Background

The Joint SDG Fund is seen by the Secretary General as a key piece of the reform of the UNDS. The Secretary General referred, in his December 2017 report, to the Joint SDG Fund as the “muscle” for Resident Coordinators and a new generation of United Nations Country Teams to help countries to deliver the SDGs, through catalyzing integrated, transformative policy change and innovative financial investment.

The Joint SDG Fund will perform the following functions:

1. Identify and activate SDG “accelerators”: The Joint SDG Fund will identify policy levers, through an integrated and cross-sectoral approach, that unleash rapid progress across different goals and targets, based on data, assessments and analysis carried out by national and international partners
2. Reinforce the SDG financing architecture and ecosystem:  The Joint SDG Fund will support the development of financing strategies for SDG investment. This work will include: i) convening and creating networks with partners, including the Government, development banks, institutional investors and the private sector; ii) strengthening the capacities of the national and sub-national SDG financing architecture; iii) the production of multi-stakeholder financing strategies with the aim of dramatically increasing the scale and improving the focus of SDG investments.
3. Catalyze strategic programming and investments: the Joint SDG Fund will invest in key initiatives that emerge from (1) and (2), and that leverage public and private financing in order to advance the SDGs. These initiatives will provide a demonstration of concept and will be scalable both in country and elsewhere. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Design of external and internal strategies for communications and outreach

• Provide an overall plan communication plan for the Joint SDG Fund at global, regional and country level – October 2018
• Identify and prioritize critical programme activities/events, outputs and products to elevate Joint SDG Fund communications and outreach strategy based on Joint SDG Fund priorities – throughout contract
• Provide constructive and timely advice on inclusion of communications components in programme and projects to integrate advocacy and communication strategies into all aspects of Joint SDG Fund development programmes – throughout contract

Digital communications

• Manage Joint SDG Fund digital and social media platforms, including the website, photo, audio and video channels – throughout contract
• Monitors, analyses and evaluates implementation and impact of Joint SDG Fund social media presence – throughout contract
• Coordinates the production and publishing of daily content (text, images, video or HTML) that support and engages audiences in a meaningful way – throughout contract
• Works with UN country teams to ensure full coverage of the Joint SDG Fund activities and the generation of new content– throughout contract
• Maintains Joint SDG Fund presence in public dialogue where appropriate – throughout contract
• Works with staff to engage online audiences through social media platforms – throughout contract
• Manages social media communication with supporters and interested parties, building relationships with existing supporters and influencers to build the Joint SDG Fund – throughout contract
• Develops relationships with key partners to maximize visibility and traffic to Joint SDG Fund platforms and to maximise the distribution of content – throughout contract

Public relations and reporting

• The Joint SDG Fund will need to communicate results (impact, lessons learned) as part of a resource mobilization strategy and to meet needs of current and future donors. As part of this effort, reporting of key activities will be essential and will require compelling stories that demonstrate impact and support country communication efforts – throughout contract
• Develop and maintain key contacts with government officials, multilateral and bilateral donors, civil society and private sector for implementation of the communications strategy, organization of roundtable discussions, press conferences, project visits, briefing sessions, interviews, launches, etc – throughout contract
• Promotion and dissemination of corporate advocacy materials for launching flagship initiatives and publications as well as RFPs, concept notes, etc – throughout contract
• Work closely with the Joint SDG Fund Secretariat to promote activities to position Joint SDG Fund as a leader within the SDG financing, innovation and development space – throughout contract
• Format, package and submission of programme and projects initiatives for donor review in close collaboration with programme and project staff. These results and reports must be prepared and shared on a timely basis, especially with the Joint SDG Strategic Advisory Group and Operational Steering Committee– throughout contract
• Maintain and develop content to produce quality reports for the Joint SDG Fund, regionally, and internationally; and with UNCT teams to communicate the story of the Joint SDG Fund’s cooperation with a wider audience and provide updates with key stakeholders– throughout contract

External relations: Co-create programs with Partners and build support for related or special outreach and marketing initiatives

• Develop a comprehensive contact list of individuals, groups, organizations (including Government, UN, and bilateral counterparts) key to achieving the advocacy and communication objectives at both the global and national level – throughout contract
• Produce communication products and materials to support the work of the Joint SDG Fund for a wide variety of media and professional platforms – throughout contract
• Provide communication support for organization of conferences, events, panels at the international level and UN headquarters – throughout contract
• Support ongoing maintenance and content of Joint SDG Fund website, social media, newsletter or blog as needed to ensure consistency of messaging and materials – throughout contract

