Research Consultant: Child Labour Scoping Study in Tin Mining in Indonesia

General information

Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) is a child rights organisation and an
international NGO. Our vision is that children can flourish in a world free from all forms
of child exploitation. Our mission is to protect children by preventing and stopping
child exploitation, and by empowering children to make their voices count. In executing
our mission we seek to address the root causes of exploitation by creating scalable,
evidence-based solutions and influencing systemic change rather than providing
one-off remedies. Our work towards systemic change is driven by five core principles:
Children at the centre, Safety and well-being, Intersectionality, Power Awareness and
Sustainability. The organisation works together with children and their families,
communities, governments, institutional mechanisms, civil society organisations, and
the private sector.

Background

The Child Labour Programme stands as one of TdH NL’s core thematic initiatives,
focusing directly on tackling the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) as outlined in ILO
Convention No. 182. Over the past ten years, TdH NL has built extensive experience
addressing child labour in mining and quarrying, particularly in mica mining
programmes across India and Madagascar. Leveraging this established expertise and
our proven track record in addressing root causes of child labour in mica extraction,
TdH NL is broadening its scope to cover more minerals and geographical areas.

Minerals like tin are used by the electronics industry, but also in many other sectors.
Key risks include direct participation of children in mineral extraction operations; and
broader community impacts around expanding mining sites, including elevated risks of
sexual exploitation.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of tin, with Artisanal
and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) heavily concentrated in the Bangka-Belitung province.
Given the high degree of informality, unsafe suction-dredging practices, and
offshore/onshore locations that characterise ASM tin operations in the region, there is
a distinct risk of child labour and hazardous work involving minors in and around these
extraction sites. While documented research on the exact scale of child labour in
Indonesian tin ASM remains limited, the presence of vulnerable mining communities and informal supply chains underscores the need for direct scoping with local
stakeholders, civil society, and government bodies.

In 2024, TdH NL conducted desk research into the prevalence of child labour in
critical strategic minerals in countries in Africa and Asia. Due to the absence of
research evidence, we applied a methodology to look into the probability of the
occurrence of child labour based on several factors including poverty, existance of
child labour in other commodities in the same region where the minerals are mined,
etc.

At the end of 2025, TdH NL became a party to the Metal Covenant 2.0, a tripartite
Agreement on International Responsible Business Conduct with the participation of the
Dutch government, trade associations and companies in the metal sector and Civil
Society Organisations (CSOs) like trade unions and NGOs. This Agreement has an
interest to learn more about child labour in ASM tin mining.

Objective of the scoping study

The objective of this scoping study is to explore the occurrence of child labour in tin
mining and map out the key stakeholders involved in the ecosystem of tin mining in
Indonesia, including organisations and governmental institutions working with the
sector. The research aims to:

1. Gain insight into if children are involved in child labour in mining of tin and in
   which locations, the scope of child labour (whenever possible a preliminary
   estimation of the number of children involved), what is their age and gender,
   and the children’s school enrolment and attendance status (including barriers
   to education caused by mining activities);
2. Identify the nature of work that children have to perform, if applicable, specify
   the work for age groups;
3. Identify the primary and secondary health, safety, psychological, and
   environmental hazards these children, families, and larger communities are
   exposed to from and/or as a result of tin mining;
4. Describe the mining activity (e.g. artisanal-small scale mining (ASM), large
   scale mining (LSM), seasonal mining, etc), the economic situation of families
   involved, the involvement of parents in mining activities, as well as the
   perceived impact of the mining activities on the communities;
5. Mapping out relevant stakeholders in the ASM tin mining sector in the country
   and identifying organisations and government institutions working in the sector
   that could be interesting partners for future programming;
6. Collect the most relevant information about the policy, legal, and political
   landscape pertaining to the mining sector, with especial attention to minimum age in mining and hazardous work, and any recent policy direction regarding (critical) minerals in the country;
7. Provide insights on the supply chain and the industry sectors using tin (e.g. to
   whom the tin mined by these families and their children is sold, the role of
   possible middlemen and for which prices the minerals are sold. Whenever
   possible, identify the next steps in the supply chain within Indonesia and
   beyond (e.g. the main importing countries).

