Republic of Moldova

National communication consultant to support Moldova Social Innovation Hub (MiLab) in the communication, outreach and visibility activities

Vacancy Number: Pr15/01022

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	12 Jul 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	19 Jul 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	20 Jul 2015
Reference to the project:	Moldova Social Innovation Hub
Expected Duration of Assignment:	up to 55 working days during July – December 2015
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than July 12, 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: cristina.lisii@undp.org.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. Cristina Lisii.

Background

There is a fast shift taking place in the realm of public policy and development program design around the world. Rise of democracy, spread of new technologies and knowledge, but also shrinking resources of the public and development organizations in the face of increased complexity and interconnectedness of the social challenges, mean that design and implementation of public policies and development programs has seized to be under the exclusive remit of the selected few.

Along with the opening up of the public policy space, the rise of civic activism have changed the way the Governments approach public policy development, service delivery and engage with the citizens. These trends put the Governments under increased scrutiny, leading to more transparency and accountability. Moldovan Government has also sought to ensure more openness and transparency in interaction with public, including through implementation of E-transformation agenda and setting up the on-line Aid Management Platform (AMP). The Government has increasingly looked to tap into expertise and solutions from other sectors and wants to move towards ‘networked governance’ solutions to the issues it faces daily.

UNDP Moldova itself, through MiLab, has supported national counterparts in embarking on several innovative projects that seek to apply new approaches to engage with citizens and enable people to contribute stronger to the country’s development. Some previous examples include: gaming for youth employment; applying behavioral insights for TB treatment; Modern School Open Challenge, etc.

MiLab acts as a multilateral platform serving to engage actors from different sectors (public, private, non-profit, etc.) to seek and experiment with innovative approaches to the society’s problems. Its work is structured around three interlinked components, i.e. public services redesign, applying people’s solutions, and mainstreaming social innovations. Each component includes specific interventions that may be activated or deactivated depending on the corporate decision and needs of the national counterpart(s).

The public service redesign component involves working closely with the focal point/team from the public authority to transfer knowledge, apply design thinking tools, and engage citizens in the process of redesigning specific services.

The public participation component includes creating the channels or outlets for engagement, setting the rules, specifying the issues that would engage people to participate in solving them. Also screening the horizon, and subsequently connecting social innovation initiatives with government and private sector counterparts that could enable the implementation of those initiatives.

The component of mainstreaming social innovation builds on previous two components and involves promoting design thinking and the principle of co-creating solutions for people with people. It involves reflecting MiLab’s activity in virtual spaces, inciting communication on topics of social innovation and organising events to promote social innovation and good-case practices for different stakeholders groups (civil servants, private sector, NGOs, initiative groups, etc.)

Scope of work

OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The national consultant is expected to provide support to various MiLab interventions as it regards communication, outreach, various visibility activities and capacity building undertakings through:

• Ensuring the development and implementation of specific communication strategies and plans for each specific intervention under the above-listed components which are under implementation in 2015;
• Ensuring efficient communication on and dissemination of results achieved within each intervention through tailored press releases, written and audio materials, social media, among others; consultant shall ensure dissemination; ensure monitoring and evaluation of the communication and outreach activities through brief narrative reports to MiLab team;
• Strictly observing UNDP standards and practices related to communication and visibility efforts; all developed materials shall be adapted / translated into Romanian/English/Russian depending on the specific requests from the Project team.

Requirements for experience

I. Education:

• Degree in journalism, public relations, social sciences, economics or related areas. Additional training and certification in communication/journalism is an asset.

II. Years of experience:

• At least three (3) years of progressively responsible experience is required at the national or regional levels in communication area;
• Proven experience in developing communication/public relations strategies and action plans;
• Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, governmental institutions, NGO/think-tank or private sector / business consulting firm is a strong advantage;

III. Competencies:

• Strong communication and outreach skills demonstrated by previous employment record and evidence;
• Fluency in both oral and written Romanian, Russian and English is a must. Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language is an asset.
• Excellent writing skills.

IV. Personal qualities:

• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting  differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
• Responsibility;
• Creativity;
• Flexibility.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for this position;
2. Financial proposal: in (USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days).
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons;

Financial proposal

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 shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, travel, per diems, and 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 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.

 

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