UNDP Jobs - 35566- Electoral Media and Communication Consultant

Electoral Media and Communication Consultant

Location :

Baghdad, IRAQ

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Mar-2013

Application Deadline :

20-Feb-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Over a period of 6 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Over a period of 6 months

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

Important Notes:

All necessary information including Complete Terms of Reference, Selection Criteria, and Annexes are found on the following link under Procurement Notice Number IC-017/13:

http://www.iq.undp.org/ProcurementNotices_Overview.aspx

Proposals should be submitted to the following e-mail address no later than COB 20th of February 2013 (Amman Time +3GMT):
SSA.undp.iraq@undp.org

Applicants should download the application documents (presented in compressed file) from the previously mentioned link for UNDP Iraq – Procurement notice web site, complete and sign them, and send the scanned copies to the email account above by or before the deadline of this post.
Applications with NO financial offer or MISSING P11 form or the required documents for the technical evaluation will NOT be considered for evaluation.
Applications WITHOUT Annex 3 for submitting a financial offer instead of other format will not be considered due to the need of Annex 3 for the ease of comparison of the received offers. All the necessary information for this post (TOR, Deliverables, Target dates, etc. are presented in the procurement notice documents) therefore, applicant MUST download it to apply for this post.
DO NOT send only CV to the Email account mentioned above WITHOUT Annex 1, 2, 3, 4, Cover Letter and Methodology (If Requested) as it will considered as incomplete application.
The documents are available in PDF (the Procurement Notice, Annex 3, 4 and 5) and Word 2010 (Annex 1 and 2) format; this is the only format available and it will not be provided in other formats.
Applicants need to use Adobe reader, Word 2010, zipping software (WinRAR) to be able to use and view the documents for this procurement notice.
Each email should be less than 8 MB; emails over this size will not be received to the above mentioned account.

Background:

UNDP, as part of its governance programme, is working to strengthen electoral processes in Iraq. This includes provision of electoral technical assistance, support to the institutional development of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) responsible for conducting elections, and the promotion of inclusive and accountable participation in electoral processes by all stakeholders, including voters, civil society organizations, media and political entities.

All activities take place in close cooperation with the IHEC. According to Iraq's constitution, the IHEC is a professional, governmental, independent, neutral and autonomous institution, subject to the supervision of the Council of Representatives. It has all authorities to conduct elections in Iraq.

The electoral programme is also implemented through strong partnerships between UNDP, UNAMI, and UNOPS as part of the UN Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT).

The IHEC will be conducting Governorate Council Elections (GCE) in 14 governorates on 20 April 2013 and Kurdistan Region Governorate elections later in the year . This calls for enhancement of its media relations and external communication capability to ensure that all national stakeholders are well informed in the run-up to these elections. This will promote increased and positive participation in the electoral processes as well as transparency and accountability of the electoral management body. In this regard, the UN Integrated Electoral Assistance Team is supporting the IHEC in strengthening the technical and institutional capacity in the area of media and communication.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

As part of the Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT), the Media and Communication consultant supports Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in the development and implementation of electoral media and communications strategies, which engage media and other stakeholders with a view to promoting participation and strengthening understanding and trust in electoral processes.

The Electoral Media and Communication Consultant works closely with Iraqi counterparts of the IHEC, UNAMI Public Information Office and the UN Electoral Assistance Team advisors and other partners in performing the following duties:

Provide guidance and advice to the IHEC and to the IEAT on planning, developing and implementing a media and communications strategy for the IHEC.
Provide guidance and technical advice to IHEC counterparts on media and public relations activities both at national and provincial level, in particular to the External Media Section, Office of the Spokesperson and provincial office Media Units.
Provide guidance and technical advice to the IHEC on all media and communications activities, including development of relevant internal procedures, media relations, information provision (press releases, press conferences, call centre, use of print, audio/visual and new media etc), and development of the website and media monitoring.
Promote and encourage IHEC’s engagement and dialogue with the media, Iraqi media regulatory bodies and other relevant stakeholders.
In close cooperation with the IEAT Public Outreach Advisor, advise the IHEC on the development and implementation of effective media and communications campaigns for specific electoral events, including the design and monitoring of the media plan.
Liaise closely with relevant stakeholders, including but not exclusively other UNAMI and UN agencies, other international agencies, and relevant Iraqi electoral stakeholders.
Ensure that cross-cutting themes such as gender and human rights are incorporated into IEAT electoral support in the area of media and communications.
Develop public information documents as necessary on behalf of the IEAT, and in coordination with UNDP and UNAMI public information offices.
Provide regular reports on progress and activities.

