UNDP Jobs - 58441- Social Media and Advocacy Consultant

Social Media and Advocacy Consultant

Location :

Podgorica, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

03-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

August 2015 - October 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 10 consultancy days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Montenegro sees tourism as the main driver of economic growth and income generation, but also fully realizes the environmental challenges associated with its rapid development and is committed to address them.

As a main driver of Montenegro’s economic growth and investment, the tourism sector is responsible directly and indirectly for the large share of GHG emissions from the transport, accommodation and other tourism-related activities. By contributing to over third of GDP and a half of capital investment in infrastructure, the tourism sector will inevitably be an important, if not the leading, factor in a projected GHG emissions increase. Apart from the direct GHG emissions, the indirect climate change impact of millions of holiday-makers is also substantial, first, because of their sheer numbers in proportion to small local population and, second, because of their more carbon intensive life-style and consumption patterns. In the business-as-usual scenario, the carbon footprint of Montenegro tourism will continue to grow as a result of large-scale investment in tourist infrastructure and constantly growing number of travelers.

The Innovative GEF-funded Project Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism (TCNT) adopts a comprehensive approach to minimizing the carbon footprint of Montenegro’s main and most dynamic economic sector, the tourism. Its ultimate objective is to reduce GHG emissions from Montenegro’s tourism sector. It will do so by promoting country’s transition towards a carbon neutral travel & tourism, minimizing energy use and transport in and around new green field development projects, helping tourism industry to identify and implement cost-effective mitigation options in travel and accommodation sectors, as well as introducing carbon offset scheme and other innovative financial mechanisms to compensate for the residual emissions and generate additional revenues for climate mitigation and adaptation actions in tourism.

Modern social media are a powerful tool for public awareness-raising concerning tourism and environment. Therefore the Project needs and effective social media marketing that will help to promote a country’s contemporary tourism appeal within a changing and highly competitive global market.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

The purpose of this consultancy will be to advise and lead several onsite and online engagement activities. This will include defining appropriate social media strategies and the underlying processes for channel selection, social content production, engagement management and measurement.

The purpose is to:

Drive international awareness, increase visibility and promote the Project Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism in Montenegro using social networks; and
Act as a facilitator of the forthcoming International Conference on Low Carbon Tourism in Montenegro, from 9-10 October, 2015.

Job content

Under direct supervision of the respective Programme Manager and in cooperation with the Project Coordinator for Public Awareness Raising and Marketing, the selected consultant will perform the following tasks:

Develop a social media strategy to increase visibility and begin international promotion of the Project Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism in Montenegro with a clear action plan to guide its implementation;
Act as a facilitator of one of the thematic Sessions at the International Conference on Low Carbon Tourism in Montenegro (October 2015);
During the Conference: maintain twitter (online) stream with updates and arrange web broadcasts of appropriate sessions;
Have “Twitter” or “social media” audience be able to ask questions at certain sessions of presenters/panelists.

The expected results

The consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

Draft a clear plan for how to grow international social media presence of the Project Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism;
Act as a facilitator at one of the thematic sessions at the forthcoming International Conference in Montenegro (October 2015); During the Conference: maintain twitter (online) stream with updates and arrange web broadcasts of appropriate sessions. Have “Twitter” or “social media” audience be able to ask questions at certain sessions of presenters/panelists;
A specific plan of action that the team can implement daily to create ongoing ‘buzz” about the Project and the Conference;
Help create online community of fans that spreads the word about the Project and the Conference pushing the project reach far beyond traditional marketing methods;
Define and monitor targets and benchmarks to measure the success of the social media strategy.

Timing and reporting

The consultant will be engaged under the Individual Contract for maximum 10 consultancy days in the period from August 2015 to October 2015, according to the schedule to be agreed with the Programme Manager. 5 working days will be home based, while 5 days will be spent in Podgorica, Montenegro.

The consultant will conduct preparatory activities and shall work on production of outputs from home, but in close cooperation with the Programme Manager and Project Coordinator. Travel related costs should be included in the lump sum figure, including the living allowance for days to be spent in Montenegro.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Ability to work with minimal daily supervision and exercise sound judgment in organizing activities and meeting deadlines;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree in Social Sciences or Communications related field;
An advanced degree in the same fields will be an advantage.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience in citizen engagement and mobilization, with a particular strength in online engagement and use of social media;
Participation in similar assignments/projects will be considered as strong asset;
Proven experience in applying social media strategies;
Candidates should provide evidence of social media work through links to the respective sites;
Professional experience in devising, implementing and managing social strategies for businesses, ideally operating in a multiple market or global context;
Knowledge of the region would be considered as an asset;
Demonstrable professional experience of tourism/travel/leisure and/or involvement in social innovation/sustainability competitions would be considered an advantage.

Language:

Fluency and strong writing skills in English are required.

Criteria for selection

Combined Scoring method will be used. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the inidividual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: (i) responsive, compliant, acceptable, and (ii) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria weigth - 70% (Background and education 10%; Relevant previous experience 20%;
Substantial knowledge/Required competencies 30%; Required language 10%);
Financial criteria weight - 30%

Only offerors obtaining a minimum 490 points for technical criteria will be considered for the financial evaluation.

For more information on procurement methodology for Individual Contractors, please refer to Procurement Notice.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications by August 3, 2015 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain a duly completed Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded from http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html. Candidates should also provide evidence of social media work through links to the respective sites.

Only the short-listed applicants will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work and travel envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".