UNDP Jobs - 87839- Expert on development of VRU external communicatio

Expert on development of VRU external communications

Location :

Kyiv, UKRAINE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Oct-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months with possible extension

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

The EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project (PRP) is aimed at strengthening the functioning of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, its working bodies, MPs and Secretariat (VRU), to become a progressively more effective, accountable and transparent institution in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities of legislation, oversight, and representation with positive influence on the overall process of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement implementation. The project strategy is aligned with the priorities of the EU’s Single Support Framework for Ukraine 2018 – 2020, the Government of Ukraine – UN Partnership Framework 2018–2022, and the UNDP Country Programme Document 2018 – 2022. It is built on achievements and lessons learnt of the EU-UNDP Rada for Europe project (2016-2018) and will continue to support parliamentary reform, including through promoting the implementation of the recommendations of the 2016 Needs Assessment Mission (NAM). For the continuation of parliamentary reform, top level leadership and political ownership is key, which will be assured through continuous high-level consultations with relevant stakeholders and full transparency of project implementation.

The project is an EU-funded initiative strongly connected to UNDP’s Democratic Governance Programme and comprises of three components. Component One, #Rada4Reforms, will focus on fostering the parliament’s role in the overall reform process with a particular emphasis on improvement of the legislative process and parliamentary oversight, by providing comprehensive expert support to the implementation of the VRU Roadmap for Internal Reform and Capacity Building, improving the quality draft law expertise and impact assessment, and enhancing parliamentary monitoring.

Component Two, #RadaPro, will support the professional modernization of the parliamentary Secretariat, through the finalisation and implementation of its strategic development plan and comprehensive human resource development, including in the Committee Secretariats, along the lines of broader public administration reform (PAR) and the law "On Civil Service".

Component Three, #Transparent&Service-OrientedRada, by making use of new technologies for communications, civic education and participation in coherence will build stronger transparency and accountability links between parliament and citizens with special focus of increasing public trust to the Ukrainian Parliament.

To provide more targeted support to parliamentary reforms the Parliamentary Reform Office (PRO) is established within the EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project, serving as an advisory group to the Leadership and Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (VRU) under the general supervision of the VRU Chairperson. PRO operates based on the Resolution of the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On Parliamentary Reform Office” and provides support to parliamentary reforms aimed at strengthening the functioning of the Ukrainian Parliament, including its Secretariat , as a progressively more effective, accountable and transparent institution in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities of legislation, oversight, and representation with positive influence on the overall process of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement implementation.

In this context, the United Nations Development Programme is recruiting an Expert on development VRU external communications with relevant experience and track record.

The Expert on development VRU external communications will be directly responsible for establishment of the VRU Press Centre, daily coordination of its work, relations with media based on tasks and principles of the Verkhovna Rada Communication Strategy. S/he will ensure that the information policies for parliamentary communications are well-coordinated among all parliamentary communication channels, such as the parliament’s media, the official website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the website of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons, the websites of committees, and pages in social media. S/he will contribute to enhancing capacities of the Press Centre to serve as a focal point in such communications and place for comfortable and operative work of journalists.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the coordination of PRO Head and operational supervision of the E-Governance and Transparency Specialist, as well as in close cooperation with appointed officials of the VRU Secretariat, the incumbent will perform the following functions:

Provide assistance to relevant VRU Secretariat departments in developing and implementing the communications content plan for legislative activity of the VRU;
Support to establishment and running of the VRU Press Centre;
Provide assistance to relevant VRU Secretariat departments in developing and implementing the annual plan of major activities, public events and publications of the Press Centre and ensure its implementation, including open expert discussions of the milestone draft laws with MPs, CSOs representatives, experts;
Support the relevant VRU Secretariat departments in developing and implementing the Concept of Cooperation of the VRU with media;
Provide assistance to relevant VRU Secretariat departments in managing a comprehensive open dialogue between key media and VRU leadership, Heads of VRU Committees; Heads of factions; experts and MPs;
Contribute to the preparation of the project's progress reports and related monitoring meetings.