Expected deliverables

The main expected outcome is reliable and insightful data on the occurrence of child
labour in tin mining in Indonesia, and on the associated ecosystem of actors and
policies, by means of stakeholder mapping, and qualitative interviews. This first
exploratory approach is expected to yield findings that will inform future hotspots for
field research and programming within Indonesia.
The consultant is expected to deliver a final report of about max. 30 pages, including
references with the following:

1. A context analysis, including relevant policies and current political debates
   around the extraction of tin and social sustainability issues with focus on
   minimum age in hazardous work, child protection and response to cases of
   child labour;
2. Based on the findings, advise on the regions and mining sites/hotspots where in
   depth field research should take place next;
3. List of the stakeholders and potential partner organisations to approach,
   including their expertise and contact persons;
4. If child labour occurs, TdH NL will assess whether to start a programme there.
   In that case, technical advice and recommendations to guide programming
   options – especially with regard to potential risks and opportunities of starting
   such a programma against child labour in mining – should be included in the
   analysis;
5. A detailed overview of the qualitative methodologies applied with stakeholders
   (e.g., expert-guided focus group discussions), parent and caregiver interviews,
   and key stakeholder interviews (totaling 8–10 participants), aligned with
   guidelines and questionnaires reviewed and refined by TdH NL.
6. In addition, the final product of this consultancy entails providing all raw data
   and verbatim transcripts in original language of capture and with a translated
   version in English, as well as filled out note taking templates;

Duration of the assignment is 1 October until 31 December 2026.

The proposed research could take the following steps:

1. October 2026: Preparatory Phase & Stakeholder Mapping: Define focal
   mining sites/regions and establish research instruments (such as interview
   guides and a stakeholder mapping framework) in collaboration. Conduct desk
   research to pinpoint local, national, and international organisations, alongside
   governmental and private sector actors operating within the tin mining sector
   within selected Indonesian regions. Produce a comprehensive stakeholder
   map structured by tin mining involvement, geographic scope, and key
   parameters.
2. November 2026: Stakeholder engagement: Conduct 8-10 qualitative
   interviews (virtually and/or in-person) with selected stakeholders on different
   levels (community level, local level, national level, academia, experts) to
   explore the presence of child labour in tin mining. In the case of governmental
   and private sector stakeholders, also explore if they are aware of child labour,
   if they have taken any measures to prevent, mitigate or cease this and if so,
   which ones.
3. December 2026: Data analysis and reporting: synthesising findings from
   stakeholder mapping and interviews to highlight presence, key findings,
   trends, gaps and areas for further investigation.

Based on the findings that there is child labour in tin mining in Indonesia, TdH NL may
decide to conduct a field visit to the specified tin mining areas. This would take place
with support of the researchers/consultants of the scoping study, but not earlier than
at the end of 2027/beginning of 2028. There will be an extra budget for organising this
trip.

The consultant may decide to collaborate with other researchers on this assignment.
All people working on this assignment should be detailed in the proposed work plan
and their CVs should be added.

Important to note

As a child rights organisation, we want to uphold the highest level of safeguarding to
protect children. The consultant is not required to conduct child interviews. To
interview children, the consultant would first need to complete mandatory
methodology training in child safeguarding procedures prior to data collection;
therefore, the consultant is not expected to conduct child interviews. Moreover, a
cleared police background check as well as signing relevant policies would be needed.

The assignment is also primarily focused on data collection. The research
methodology will largely be co-designed by Terre des Hommes Netherlands to ensure
alignment with the scoping studies in other countries. The successful consultant will
be engaged to 1) strengthen and adjust the methodology, 2) finding, selecting and
preparing research participants, 3) carrying out the data collection activities, and 4)
providing raw data and note taking templates to TdH NL. The successful applicant will
also be engaged for validation activities with research participants.

Budget

The available budget for this scoping study is 4,995 euros, incl. VAT, research and
travel costs.

Profile and application process

This is a temporary consultancy assignment based in Indonesia.
Desired consultants will have:

● Extensive experience in conducting participatory research and qualitative
research methodologies, including focus group discussions and (small group)
interviews;
● Strong understanding of (the worst forms of) child labour and its root causes in
the mining sector;
● Preference for candidates from Indonesia to ensure cultural and contextual
understanding, speaking local languages to facilitate communication with the
target groups;
● Ability to communicate in English and translate reports into English;
● Experience with co-designing research methodology is preferred;
● Available to start from 25 September or ASAP with a foreseen end date of
December 31, 2026.

Who can apply

Any individual or agency – ideally based in Indonesia – fitting the profile mentioned can
apply. Agencies need to have no conflict of interest and a due diligence check will be
part of the selection procedure.

How to apply

Please apply using the following steps on this page or email your application to
k.austin@tdh.nl. The following should be included in applications:

● CV (individuals)/Credentials (Agency), proving relevant expertise and
experience of all people working on the assignment.
● Motivation letter detailing your interest in the project and an explanation of how
your skills and experiences align with the objectives of the assignment, taking
into account the challenges and complexity of the topic and variety of
stakeholders to be interviewed.
● A brief paper with the proposed approach and outline of a work plan, especially
accessing the timeline which could be quite short for this assignment.
● Financial Proposal in line with the approach and outline of the work plan.

The deadline for submission of applications is: 22 September 2026.