Empleos en el PNUD - 77036- Re-Tendering - International Consultant Expert on

Re-Tendering - International Consultant Expert on Media Monitoring for the Supervisory Commission for Elections in Lebanon (SCE).

Localidad :

Beirut, Líbano

Tipo de contrato :

Individual Contract

Fecha de comienzo del contrato :

Fecha límite de postulación :

12-Feb-18 (Medianoche Nueva York, Estados Unidos)

Nivel de puesto :

International Consultant

Duración del contrato inicial :

4 Months.

Idiomas requeridos :

Árabe Inglés

Duración esperada del puesto :

4 Months.

El PNUD está comprometido con lograr la diversidad de su personal en términos de género, nacionalidad y cultura. Se alienta por igual a las personas que pertenecen a grupos minoritarios, a pueblos indígenas o que tienen alguna discapacidad a presentar su candidatura. Todas las solicitudes se tratarán con la mayor confidencialidad. UNDP no tolera la explotación y el abuso sexual, ningún tipo de acoso, incluido el acoso sexual, ni la discriminación. Por lo tanto, todos los candidatos seleccionados serán sometidos a una rigurosa verificación de referencias y antecedentes.

Antecedentes

UNDP Lebanese Electoral Assistance Project (LEAP) has the main objective to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders for the conduct of transparent and inclusive elections in Lebanon. Through a multi-component approach, the project has the intended outcomes of providing technical assistance and support in the following key electoral areas: (1) management and administration of Elections (2) supervision of election campaigns (3) provision of voter education initiatives (4) resolution of electoral disputes, and (5) initiatives to improve election opportunities for women.

Relevance/purpose of the work required and how it is linked to the project context
On Friday 16 June, the Lebanese Parliament has passed a new electoral based on the proportional system, composed of 15 major districts subdivided into the administrative 26 minor districts of kada
across the country. Among the main reforms, new official unified printed ballot papers will be introduced, establishment of a permanent Supervisory Commission on Elections (SCE) will be permanent and new automated systems for candidate registration and results management will be implemented. As part of its second component, LEAP is providing electoral assistance and advisory support to the Supervisory Commission for Elections to carry out the tasks and duties assigned by the new electoral law 44/2017. In this context, the project will provide support to the SCE to establish the media monitoring unit which shall be in charge of monitoring the media outlets as per the provisions governing electoral advertising and information in the law.

In this regard, UNDP LEAP seeks to recruit an international expert to support and advise in the development and implementation of the SCE media monitoring unit.

Purpose and objective

Main objective of the media monitoring system
The proposed SCE media monitoring system should be able to collect data and analyze elections-related content of print, broadcast and online media, and present the results, in order to assess whether the media has been independent, transparent and professional in the context of free fair and credible elections.

Specific objectives of the media monitoring system

The envisaged SCE media monitoring system should be able to:

Evaluate the extent to which elections were fair in terms of freedom of expression by the media, voters and candidates;
Review whether political parties and candidates received fair access and coverage;
Determine whether law and/or regulations on access to the media are being respected in the allocation and timing of free airtime, advertising slots and respect for regulations on content of advertising during the period of elections;
Identify any emerging issues related to electoral management or the conduct of the electoral campaign that the SCE may have to address.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Key responsibilities

The consultant is expected to undergo the following tasks:

Establishment and set up of a SCE Media Monitoring Unit including identification and development of terms of references for the unit’s staff;
Development and implementation of a media monitoring system methodology and design;
Identification of technical specifications for the required monitoring equipment (media monitoring equipment, IT equipment, and up-to-date monitoring software);
Training of over 30 SCE staff on the media monitoring methodology;
Carry out daily monitoring (7 days a week) for quality and quantity aspects in the election coverage during the period of 5th February -30 May 2018;
Produce weekly monitoring briefs including monitoring of the media election coverage from 5 February to 30th May;
Carry out a debriefing meeting at the end of May to present the final report.

Focus of the Media monitoring
The media monitoring unit will analyze the conduct of individual, media organizations and journalists, within the context of the media system as a whole. Specific focus will be on voters’ rights to receive information; candidates’ rights to impart information; the conduct of journalists and the media’s right to freedom of expression.

Voters: To determine whether voters have been given due access to information in the course of the election campaign, the media monitoring unit will examine the following issues:

Did the media provide voters with sufficient information on the administration of the election and on voting procedures?
Did state/public (and private) media comply with their obligations to inform the public on relevant issues regarding the electoral process?
Were state/public (and private) media free to play an impartial, fair and objective role in covering all candidates and political parties, or was there a selective approach to providing information on events?
Were topics chosen for their informational value or to portray a particular party in a positive or negative light?
Were the provisions set out in the national legal framework respected by the media and political parties?
Was there any prejudice in reporting based on political affiliation, religious, gender, disability or social status?

Candidate: The media monitoring unit will focus on the following issues to determine whether candidates had the necessary opportunity to communicate their information to voters:

Were election contestants and political parties given equal opportunity to present their campaigns and platforms to the electorate through the media?
Did election contestants and political parties have equal or equitable access on a nondiscriminatory basis to media?
Did election contestants have unimpeded access to the media? Were there legal or administrative obstacles?
Were election contestants and political parties treated fairly by media outlets including the state-controlled or public media?
Were election contestants and political parties subject to the same conditions (rates, time, etc.) for paid advertising?
Were the different kinds of relevant television programmes, such as news programmes and debates, unbiased?

Conduct of Journalism: The media monitoring unit will focus on the following questions to determine whether the journalist respected provisions of the law regulating the act of journalism:

Were journalists responsible for any clearly biased information or coverage, instances of defamation, partisan declarations or untruthful news?
Were any contestants or political parties benefitting from an excessive advantage due to extensive coverage of their official functions?
What topics and stories are being covered by the main television news programmes? Is the public broadcaster covering stories favoring a specific party? Are private broadcasters setting an agenda favorable to a specific party?
Was any relevant piece of news omitted by the media outlet observed?
What contents is circulating through the social media, websites, e-mail list servers, text messages to mobile telephones, etc.
Have any of the provisions regulating media during the electoral period violated?
Are the activities of the election commission being covered? Are sensitive issues related to the administration of the election being covered? Is the coverage promoting confidence in the institutions and the electoral process, or is it undermining their legitimacy?
Is there any specific voter-education campaign? If so, does it provide voters with correct and clear information on their right to vote and voting procedures?

Media freedom: The media monitoring unit will focus on the following questions to determine whether media’s freedom of expression has been respected:

Did the media face any kind of censorship or obstruction by the authorities, political parties or media association?
Did journalists engage in self-censorship?
Did media outlets face any kind of interference in their editorial policies from the authorities, political parties, or media owners?
Did journalists adopt a certain point of view in return for financial or other benefit?

For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference

Competencias

Functional Competencies:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Fluency in spoken Arabic and/or French will be of added advantage.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Academic Qualifications:

The consultant should hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communication, journalism, media, law, literature, public relations, development studies, international development, or any other relevant university degree.

Years of experience:

5 years of proven experience in monitoring of media’s election coverage including of use of software;
Experience in democracy and electoral processes in the region;
5 years of proven experience in analyzing and interpreting media monitoring data using relevant software.

How to Apply:

1. Read the additional information and annexes on teh UNDP lebanon website at http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

2. The consultancy is open for all International consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.

Submissions through any other media will not be considered.

The application must include the P11, technical proposal, Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and the financial proposal in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.