Deliverables and outputs:

While UNDP will be responsible for the logistic costs of the participants. The Consultant Under the direct supervision of the requesting unit is requested to produce for the following deliverables:

Media and communication strategy for the IHEC developed and finalized.
Final report, including best practices and recommendations on the IHEC media and communication strategy implementation.
Guidance and technical advice to IHEC counterparts on media and public relations activities both at national and provincial level, in particular to the External Media Section, Office of the Spokesperson and provincial office Media Units.
Guidance and technical advice to the IHEC on all media and communications activities, and development of relevant internal media and communication procedures for the IHEC.
Three stakeholder meetings on enhancing communication and public outreach with political entities, civil society, the Media, youth and women groups and other electoral stakeholders.
Recommendations on cross-cutting themes on gender, people with disabilities, youth and human rights are incorporated into IEAT electoral support in the area of media and communications.
20 weekly public information documents and by-weekly progress reports on media and communication.

Competencies

Key Performance Indicators during implementation of Services:

Corporate Competencies:

Ethics and Values
Organizational Awareness
Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring
Working in Teams
Communicating Information and Ideas
Self-management and Emotional Intelligence
Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements
Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge and Technical Expertise:

Demonstrates thorough knowledge and understanding of media and communication strategies.
Experience in media production and understanding of use of media and new media in the design of electoral media plans and policies; processes comparative knowledge of election administration in different countries.
Familiarity with electoral best practices and international standards in elections
Ability to work independently and show initiative
Establishes goals and priorities and able to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan
Shows initiative and the ability to manage complex political situations
Consistently approaches work with a positive, constructive attitude
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office and with stakeholders
Demonstrates commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work, and in electoral processes.

Communication:

Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; is able to communicate complex technical issues and ideas in a clear and concise manner.
Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately.
Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication.
Tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience.
Communicates sensitively and effectively across different constituencies.
Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Conceptual innovation in the Provision of Technical Expertise:

Actively seeks to improve programmes or services
Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas
Proven analytical and evaluative skills, and the ability to assess problems and formulate solutions; Offers new and different options to solve problems
Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.

Client-Orientation:

Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect
Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep them informed, anticipate problems and identify opportunities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Master’s degree in Political Science, International Relations, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Public Administration, Public Relations, or related field.

Work Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of functionally relevant professional experience, including experience in working in the field of media and communication.
Comparative experience in election administration, with specific experience in enhancing media and communication for the promotion of awareness and positive participation in electoral processes.
Experience in working directly with Electoral Management Bodies, with a focus on provision of technical advice on media and communication.
Experience in working in post-conflict or transitional countries required; and experience in the region an asset
Experience working with the UN, a UN agency or an international organization on electoral issues.

Language:

Fluency in English both written and oral (advanced Level).

Other Qualifications:

Competent in usage of MS Office programmes (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Familiarity with social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and websites
The candidate should be able to work in hardship conditions.
The post requires considerable cultural and political sensitivity.

The Consultant should provide documented examples from previous assignments of proposed personnel related to deliverables in this Terms of Reference.

Proposals:

Documents to be included when submitting the Proposal:

Technical Proposal:
(Which will include the following):

Signed Template Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal. (Please use Annex 1);
A letter explaining why he/she considers himself/herself the most suitable candidate for the work;
Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references. Please Use the attached (P11 Form Only) CV Form – Annex 2 attached. UNDP-Iraq reserves the right to disqualify any of CVs who are not compliant with the requested form.
Sample reports of previous work in English.
A language assessment will be conducted [if needed] for the purpose of verifying influence in English Arabic.
A brief Methodology on how the candidate will approach and conduct the work.

The expert is asked in his/her offer submission in the methodologies section to describe the above mentioned points in paragraph (Scope of Work and expected output).

Financial proposal:

The financial proposal will specify a total lump sum amount and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. A breakdown of this lump sum amount is to be provided by the IC candidate. Total Fees: Please use Annex 3 – Financial proposal form.
All necessary information including: Complete Terms of Reference, The Selection Criteria, and Annexes are found on the following link under Procurement Notice Number IC-017/13:

http://www.iq.undp.org/ProcurementNotices_Overview.aspx

Proposals should be submitted to the following e-mail address no later than COB 20th of February 2013 (Amman Time +3GMT):

SSA.undp.iraq@undp.org