Consultant - Cross-border livelihoods for Kenyan Workers in Japan: Sourcing demand from employers in Japan for Kenyan workers - Labor Mobility Partnerships

Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington D.C. with a worldwide mission to dramatically increase the scale and quality of labor mobility, helping workers from lowincome countries access quality jobs across borders and businesses in high-income countries respond to deepening labor shortages. LaMP seeks to lift millions of workers and their families out of poverty and proactively address critical challenges faced by aging societies.

To accomplish its mission, LaMP works with businesses, governments, and workers to address market failures and regulatory barriers that impede safe and effective labor mobility. LaMP forms multi-stakeholder partnerships to solve problems first in “practice” – through a process of discovery, design, piloting and scaling mobility programs – then in “policy” – through advice, advocacy, and replicating tools and technologies.

These efforts collectively lead to scaled labor mobility pathways that are reliable, rights-respecting, and market-compatible, thus financially sustainable. These pathways create value for workers, employers, and economies along the way. With persistent mismatches between the demand for and supply of labor across borders, the market for global mobility solutions will grow exponentially in coming years. Now is the time to get this right and unlock the enormous impact potential of quality, rights-respecting labor mobility at scale.

Project Description & Context

LaMP looks to establish or expand safe and legal mobility pathways to places like Europe, East Asia, and North America. LaMP has received funding to help demonstrate what is possible through a Kenya-Japan migration corridor

Japan – which needs 350,000 foreign workers by 2025 and 11M by 2040 – represents a chance to demonstrate and scale access to rights-respecting cross-border livelihoods, a key solution for high youth unemployment in Kenya. Japan's Technical Intern Trainee Program (TITP) and Specified Skills Worker (SSW) program can offer a safer and higher-paying alternative to Gulf migration.

LaMP has received funding to facilitate a cross-border migration program for 10 Kenyan workers to Japan focusing on trade and service sectors, specifically sectors facing labor shortages or companies located in rural or semi-rural areas experiencing aging populations. Key sectors include: hospitality, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, mechanics, transportation, elderly care. These sectors have been identified as acute shortage sectors, though other sectors can also be explored depending on employer demand. LaMP is flexible in exploring various migration pathways (TITP, SSW, Gijinkoku) but are prioritizing TITP as the threshold for Japanese language skills is lower, timeline shorter for migration, and focus on trade and service sectors aligns with LaMP’s focus areas.

A key challenge that is critical to overcome for the success of this project is to generate tangible demand from employers in Japan for Kenyan workers. Kenya is a new source country for labor compared to more established source countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. As a result, employers are more hesitant to become the first mover or “first penguin”, despite the high labor supply and levels of education and skillset in Kenya.

To address these challenges and further our work in Japan, LaMP is seeking a consultant based in Japan who can represent LaMP. The key responsibility of the consultant is to open doors and generate tangible worker orders from employers for Kenyan workers.

LaMP has partnered with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), a global transportation company with a recruitment arm, to generate demand for Kenyan workers. The consultant will supplement MOL’s efforts and work in coordinationwith the team.

Over the next year, LaMP will develop the mobility program with the objective of sending workers to Japan by Q2, 2025. An indicative timeline is listed below, though is subject to change:

- Q2/Q3 ‘24 – Actively recruiting employers

- Q3’24 - Q3 ‘25 – Language training and legal prep work

- Q2-Q4 ‘25 – Worker placements

LaMP can use some of its philanthropic funding to subsidize some of the additional costs of hiring workers from Kenya such as language training, incremental travel expenses, etc. LaMP can also explore subsidizing additional costs that an employer may incur when sourcing workers from a new country such as Kenya.

LaMP has laid the groundwork in Kenya and Japan by onboarding sending and receiving side organizations and language schools, developing strong relationships with Kenyan and Japanese government officials, and collaborating with relevant legal and diaspora support. More details on the support LaMP can provide to an employer is included in Attachment I: The Case for Sourcing Workers from Kenya (https://lampforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LaMP-JapanConsultant-Attachment-1.pdf). 

Objective

Represent LaMP on the ground to further our work in Japan, specifically generating tangible worker orders from Japanese employers for up to 10 Kenyan workers.

Responsibilities

- Identify employers who are in particularly affected sectors or regions in Japan, conduct direct outreach to these employers to secure formal worker demand;

- Identify the first penguins or champions in large companies who are passionate about increasing Japan’s diversity/African development by recruiting from Kenya, conduct direct outreach, and develop worker demand or strong interest in designing a mobility program in partnership with LaMP

LaMP appreciates that this is a challenging role so will prioritize a consultant who understands what LaMP is seeking to achieve and is committed to helping us succeed. LaMP will support the consultant in pitching to employers including developing relevant materials, attending meetings, and negotiating cost-sharing models to facilitate migration of workers to Japan.

Deliverables

1) Comprehensive and updated tracker detailing outreach

2) Formal orders/commitments from employers for Kenyan workers including signed MoU

- Fluent Japanese and English Speaker

- Strong experience developing relationships/partnerships and pre-existing wide networks of employers and recruiters

- Some understanding of the TITP, SSW and Gijinkoku visa program

- Strong communication and interpersonal skills

Location, duration, and remuneration

• The consultant must be based in Japan and available to work from October to February at approximately 40-50% effort level

• LaMP can compensate travel expenses to a reasonable extent but travel plans require prior approval by the project manager

• Please propose a daily rate. LaMP is interested in linking compensation to results and would consider proposals in which the consultant is proposing pay structures around results.

Application process

Submit the following through this SmartRecruiters portal addressed to Prerna Choudhury: 

- Updated CV and a short motivational message (2 paragraphs, email format will suffice)

- Sample outreach plan