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.

As the G20 President for 2023, India has prioritised the growth narrative from ‘development of women’ to ‘women-led development’ (WLD), recognising women’s substantial and active contribution to global growth as well as enhancing the scope for their participation, leadership and decision-making. UN Women, in support of the Government of India’s framework of Women-led Development, is ‘profiling stories of Women’s Leadership’ in the country that has led to sustainable and transformative change. For this, UN Women is curating 75 Stories of Women’s Leadership this year and plans to disseminate networks to inspire and strengthen the voices of women-led development across platforms. India’s presidency of G20 is also an opportunity to collect and amplify voices of women’s leadership; the global summit and its connected events will serve as a platform to highlight these stories. 

With this context, UN Women is looking to hire a Consultant – Coffee Table Book designer for Profiling Women’s Leadership. The book designer will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the UN Women Communications team to scout for and document inspiring stories of women’s leadership.

The stories will include representation of women from across geographies, socio-economic groups and most importantly - fields of work - Education, STEM, agriculture, entrepreneurship, entertainment, tech, climate action, wildlife, armed forces etc. With support of the UN Women communications team, the documentation group of 9 Photographer/Videographers with two writers will ideate, plan and travel in teams of two to document 75 stories of women’s leadership to be curated in the form of a Coffee Table Book, photo stories and a video film.

The Consultant - Coffee Table Book Designer will maintain a working relationship with the UN Women India communications team. The designer will be an integral part of the planning, curating, documenting and the making of the final assets

Working under the direct supervision of UN Women, the consultant will work closely during all stages of production and documentation of the 75-story coffee table book - from formulation of concept to development and finalization of stories, curation of relevant photographs, professional designing along with infographics, reviewing the draft and finalizing the product. 

Duties and Responsibilities

• The consultant's primary tasks may include the following, among others:
• Working closely with UN Women team to conceptualize existing stories, images, infographics and designs for the coffee table book;
• Suggest ways on how best to visualise specific data and information from UN Women field stories;
• Ensure interactive format, layout, and design in line with UN Women brand guidelines;
• Deliver two or three creative and innovative ideas with draft designs for the coffee table book;
• Translate data, statistics and stories into graphic elements - infographics.

Expected Deliverables:

In consultation with UN Women, the consultant will produce the following: 

1.  Design of an Illustrative Coffee Table Cover – 10% of the total contract amount

• Conceptualize the design of the book cover and provide at least 3 options before a final decision is reached. 

2. Curate the photographs and stories - 10% of the total contract amount

Curate, sequence and design a tight edit of 75 stories with photographs based on geographical spread and weave them in a narrative that’ll show gender advancement impact across India. Templates to include pull-quotes and captions with credits for each image. Provide at least 3 options before a final decision is reached. 

3.  Design Key Infographics snapshots - 10% of the total contract amount

Conceptualize the design for infographics to creatively present facts and figures wherever required. 

4. Design ‘Moving the Needle’ Spread - 10% of the total contract amount

Conceptualize the design and layout of a double page spread that will feature how these stories of women’s leadership have moved the needle on gender equality in the country. 

5. Design Foreword - 10% of the total contract amount

Design forewords for the book – a total of 3.

6. Liaising printing  - 10% of the total contract amount

Advice on final specifications for printing and liaising with the publication house/printers on dummy prints. 

7. Final files of the product – 40% of the total contract amount

Finalized version of the coffee table book in electronic and print ready files to be shared by the designer. A e-version of the book design is also required. The consultant will be required to provide all necessary In-Design Files upon completion of the work.  

NOTE: It is expected that the designer shall use own equipment and expertise as required to deliver the services stated in this TOR in a timely and effective manner. Designer to use the branding guidelines of UN Women in all the work with creative freedom for the content used. Copyright for all designs will belong to UN Women. 

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
• Demonstrating sound judgment;
• Self-development, initiative-taking
• Acting as a team player and facilitating teamwork;
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
• Managing conflict;
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encouraging the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
• Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:    

• Demonstrates commitment to mission, vision and values of UN Women;
• Strong knowledge, and experience of working on intergovernmental and normative processes; especially globally, and nationally;
• Demonstrated ability to analyse policy and strategies from a gender perspective;
• Produces qualitative, accurate outputs with considerable attention to detail, in a timely manner;
• Manages complexities, shifting priorities, and is able to work effectively without constant supervision;
• Maintains constructive, effective business relationships with clients and partners;
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues;
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients;
• Strong interpersonal and communication (verbal, listening, writing) skills;
• Organization skills (time management, efficient administration, multi-tasking and fast-paced);
• Ability to work under pressure within strict deadlines;
• Ability to adapt quickly to work demands, and changing deadlines;
• Willingness to “inter-change” work functions with other staff within the Unit, when required.

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in media and communication design/ mass communication/media or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience of high-level book design/graphic design/publication design with multi-media documentation for strategic written storytelling for international development organizations.
• Experience in covering social, humanitarian and development subjects will be an asset.
• Experience with UN Women and /or other UN agencies and INGOs will be an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Hindi is an asset.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Please add relevant book design/publication design samples to your application. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

• The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Portfolio/work samples – 60 Points
• Interview- 40 Points

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.
• This is a full-time assignment. The consultant is expected to disclose any outside activity and shall not be permitted to take up any outside work during this assignment.
• Please note that during the course of this assignment, the Terms of Reference may be amended by UN Women. 

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.