KARLIJN


JACOBS WORLD’S FIRST OMBUDSPERSON FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN,


EXPAT VALLEY


IMPROVING CHILDREN'S EXPERIENCES IN INTERNATIONAL MOVES


When Professor Rob Kelly’s toddler gatecrashed a live CNN interview back in 2017, few could have known then that many of us with families would go on to experience similar as the business world moved into our homes because of the lockdowns.


B 80


oth these seminal moments remind us that the boundaries between home and work are increasingly blending. The explosion in hybrid working practices and the focus on employee


and family wellbeing in both local and international contexts highlight the innovation, evolution and continual renegotiation of the


employee/employer


relationship, especially in the inclusion and talent management arenas. In Global Mobility, these conversations around


employee experience remain as necessary and as timely as ever. Family considerations and difficulties settling remain key – and costly – reasons for assignment refusal or failure. The increasing automation and self- service approach of international moves, more dual- career families on assignment, and mental and physical wellbeing considerations are opening spaces for more individually focused assignment management. It's on this leading edge that Netherlands-based


Karlijn Jacobs has been renewing and driving the conversation around family wellbeing in multinational organisations. A change maker and advocate


of


children’s experiences in cross-border moves, Karlijn, who qualified as a children’s therapist, is the world’s first ombudsperson for international children.


ESTABLISHING AN ECOSYSTEM FOR INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN With her colleagues at Expat Valley, Karlijn is supporting families


and children by sharing with employers


awareness of the challenges families face on assignment and advocating for better support. As the international ombudsperson for international children, Karlijn is playing an important


role in


normalising the rollercoaster of emotions an international move brings for family members. Through outreach to employers, relocation management companies (RMCs), destination service providers (DSPs), HR and policy advisers, and relocating families, her support is improving employee experience and retention, as well as the quality of family life on assignment and beyond. “There are so many children moving around the globe


on a daily basis in different capacities,” says Karlijn. “In the context of global mobility and corporate-sponsored international moves, there’s a lot of work to be done. Often global mobility is so focused on the tax and immigration side, that there’s thinking if schooling is covered off, that’s enough. We are advocating specifically for children, building on top of those very important things. “There are definitely organisations out there that


do more for international children,” continues Karlijn. “There are also lots of individuals working in this capacity as coaches to families and TCK [third-culture kids] experts. Expat Valley is about establishing that ecosystem around children and allowing multinational corporations to directly support them without getting directly involved in parenting.” Karlijn firmly believes there is “a massive opportunity for multinationals to let parents know what


they are


signing up for with an international assignment”. These include the social-emotional impacts, what happens when friends and favourite teachers move on, multilingualism and connection to formative cultures, the choices and implications of international or localised education, as well as the complexities around identifying SEN or


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