP document will formally be submitted for the ILO’s QAM in line with PROGRAM procedures. The ILO KL Office will transmit a pre QAM version to RPS for initial inputs and incorporate any comments from RPS. 1.4. Finalization (July-September 2025) Following the QAM review, the consultant will undertake a final revision of the draft DWCP, responding to the feedback while bearing in mind Malaysian stakeholders' expectations. A focused meeting will then be convened with a small group of tripartite technical focal points to conduct a final review. With the focal points' endorsement of the updated version, the DWCP document will be finalized. MOU and the DWCP will go through the appropriate clearance mechanisms for the Government of Malaysia. This process may also start at the earlier stage, as deemed appropriate. This final version will then be submitted to the Regional Programming Services (RPS) for endorsement of the ILO Regional Director (RD). If deemed satisfactory, the RPS will recommend the document to the ILO RD for approval. Following the RD’s approval, a few copies of the finalized DWCP will be printed for the official signing ceremony and launch. Submission of Proposals Interested candidates are requested to submit the following information to [email protected] bearing the subject matter “DWCP Consultant – Technical Proposal” and “DWCP Consultant – Financial Proposal”, by 22 March 2025: ➢ A Technical proposal bearing the detailed methodology and approach with a work plan (maximum 5 pages). It should contain: 1. A brief overview of policy developments relevant to the DWCP 2. Clear formulation of the analytical framework, methodology and approach for Country Programme Review and for the formulation of the DWCP 3. Proposed workplan, bearing structured timeline aligned with the phases outlined in the TOR, as an Annex 4. Proposed agenda for the Country Programme Review and DWCP prioritization (formulation of priorities and outcomes) as an Annex ➢ CV of the individual to be attached as an Annex of the Technical Proposal, highlighting relevant experience. ➢ Financial Proposal bearing the daily consultancy fee rate and travel costs. The financial proposal should provide details based on the proposed workplan. ➢ Any other information deemed relevant. Qualifications and selection Criteria ➢ The ILO is seeking candidates with: 1. Advanced university degree that is relevant to the present inquiry. o A least 5 years’ experience with labour, employment and decent work-related research and policy work. 2. Proven track record and strong experience in formulation of country programmes or development cooperation programmes with strategic framework, including Programme Review and Evaluation, with good knowledge in results-based management (RBM) and monitoring & evaluation frameworks. 3. Prior experience with the ILO, UN agencies, or other international organizations, will be an advantage. An overview knowledge of DWCP in Malaysia and the work of the ILO in particular in Malaysia would be an advantage. 4. Understanding of the policy developments and ability to synthesize labour market policies and trends and national development plans. Familiarity with ILO standards and good understanding of decent work framework as well as UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 5. A very good command of English. Knowledge of Bahasa would be an advantage. 6. Experience of similar work, preferably in the Southeast Asia region For more information on the TOR, please refer to the attachment.