Background

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. The UN Women Pacific sub-region has four main thematic areas:

• Ending Violence against Women (EVAW);
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) which includes the Markets for Change project (M4C);
• Humanitarian Response and Disaster Risk Reduction; and
• Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership and Human Rights.

Women’s Resilience to Disasters / WRD

Disaster risks converge with critical socio-economic vulnerabilities, environmental degradation and climate change making the Pacific a disaster hotspot.  Disasters and climate change are widening inequalities and undermining poverty reduction in the region.  Threats such as COVID-19 are further exacerbating the inequalities and hardships faced by women and girls including those with disabilities.  Women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters, yet women remain largely ignored and their capacities unleveraged in conventional resilience building processes. As a result, women are generally absent in the development of resilience strategies and decision-making processes for prevention, preparedness, and recovery. This is compounded by significant gaps at the global, regional and country level in relation to the availability and use of sex, age and disability disaggregated data (SADDD), knowledge sharing on women’s resilience; an enabling environment for building women’s resilience (including capacities, leadership and funding); translation of commitments into action; coordination and private sector partnership; and a need for transformative change to tackle the underlying drivers of disproportionate risk.

UN Women’s WRD Programme proposes a comprehensive package for building women’s resilience to disasters, climate change and threats (including COVID-19).   The aim of the WRD Programme will be to render women’s and girls’ lives and livelihoods disaster-resilient, contributing to sustainable and secure communities, by promoting gender responsive prevention, preparedness, and recovery systems, plans and tools; and by enabling targeted action to help women and girls withstand hazards and threats, recover fully from disasters, and increase their resilience to future risks.  The expected end-of-programme outcomes (EOPOs) are:

1. Prevention, preparedness and recovery systems, plans and tools are gender-responsive through women’s leadership in DRR, women’s enhanced influence in DRR decision-making, enhanced gender capacity of DRR and climate resilience stakeholders, increased access to knowledge, guidance and expertise on gender-responsive disaster resilience, and strategic partnerships and networks for women’s agency and leadership in DRR; and
2. Women and girls are prepared to withstand natural hazards, climate change and COVID-19, recover from disasters and increase their resilience to future risks, through gender-responsive early warning systems, gender targeted and mainstreamed services for women’s resilience, women’s informal and formal climate and disaster resilient businesses, women’s increased access to climate and disaster resilient livelihoods and strategic partnerships for resilient livelihoods.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

The Consultant will be responsible for creating a Communications & Visibility Strategy for the Women’s Resilience to Disasters Programme that is aligned with, and supportive of, the strategic goals of the Programme, including cascading outcome-based Communications Workplans, development of communications processes and manuals, and mentoring and support to the Programme’s communications staff.

To ensure effective and efficient communications throughout the life of the Programme, the Consultant will work in close collaboration with the Government of Australia as the main donor partner, the UN Women programme team both in Geneva and in the Pacific, as well as engaging with implementing partners. The outcome of these activities will be a Women’s Resilience to Disasters Communication and Visibility Plan 2022-2026 that outlines agreed rules, practical implementation, general parameters of communications, and key communication dates (International Women’s Day, Global Platform, Regional Platform Asia-Pacific, International Day for DRR, International Tsunami Awareness Day, etc) for the Programme across donor and implementing partners. 

Programme-wide communications will be primarily managed within UN Women Fiji MCO in close coordination with the global WRD team, and in partnership with the Government of Australia, partner agencies and implementing partners, including civil society and other key stakeholders. Communications will comply with UN Women corporate requirements, as managed by the Communications and Advocacy team in UN Women HQ. It is expected that the consultant will both set into place the Communications and Visibility guidelines, as well as support initial communications including social media needs for the Women’s Resilience to Disasters Programme and its Knowledge Hub.  Technical support and collaboration with other programmatic areas that overlap with WRD will also be required and therefore the consultant will work closely with the EVAWG, Markets for Change and Humanitarian teams.

The Consultant will operate under the guidance and direct supervision of the Gender and Protection Specialist and the Fiji MCO Communications Specialist.

Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities

Key Outputs:

1. Have a key advisory and practical developmental role for the Programme’s communications related issues at the global, regional and country level work.
2. Develop strategic communications documents, including the Communications & Visibility Strategy, Communications and Visibility Workplan, and Visibility Style Guide.
3. Develop and lead with planned and ad hoc communication needs both internally and externally, such as the initiation of staff communications and social media activity, including for the Women’s Resilience to Disasters knowledge hub
4. Development and consolidation of online photo and social media database, including social media cards, WRD key messages and related WRD communications material. 
5. Co-lead communication liaison with programme partners, including communications counterparts with the donor government, partner agencies and implementing partners.
6. Lead and support the development and editing of communication and advocacy materials including but not limited to web content, social media, brochures, and newsletters.
7. Lead in drafting, editing, and managing production of any programme publications and merchandise such as banners, programme flyers, and other materials. 
8. Drafting media statements, media releases, media advisories and op-eds on matters related to the programme’s launches and events.
9. Provide technical expertise and guidance to communications including quality assurance for the programme’s advocacy and communication materials, programme’s advocacy, and communication materials.

Key Functions:

• Strategic communications and visibility planning. This includes directly assisting and guiding the drafting of the programme’s communications strategy, style guide and outcome-specific work planning.
• Technical Expertise. This includes assisting with key messaging for the program, imagery and other general communications and advocacy support.
• Manage communications and visibility activities relating to the programme’s country launches, inception workshops and on-going advocacy.
• Advise a decision-making process for all programme partners to agree on key strategic communications approaches.

Duration of the assignment

The duration of this assignment will be up to 50 days within 4 months period.  

