Republic of Moldova

National Consultant/Communications Expert to support the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Moldova

Vacancy Number: Pr13/00263

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	01 Feb 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	15 Feb 2013
Reference to the project:	Transitional Capacity Support for the Public Administration of Moldova
Expected Duration of Assignment:	4 months
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than February 1, 2013. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: victor.dragutan@undp.org. Please notice that this address is for information requests only; please do not send or copy your application package to this address. Please notice that, in line with TCS Project rules, which guard against subtracting capacity from the civil service, current civil servants are barred from applying for this position. The former civil servants are eligible to apply not earlier than in a year after the separation from civil service.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The project “Transitional Capacity Support for the Public Administration of Moldova” was designed upon the request of the Government of Moldova to enhance capacities of the Moldovan Central Public Administration in order to accelerate the reform process and achieve Moldova’s short- and medium term development goals.

The project seeks to address urgent short-term capacity needs of the public administration, through provision of Capacity building consultants (CBC), at a time when Moldovan central government institutions face serious financial and human resources gaps. In addition to helping the Government pursue critical reform priorities, the intervention is designed to catalyze the on-going implementation of central public administration reform. It is coordinated and managed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and State Chancellery of Moldova and will complement on-going work by other donors.

The Moldovan diaspora and non-governmental sector, including the private and civil society sectors, would be the main source for such consultants, who can be employed on an open competitive basis for a defined period. CBC would be engaged and their TORs defined in a way that would protect the integrity of the civil service work to strengthen its intrinsic capacity. The project needs to guard against subtracting capacity from the civil service. In most cases, the sub-projects will be composed of national consultants – professionals who provide advice, coaching, and skills that are not expected to be performed on a permanent basis by the civil service.

The Government Program “European Integration: Freedom, Democracy and Welfare" (2011-2014) envisages that the educational system of the country needs to be brought in line with the EU standards and requirements alongside three main pillars: pre-university education; higher education and research; and induction and continuous training of civil servants. In line with these strategic objectives, the Ministry of Education (MoE), the central authority of public administration charged with the development and implementation of the state policy in education, has the mission of developing and promoting the state policy in education in line with the international standards of social and economic development, developing education strategies, ensuring continuous modernization and alignment with the European education system, and providing access to education, research and professional development for all citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

Acknowledging the complexity of the envisaged reforms, as well as the countrywide coverage of the proposed changes, the MoE has requested the support of two experienced national communication experts to assist the MoE in its effort of promoting the education reform at pre-school, elementary, secondary, upper secondary and tertiary levels in line with its Communication Strategy and Action Plan.

Objective of the assignment: The main objective of this consultancy assignment is to strengthen professional and institutional capacities of the MoE in the area of communication and public relations with media institutions, civil society and other external stakeholders, with the ultimate aim of improving public knowledge and awareness about the on-going and planned reforms, as well as of ensuring a better transparency of the MoE policy decision making processes through a better consultation with and accountability towards citizens and civil society.

The assignment will also contribute to the promotion of a positive image of the MoE through an appropriate reflection of the on-going activities and reforms, as well as to an increased visibility of the MoE policy results and initiatives.

Scope of work

The activity of the National Consultant will consist of providing technical assistance, guidance and day-to-day transfer of knowledge to the MoE staff, in order to strengthen its communication skills, tools and systems to better reflect the structural reform changes initiated by the Ministry. The Consultant will also assist in developing a better public relations system of the MoE, based on sustainable cooperation and dialogue with the media organizations, civil society, the private sector, local authorities, and other social partners and beneficiary groups. It is also foreseen that the Consultant will contribute to changing the overall communication culture in the MoE, promoting the concept of a ‘real’ press officer, who is authorized to speak on behalf of the Minister and the Deputy Ministers.

In order to achieve these proposed objectives, the National Consultant will be responsible for:

• Updating the Communication Strategy of the MoE (2012-2015);
• Supporting the elaboration of a Communication Action Plan for 2013;
• Updating the communication guide and the practical toolkit of communication methods and techniques in the area of education, in line with the principles of good governance, accountability and transparency, including media monitoring sheets, press releases, scripts for press conferences, briefing templates and other relevant tools;  
• Assisting with the organization of communication events (e.g. press conferences; information campaigns etc.) in the context of the MoE activities, including identification of key target groups, development of communication messages, preparation of event scenarios; cooperation with TV and broadcasting channels on organization of appropriate TV programs; elaboration of articles for the national media  and other relevant support;
• Providing guidance to the communication specialists and to other staff of the MoE in testing and applying new communication tools, in particular with regard to the process of consulting civil society and other external stakeholders on MoE’s ongoing and planned activities, at both national and local levels;
• Elaborating a database of key media institutions that cooperate with the MoE; facilitating the establishment of a permanent communication mechanism with these institutions;
• Creating and/or updating content for the web and facebook page of the MoE that informs the public about the progress of the education reform;
• Providing relevant support to the MoE in communication with the public at large and media;
• Ensuring day-to-day transfer of experience to and capacity building of the MoE staff in the planning and organization of communications and public relations; 
• Developing monthly progress reports on the performed activities;
• Performing any other related activities which may emerge during the course of action.

Requirements for experience

I. Academic Qualifications:

• University  degree  in  journalism,  communications,  public   relations,  or  other   relevant  field; Master's degree in the respective areas shall constitute an advantage; 

II. Years of experience:

• Minimum 3 years of experience  in the areas of communications, journalism, public  relations or other related field;
• Experience in  advising  senior  public  sector officials  (or senior staff of other  organizations)  in Moldova  on strategic  communications,  participatory consultation processes, media  relations, development and implementation of information campaigns;
• Experience in drafting medium-term strategies and action  plans in the area of communication, public consultation and public relations, including monitoring and evaluation tools;
• Experience in coordinating and  organizing  national  and local level communication events, in particular information campaigns

III. Competencies:

• Proven ability to develop close working relationships with government officials, press secretaries, NGOs, the media and donor representatives;
• Proven ability to design and deliver presentations and training programs;
• Demonstrated  skills in knowledge transfer techniques, such as coaching and mentoring;
• Ability to work in a team;
• Proficiency in Romanian, English and Russian;
• Excellent writing  and presentation skills;
• Computer proficiency, including knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, Power Point).

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 the work requirements (please provide brief information on each of the above qualifications, item by item);
2. Financial proposal;
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details (phone number and e-mail address) for at least 3 references.
4. Examples of past written work (e.g. press-releases, communication plans, strategies etc.).

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall be in USD and specify a total amount per month (including fees, taxes, mobile phone costs etc.).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.

 

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