Measurable outputs of the work assignment:

PRO deliverables on development and implementation of VRU communications strategy in digital channels are timely achieved, with an emphasis on measurable results and quality, and properly reported, namely:

The concept of Press Centre developed and agreed with the VRU Secretariat and VRU leadership – December 2019;
Methodological and expert support to the launch of the VRU Press Centre provided – February 2020;
Expert support to the VRU Secretariat on functional of the the Press Centre in operational mode provided – February - October 2020;
Concept of cooperation of the VRU with mass media developed – March 2020;
Methodological support to the VRU Secretariat on implementation of the Concept of cooperation of the VRU with mass media provided – April – October 2020;
Communications content plan on legislative activity of the VRU developed – January 2020;
Plan on events and publications to cover major activities of the VRU developed and agreed with VRU leadership, committees, relevant VRU Secretariat departments – January 2020;
At least 40 publication materials to cover major VRU activities prepared – February – October 2020.

Performance Indicators for evaluation of results:

PRO deliverables on development and implementation of VRU communications strategy through the Press Centre are timely achieved, with an emphasis on measurable results and quality, and properly reported;
Number of press-briefings and other events for press themed on legislative process agenda arranged with direct engagement of the incumbent;
Coverage of major VRU activities by Media (number of articles, columns, etc. as the result of press-briefings and round tables organized by the Press Centre – minimum 3 per event);
Timely submission of the regular performance reports.

Monitoring / reporting requirements:

Work-progress reporting/monitoring meetings will be held with the consultant on a regular basis. UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the work. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without approval of UNDP.

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the E-Governance and Transparency Specialist.

The consultant will interact with UNDP Programme Coordinator and CO staff to receive any clarifications and guidance that may be needed. He/she will also receive all necessary informational and logistical support from UNDP Country Office and the Project. On a day-to-day basis, consultant’s work will be supervised by the E-Governance and Transparency Specialist.

The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to endorsement of the Programme Coordinator.

The Consultant will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them.

All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP).

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism;
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in journalism, political science, public administration, law, international relations, social sciences or related field;

Experience

A minimum of five years of professional work experience in public and/or government relations;
A minimum of three years of experience in drafting and implementing external communications concept/policy with focus on cooperation with media;
Experience in launching a press-office/press centre would be an asset.

Languages

Fluency in Ukrainian and working level of English is required

Skills

Excellent writing, communication and organization skills;
Strong organizational and time management skills;
Ability to work in team;
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals
Applicants shall submit the following documents:

Letter of interest/proposal, explaining why the applicant considers him- or herself the most suitable for the work
Personal CV or P11, including information about past experience in similar projects / assignments and contact details for referees
Financial proposal
Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP

Financial proposal
Contracts based on daily fee
The financial proposal will specify the daily fee and payments will be made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked.
Travel costs
Should any travel be necessary in connection to this TOR, UNDP will reimburse the expenses based on the duly authorized travel details, including travel and per diems. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC 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 criteria
- Educational background – 10 points max
{10 pts – PhD degree in the relevant field; 8 pts – Master’s degree in the relevant field};
- Relevant professional experience (A minimum of five years of professional work experience in public and/or government relations) – 35 points max
{35 pts – 9 years and more; 32 pts – 7-8 years; 28 pts – 5-6 years);
- Relevant expertise (A minimum of three years of experience in drafting and implementing external communications concept/policy with focus on cooperation with media) – 16 points max
{16 pts – 7 years, 13 pts – 5-6 years, 9 pts – 3-4 years};
- Previous experience in launching press-office/press centre – 3 points max
{3 pts - 1 year and more, 0 pts – less than 1 year};
- Language Skills – 6 points max
{6 pts – Fluency in English and Ukrainian, 4 pts – fluency in Ukrainian and working level of English};
Maximum available technical score - 70 points.

Evaluation method

Cumulative analysis
Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
* Technical Criteria weight: 70%
* Financial Criteria weight: 30%
Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation
The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:
30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].
The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.
Additional requirements for recommended contractor:
Recommended contractors aged 62 and older shall undergo a full medical examination, including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination shall be paid by the consultant.
The Basic Security in the Field II and Advanced Security in the Field courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of contract.