Expected Key Activities and Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to work and deliver the following key results:

All the documents and materials utilized need to be returned to UN Women in electronic format. Any printed materials utilized to be referenced and returned.  All materials are property of UN Women.

Upon receipt of the final deliverables and prior to the payment of the instalment, the deliverables, related reports, and documents will be reviewed and approved by UN Women at least within one week of submission.

The deliverables need to be cleared and approved by UN Women.

Inputs

• The Consultant will be based at the UN Women Fiji MCO duty station in Suva, Fiji.

• UN Women will cover the costs for production of approved corporate publications and materials, including coordinating and covering the costs of graphic designers, as required throughout the duration of the assignment.

Performance evaluation

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated based on timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

Financial Arrangements

Payments will be disbursed to the Consultant upon submission and approval of monthly report with deliverables set forth in the section “Expected Outputs and Deliverables” above, timesheets with actual days worked and certification by the UN Women Gender & Resilience Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies

• Ability to think conceptually, strategically and analytically;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Results oriented, flexible and problem-solving skills.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social science, communications, political science, sociology, anthropology, journalism or other related field is required. 
• A first-level University Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience and skills:

• At least 5 years (with Masters’ degree) or 7 years (with first-level university degree) of progressively responsible experience and proven record in advocacy, policy, campaigns, strategic management at national or international level.
• Excellent and proven analytical and writing skills, including proven experience developing a communications strategy, manuals and workplans;
• Familiarity with gender and the issues related to empowerment of women;
• Experience working in disaster risk reduction and climate change as an asset;
• Experience working in the Pacific or on Pacific issues as an asset;
• Proficiency in the use of computer and office software packages

Language and other skills

• Excellent written and spoken English.

Evaluation

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social science, communications, political science, sociology, anthropology, journalism, or other related field is required.  A first-level University Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 5 years (with Masters’ degree) or 7 years (with first-level university degree) of progressively responsible experience and proven record in advocacy, policy, campaigns, strategic management at national or international level.

The shortlisted individual consultants will be further evaluated based on a cumulative analysis process, with a total score being obtained upon the combination of weighted technical and financial attributes.

Cost under this method of analysis is rendered as an award criterion, which will be 30% out of a total score of 100 points.

Evaluation of submitted offers will be done based on the following formula:

where:

Technical evaluation will be done through desk review of applications. Interviews and/or written tests will be organized if needed only, depending on the short-listed candidates’ qualifications.

Technical Qualification Evaluation Criteria: The technical part is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

Financial Qualification Evaluation Criteria: In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of candidates, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation (at least 49 points), will be compared.

WINNING CANDIDATE

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Submission of Application:

Interested candidates are requested to submit fully completed application on the UNDP Vacancy Site. 

Submission Package:

1. Cover letter explaining the suitability of the consultant: applicants are encouraged to address experience and qualifications listed in the ‘criteria for technical evaluation’.
2. Duly filled Personal History Form (P11) and/or Curriculum Vitae (CV) of Consultant including records of experience in similar assignments and specific outputs obtained; P11 can be downloaded at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
3. Financial proposal – specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference.  The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (daily rate and number of anticipate working days and any other possible costs).
4. Please read, use and complete ANNEX I and ANNEX II below to provide your financial proposal.
5. Sample of past work, which is relevant for this assignment including communication strategies.

Applications without a complete financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.  UN Women reserves the right to accept or reject any bid.

The consultancy recruitment process will be governed by the rules and regulations of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided?on the basis of?qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.? 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.? 

UN Women?has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.? All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check).

Deadline of all submission: 24th February 2022.

Annex I

Price Proposal Guideline and Template

The prospective Individual Contractor should take the following explanations into account during submission of his/her price proposal.

1.Lump Sum Amount

The price proposal should indicate a "lump sum amount" which is "all-inclusive"; All costs (professional fees, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Individual Contractor needs to be factored into the proposed price.

UN Women will not withhold any amount of the payments for tax and/or social security related payments. UN Women shall have no liability for taxes, duties or other similar charges payable by the Individual Contractor in respect of any amounts paid to the Individual Contractor under this Contract, and the Contractor acknowledges that UN Women will not issue any statements of earnings to the Individual contractor in respect of any such payments.

Contract price is fixed to activities/deliverables indicated in the ToR, regardless of the changes in the cost components (such as days invested for completion of the deliverables).

2.Travel costs

No travel is envisaged for the implementation of the current assignments.

3.Daily Subsistence Allowance

Not applicable.

4.Currency of the price proposal

The applicants are requested to submit their price proposals in USD.   

In case of proposals in other currency, these shall be converted into USD using the official UN exchange rate for currency conversion at the date of applications’ submission deadline.

Annex II

Price Proposal Submission Form

[ Mandatory document for the Consultant to complete and submit]

To:          United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Ref:         Women’s Resilience to Disasters – Communications & Visibility Consultant, UN Women Fiji MCO

Dear Sir / Madam,

I, the undersigned, offer to provide professional consulting services to UN Women within the scope of the referred Assignment.  Having examined, understood, and agreed to the Terms of Reference and its annexes, the receipt of which are hereby duly acknowledged, I, the undersigned, offer to deliver professional services, in conformity with the Terms of Reference.

My maximum total price proposal for the assignment is given below:

Estimated Costs (in USD$)

*** Please be informed that for shorter assignments than a full day, the daily rate will be pro-rated into hourly rate.

I confirm that my financial proposal will remain unchanged.  I also confirm that the price that I quote is gross, and is inclusive of all legal expenses, including but not limited to social security, income tax, pension, etc., which shall be required applicable laws.

I agree that my proposal shall remain binding upon me for 30 working days.

I understand that you are not bound to accept any proposal you may receive.