Antecedentes

Guinea-Bissau (GNB) has a history of political and institutional fragility. The economy of Guinea-Bissau is poorly diversified and is highly dependent on agriculture, fisheries, and forestry, providing up to 47 percent of the GDP, with cashew nut as the primary crop. The macroeconomic context of Guinea-Bissau is characterized by low levels of economic growth in recent years, with the country experiencing negative GDP growth of minus 1.7% in 2012, to a GDP growth of 4.6% in 2019 amounting to around 1.35 billion US dollars. The participation of youth and women informal economic activities is very low considering that youth, mainly young women, represent 72% of the unemployed population in the country. In addition to the lack of economic opportunities, social and cultural norms continue to limit their participation in the informal sector, thus perpetuating and increasing inequality and depriving the country of the potential productivity of a large portion of its human resources.

The spread of COVID-19 has exacerbated the existing vulnerabilities of Guinea-Bissau’s economy as well as its institutional weakness and public service provision. The economic shock-induced is likely to reverse the economic growth rate as the pandemic has affected exports (especially cashew nuts) and imports, having serious implications on poverty and food security in the country.

The pandemic has affected the main economic actors, like informal workers and MSMEs. Sectors like agriculture, transport, and tourism suffered the most. The poor and vulnerable segments of the population, mostly relying on small-scale agriculture and natural resources were the most affected. The adverse impact of COVID-19 on Micro, small and medium enterprises is quite severe. According to a recent study commissioned by UNDP to assess the impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs, the approximate average duration of firm closure was 143.1 days and most firms had difficulties getting supplies due to the closure of borders. Exporting firms experienced a sharp decline in exports. Lack of data and policy-oriented studies to inform public choice and guide government policies hinders the formulation of coherent recovery plans. Significant capacity building is required for national actors, including MSMEs, to make rational and sustainable choices regarding the utilization of natural resources in a transparent and accountable manner. Blue economy can be the key to recover from COVID-19 impacts and to embark on a greener and more sustainable and inclusive development pathway in Guinea Bissau. A coherent and applicable national SIDS strategy requires the engagement of all, particularly MSMEs, women, and youth.

The Blue Economy project is set out to achieve the main outcomes of developing an inclusive well-informed evidence-based national strategy for the blue economy that leaves no one behind. The Blue Economy is to create enabling environment for the participation of all stakeholders, particularly the private sector, and enhance the institutional capacity of implementation. This will contribute to the establishment of a resilient economy driven by inclusive green growth, a blue economy, and sustainable human development. It will catalyze to help Guinea-Bissau reap the opportunities to redirect its economic development strategy acknowledging its SIDS character and its possibilities that lie in pursuing its green and blue economy potential.

The project includes two programmatic outputs: first, to (i) strengthen national and community-based institutions’ capacities to integrate blue economy opportunities into post-COVID -19 green recovery, and second, to (ii) provide direct support to the private sector green recovery as part of the country Covid-19 forward building. The methodology planned under this term of reference falls under the second programmatic output.

In this regard, UNDP Guinea-Bissau is looking for a consultant specialist on outreach and engagement with all stakeholders for SDG 14 monitoring and to explore SIDS opportunities/challenges. This dialogue will enhance among others, outreach, and communication to local, isolated, illiterate, and/or marginalized communities through the use of digital platforms like Na Nô Mon, engagement with local NGOs and grassroots associations of women and youth, and partnerships with national and local media.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The objective of the assignment:

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance and expertise, to develop communication products and campaigns, and develop guidance documents on strategies and best practices document on topics related to the blue economy and SIDS potential awareness in Guinea-Bissau.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the Project Manager for the Blue Economy as a catalyst for the green recovery project, the consultant will support to:

• Develop a communication approach and lead communication and awareness-raising efforts on the role of UNDP in implementing Blue Economy activities and raise SIDS awareness;
• Identify storylines and create engaging content, including, blog pieces, articles, newsletters, and videos for UNDP´s blue economy and SIDS opportunities/challenges;
• Engage national and international diversified media (TV, radio, newspaper, social media, etc.);
• Engage all relevant stakeholders for the projects to encourage their involvement and knowledge of the projects and their results;
• Support blue economy activities staff on media and coverage of events and meetings;
• Works closely with staff responsible for outreach and engagement and UNDP website in the office;
• Ensure UNDP branding standards are applied consistently across all communication supports and platforms.

Deliverables:

• Produce and implement an outreach and engagement strategy to support outreach to key actors and beneficiaries, including local, isolated, illiterate, and/or marginalized communities.
• Elaborate a brief document outlining communication awareness-raising approach on blue economy and SIDS opportunities;
• Elaborate at least two (10) news articles;
• Elaborate at least (20) social media campaigns;
• Elaborate at least five (5) audiovisual materials;
• Participate and conduct communications coverage in a minimum of five (5) events, workshops, meetings, and pieces of training;
• Produce at least six (10) visual cards or infographics on blue economy and SIDS opportunities/challenges activities.

Competencias

Consultant Profile:

Competencies: Functional

• Professional experience;
• Able to manage conflicting deadlines and priorities;
• Able to coordinate activities such as missions, special events, etc.
• Able to assume full responsibility for activities, ensuring that mission objectives are met in a transparent and inclusive manner;
• Set clear goals and performance standards; perform responsibilities as they should be;
• Self-analysis of performance problems; seeking appropriate guidance and support.

Resource management:

• Strong organizational skills;
• Ability to work independently, produce high-quality outputs;
• Solid opinion, strategic thinking, and ability to manage competing priorities;
• Able to find creative solutions to daily problems, working in an ever-changing work environment.

Communication and advocacy:

• Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speaking clearly and convincingly;
• Ability to produce high-quality professional documents and products under pressure and to defend and negotiate difficult issues and positions for senior and official employees;
• Strong ability to present at meetings with the ability to adapt to different audiences;
• Strong analytical, research, and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Strong clear and fast communication skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills in negotiation and liaison.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, audiovisual sciences, international relations, or related field.

Experience:

• Professional experience of at least three (3) years at the national or international level in public relations, communications, and/or social media management;
• Demonstrated experience in developing content that clearly communicates ideas for media, social media, print production, and audio-visual productions;
• Proficiency in Portuguese and English languages, speaking, and writing. The working knowledge of Crioulo and French is an advantage;
• Experience in conceptualizing and managing the production of printed materials is an advantage;
• Experience in developing video and photographic materials in-house and in commissioning films is an advantage;
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing communication and/or media outreach plans in support of overall corporate goals is desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in Portuguese and English is necessary;
• Knowledge of Crioulo and French is desirable.

Duration of the assignment:

The assignment is for 90 working days, from the day the contract is signed.

Payment milestones:

The Consultant will be paid on a monthly lump sum arrangement. Payment to the individual contractor will be based on the deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the head Project Manager of the Blue Economy as a catalyst for a green recovery project.

Guidelines for application:

Required documents:

• A cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for this assignment;
• A brief technical proposal on how you will approach and conduct the tasks;
• A financial proposal;
• A personal CV including past experiences in similar projects and at least 3 professional references.

Lump-sum contracts: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e., whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e., upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and the number of anticipated working days).

Travel: All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Individual Consultant wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging, and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation: Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis:

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
• Technical Criteria weight – 70 points;
• Financial Criteria weight – 30 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Evaluation criteria:

• Education background - 10 points;
• Experience as defined in the ToR - 15 points;
• Competences as defined in the ToR - 10 points;
• Understanding of the ToR - 15 points;
• Methodology and overall approach - 30 points;
• The overall quality of the proposal (comprehensiveness, structure, language, and clarity) - 20 points.