Background

Ukraine has a long list of environmental reform priorities. However, the speed of the reforms in the area of sustainable energy and environment (SEE) is slowed down by the difficulties in adopting the needed legislation related to the capacity of the parliament and a large number of low-quality legal initiatives. To speed up the SEE related reforms, UNDP seeks to improve the capacity of the parliament of Ukraine and enhance environmental advocacy among politicians, mass media and the public.

The Project “Support to the Parliament of Ukraine in Sustainable Energy and Environment Area”  aims to support the Members of Parliament and the relevant parliamentary committees (specifically, VRU Committee on Environmental Policy and Environmental Management and VRU Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services) with quality analytical, communications and advocacy support. The analytical support that is provided by the Project covers a wide range of issues in the SEE area, including climate change mitigation and adaption; energy efficiency and security; waste management; GHG monitoring reporting and verification; green auctions; sustainable transportation; green finance and more. The overall work of the Secretariat is based on the sustainable development principles, and where possible and necessary, links with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Besides, the Project aims at increasing visibility of SEE issues through communications and advocacy activities.

In this context, UNDP invites applications from highly qualified and experienced Ukrainian professionals for the post of a Communications Expert.

Duties and Responsibilities

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The overall objective of the assignment is to ensure quality communications and event coordination support on the issues of sustainable energy and environment.

The Communications Expert will be responsible for creating and crafting compelling communications content which engages audiences in a dynamic, interactive and meaningful way and sparks conversations around SEE issues. This work will involve curating content on specific topics, editing this content for various platforms, preparing presentations and designing materials for the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management. She/he will be responsible for ongoing monitoring of key performance indicators (KPI) and web/social media analytics tools.

Scope for services

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Consultant will carry out the following activities for the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management with the agreement of the Project Manager to:

1. Prepare relevant articles, blog posts and/or project related success stories, convey project news for publication in social media;
2. Contribute to the development and dissemination of policy papers, policy briefs, articles, statements and other informational notes on various SEE issues;
3. Coordinate with UNDP to endure that all prepared materials adhere to UN communications guidelines and requirements;
4. Design, layout and format publications, and other printed and web-based communications materials respecting UNDP branding guidelines, and branding requirements of other donors/partners, as needed;
5. Design and create an illustration, art-work, maps, tables, charts and other graphic elements for communication and promotional materials;
6. Assist with other tasks that ensure outreach and visibility;
7. Keep track of the Parliament members, governmental representatives, local authorities, who improved knowledge on sustainable energy and environment issues through Project on/offline events (discussions, round tables, hearings), prepare regular reports as requested by UNDP;
8. Provide inputs to monthly reports on the work and deliverables.

To ensure the delivery of the above tasks, the Consultant will:

• Liaise and ensure constant communication/coordination with UNDP project team regarding all aspects of the assignment;
• Coordinate the work with the Project Manager/Chair of the Parliamentary Committee as well as other experts supporting the Parliament;
• Submit all the deliverables for review, comments and approval to UNDP project team as requested;
• Hold consultations with UNDP project team as requested.

Measurable outputs of the work assignment/deliverables

Management arrangements

As an Expert, this position will report to the Project Manager, Support to the Parliament of Ukraine in Sustainable Energy and Environment Area. The Expert will provide written monthly reports on the progress of activities and the key challenges and opportunities, and deliverables reports as required.

Monitoring requirements / Terms of payment

The Expert will work under the overall supervision of the Project Manager, Support to the Parliament of Ukraine in Sustainable Energy and Environment Area. The Expert will interact with UNDP to receive any clarifications and guidance that may be needed. The Expert will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them.

UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the work. The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to the endorsement of the Project Manager, Support to the Parliament of Ukraine in Sustainable Energy and Environment Area. Each deliverable will be delivered in a draft for comments and feedback before finalization. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without the approval of UNDP.

All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP). The language of the materials and reports is English.

UNDP will provide payment upon provision of each deliverable duly certified by UNDP in accordance with the schedule below:

Deliverable 1 – 40%;

Deliverable 2 – 40%; and

Deliverable 3 – 20%.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
• Strong technical and analytical capabilities.
• Strong reporting and writing abilities.
• Ability to lead and work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations with Parliament, government counterparts, donors, NGOs and other development partners.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict.
• Integrity, modelled by the UN's values and ethical standards.
• Sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age.
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
• Ability to accommodate additional demands on short notice.
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations.
• Ability to manage heavy workload and solve complex problems with minimum supervision.

Required Skills and Experience

General Qualifications and Experience

Education

At least Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, Graphic, Polygraphy, Media, Linguistics or other relevant studies;

1. Work Experience
   1. At least 2 years of working experience in writing and editing publications, articles, newsletters, e-mail digests, blog entries, human and success stories, developing communication materials and/or implementing media/communications strategies and plans, including digital;
   2. Proven excellent writing skills (must provide samples of at least 3 previously prepared or co-authored articles or documents);
   3. Proven experience in social media outreach, including executing and monitoring social media campaigns, would be an advantage (must provide at least 1 sample of previous relevant work);
   4. Experience in designing, drawing or painting (must provide at least 3 samples of previous relevant work);
   5. Previous experience with environmental and political issues, sustainable development, energy, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency or relevant field is a strong asset.

Language (s)

Fluency in Ukrainian and working knowledge of English is required.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal

Note: UNDP documents templates are available at the following link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gl77bauo27ed0l9/AACGhkF0QmlC5dhm5HZutu2Fa?dl=0

Financial Proposal

 Lump sum contract

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (please, refer to Section 4 Measurable outputs of the work assignment/deliverables). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of Cost by Components.

Evaluation criteria

Criteria A: Education – 15 points max

At least Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, Graphic, Polygraphy, Media, Linguistics or other relevant studies – 15 points max

{????15 pts – PhD degree in the relevant field or higher; 12 pts – Specialist/Master’s degree in the relevant field or higher; 10 pts – Bachelor’s degree in the relevant field}???????.

Criteria B: Work Experience – 45 points max

• At least 2 years of working experience in writing and editing publications, articles, newsletters, e-mail digests, blog entries, human and success stories, developing communication materials and/or implementing media/communications strategies and plans, including digital – 25 points max {???????up to 25 pts – 7 years and more; 24 pts – 5-6 years; 22 pts – 3-4 years; 20 pts – 2 years);
• Proven excellent writing skills (must provide samples of at least 3 previously prepared or co-authored articles or documents) – 5 points max (up to 5 pts – proven experience of 5 documents; 4 pts – proven experience of 4 documents); 3 pts – proven experience of 3 documents);
• Proven experience in social media outreach, including executing and monitoring social media campaigns, would be an advantage (must provide at least 1 sample of previous relevant work) - 5 points max (up to 5 pts – 3 and more samples; 4 pts – 2 samples); 3 pts – 1 sample of work);
• Experience in designing, drawing or painting (must provide at least 3 samples of previous relevant work) - 5 points max (up to 5 pts – proven experience of 5 documents; 4 pts – proven experience of 4 documents); 3 pts – proven experience of 3 documents);
• Previous experience with environmental and political issues, sustainable development, energy, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency or relevant field is a strong asset - 5 points max (up to 5 pts – 3 years and more; 3 pts – 1-2 years).

Criteria C: Language Skills – 10 points max {???????10 – fluency in Ukrainian + working knowledge of English}

Maximum available technical score – 70 points.  

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual contractor whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical Criteria weight; 70%

Financial Criteria weight; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.