Deadline to apply: 15 October 2026
Submit your proposal and CV to: philippe.lemmens@eapn.eu
About the European Poverty Watch
Each year, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) publishes its European Poverty Watch report: a unique, evidence-based snapshot of poverty and social exclusion across Europe.
Grounded in national research from our National Networks and the voices of people experiencing poverty (PEP), the Poverty Watch is EAPN’s flagship advocacy tool to:
- Expose the structural and systemic causes of poverty,
- Provide people-centred and rights-based policy solutions,
- Amplify grassroots and lived experience perspectives,
- Influence EU and national anti-poverty strategies.
Focus of the 2026 Edition
The 2026 edition will explore the intersection between migration and poverty in Europe, focusing on how migration status, labour market integration and access to social rights interact to shape poverty and social exclusion outcomes.
The report will adopt a rights-based and anti-poverty perspective, examining whether the active inclusion approach adequately protect migrants from poverty and exclusion and to what extent current policy frameworks risk reinforcing conditional access to rights.
The 2026 edition will provide:
- An analysis of the relationship between migration status, labour market participation and poverty risk, focusing on structural barriers to social inclusion,
- A mapping of how national labour market policies, social protection systems and service provision frameworks affect migrants’ access to rights and protections,
- An identification of key patterns of in-work poverty, precarious employment and employer-dependent residence arrangements,
- A documentation of barriers to accessing housing, healthcare, education, social protection and income support,
- An analysis of the non-take-up of rights and services, particularly in relation to fear, insecurity of residence status and institutional complexity,
- Policy recommendations to embed migrants’ rights within the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Migration and Asylum Pact, and the EU’s wider social policy agenda.
- Insights from people with lived experience, as reported through national Poverty Watch contributions, including migrants and non-EU nationals.
Objectives of the Consultancy
The selected consultant or research centre will:
- Review and analyse around 20+ national Poverty Watch reports (20–30 pages each), focusing on migration-related poverty dynamics,
- Produce a comparative analytical table or framework summarising key patterns across countries (e.g. access to labour market, social protection eligibility, residence status dependency, barriers to service access),
- Draft the full European Poverty Watch report (max. 30 pages, Word format, excluding layout),
- Coordinate a consultation process with EAPN national networks and the EAPN policy team (one round of feedback, maximum duration 2 weeks),
- Deliver the final version by late February 2026, in Word format, ready for proofreading and layout.
Essential qualifications
- Ability to analyse and synthesise complex qualitative and policy material,
- Experience working on social inclusion, poverty, inequality and/or migration-related policy analysis,
- Experience working with NGOs, civil society organisations or membership-based networks at national or European level,
- Strong understanding of EU social policy frameworks, including social rights, inclusion and anti-discrimination,
- Excellent writing, analytical, coordination and synthesis skills, Full professional fluency in English (written and oral),
- Ability to manage competing deadlines and coordinate multiple inputs,
- Computer literacy and ability to work with structured qualitative datasets.
Ideal Qualifications (Preferred, but not Required)
- Knowledge of migration policy, asylum systems or labour migration frameworks in Europe,
- Experience analysing the intersection between migration status, labour markets and social protection systems,
- Familiarity with EU policy processes (e.g. EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, European Pillar of Social Rights, EU Semester, Migration and Asylum Pact),
- Experience integrating lived experience or participatory research methodologies,
- Understanding of intersectionality in social policy analysis, particularly relating to gender, race, disability and socio-economic status,
- Experience working with or analysing civil society networks and grassroots organisations,
- Knowledge of in-work poverty, precarious employment and social exclusion dynamics.
Both individual consultants and research centres are invited to apply. Candidates or institutions must submit a financial offer along with their proposal; selection will be based on alignment with the call’s objectives and the principle of best value for money.
Apply by 15 October 2026 to philippe.lemmens@eapn.eu