Facilitation of communication/knowledge sharing and management

• Support the development of story-telling, visibility and outreach for Joint SDG Fund work– throughout contract
• Assist in the preparation and implementation of communication tools and materials and advise on the how to develop communication messages into existing Joint SDG Fund initiatives linked to communication/ knowledge sharing efforts– throughout contract
• Maintain close contact with communications focal points in UN system, as well as to support outside knowledge networks and communities of practice linked to SDG financing– throughout contract

Media relations

• Promote optimum visibility of Joint SDG Fund activities through effective media relations, placement and distribution of information material and creative partnerships with bi, multilateral and non-governmental organizations and the private sector – throughout contract
• Foster and maintain strong working relationships with international, regional and national and news organizations– throughout contract
• Develop and maintain a database of journalists and a Joint SDG Fund mailing list. Maintain contact information, materials and relationships with journalists and media outlets covering print, TV, radio, web etc. in varied countries, and within UN HQ, UN Agencies – throughout contract
• Provide access for journalists to subject-matter experts and relevant donor/country team spokespeople– throughout contract
• Provide effective responses to inquiries for public information materials and ongoing advocacy and promotion of the Joint SDG Fund’s mandate– throughout contract
• Produce communication products and materials to support the work of the Joint SDG Fund for a wide variety of media and donor and government partners– throughout contract
• Coordinate the writing, development, design, production and dissemination of publications - particularly relevant news releases through print and video, utilizing the resources of Joint SDG Fund partners, and pitching pieces for publication when possible– throughout contract
• Provide editorial input into all forms of varied publications, reports and website updates as needed– throughout contract

Other duties

• Manage ongoing activities with outside vendors, videographers, consultants, printers as applicable– throughout contract

Duration of Work:  approximately 130 days Part-time (approx. 2-3 days/week) over course of 1st Oct 2018 through 30th June 2019.

Duty Station: On site – New York, USA. The consultant will need to prove her/his ability to reside and work in the USA.

Payment: A daily rate based on an all-inclusive daily fee. All-inclusive implies that all costs incurred by the Contractor are factored into the final amount submitted in the proposal. Payments will be made following certification of the satisfactory delivery of the products and the appropriate management of associated processes needed to achieve the above-mentioned tasks and objectives; supervisor will confirm arrangements.  

DOCO reserves the right to rescind this agreement due to unsatisfactory performance by the contractor.

Institutional arrangements:

The consultant will be working under the direct supervision of the Head of the Joint SDG Fund (and ad interim to the Policy Specialist, Funding and Financing). The consultant will agree on the part- time schedule with the Head of the Joint Fund, according to the priorities of the Office.

UN DOCO reserves the right to rescind this agreement due to unsatisfactory performance by the contractor. Travel to the UNDOCO HQ in New York is the responsibility of the consultant.

Travel: No outside mission is envisaged for this consultancy.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN system; and
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Outstanding writing skills both for the broader public as well as for a more technical audience, demonstrated through track-record of publicly available work (e.g. articles, publications);
• Sound understanding of and professional experience in designing external and internal strategies for communications and outreach;
• Demonstrated experience in knowledge sharing and management, and results reporting;
• Demonstrated experience in management of digital and  social media platforms;
• Excellent and effective communication skills (both verbal and written) across all levels of hierarchy;
• Must be able to work independently.

Required Skills and Experience

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Advanced University Degree (Master’s) in media relations, journalism, publishing or related subject;
• Minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience in of relevant experience at the national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy;
• Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization is helpful but not mandatory.;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Experience with Drupal, Wordpress, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, is desirable.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:

• Excellent command of English is essential. Working knowledge of Spanish and French is desirable.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• CV or P11 indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the consultant; short-listed candidates will be asked to submit their P11 and at least three (3) professional references;
• Brief description (cover letter) of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for this assignment, which addresses the required qualifications and evaluation criteria;

Short-listed candidates will be asked to submit the following:

• Financial proposal - Duly completed Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using template provided by UNDP which includes the financial proposal which includes “all-inclusive (*)” daily fee;
• Three (3) written samples of previous work published, each max three (3) page long (please submit URLs).

(*) “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (excluding mission travel) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal

Interviews may be conducted; Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

EVALUATION: 

OTHERS:

ANNEX 1- GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS_ INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT (IC)

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf