National Communications Consultant

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to implement these standards. UN Women’s mandate (GA resolution 64/289) is to lead, coordinate and promote accountability of the UN system to deliver on gender equality and the empowerment of women with the primary objective of enhancing country-level coherence, ensuring coordinated interventions and securing positive impacts on the lives of women and girls, including those living in rural areas.

For decades, the international conventions have acknowledged the critical contribution of women in agriculture and rural development. Reports on the role of women in rural areas converge on the fact that rural women are key agents for achieving the economic, social, and environmental changes required in the developing world. However, rural women`s rights and priorities remain insufficiently addressed in legal frameworks, national and local development policies, rural programmes, and investment strategies at all levels worldwide.

In BiH, rural women make up 28,6% of total population and 49.8% of the total rural population are women. About 20.5% of the female workforce in BiH is engaged in the agriculture sector and in 2016 around 18% of family farms were registered as being female headed, although this number has been gradually increasing (for instance in the Republika Srpska in 2017 this percentage was 22.7%). However, according to 2018 research published by the Sarajevo Economic Institute there is a deeply gendered division of labour with women being less engaged in processes that are higher along the value chains, such as dealing with marketing and are concentrated at levels that involve less decision-making about and control over income earned from agriculture. There is also a significant gap in land and property ownership in favor of men (for instance, in 2019 38.3% of land registry records indicated women as owners or co-owners. Additionally, women`s business ventures located in rural areas are less diverse and even smaller in size. The constraints that entrepreneurs face in doing business in BiH impact women to a greater degree due to underlying gender inequalities related to limited networking opportunities, gender roles, stereotypes, and discrimination in society at large.

To support women’s economic empowerment, rural women, agriculture, rural development, and agri-entrepreneurship, UN Women in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), started the project “Women Driving Resilience in Agriculture and Rural Areas”, supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). This Project aims at removing structural barriers, by introducing time and labor-saving technologies, innovative sources of financing, enabling women to be better prepared to cope with the challenges, improving their livelihoods and socio-economic position and the lives of their families in the rural areas. Addressing the structural barriers faced by women in agriculture and rural areas will require sustained engagement of all relevant stakeholders in BiH.

The project aims also at increasing the gender sensitivity of policies directed towards rural development and agriculture. It will focus on integrating gender responsive considerations into policy making and budgeting processes with the objectives to supporting women’s economic empowerment and including women and their needs in the processes of determining the priorities and steps for rural development.

For the purpose of supporting the “Women Driving Resilience in Agriculture and in Rural Areas” in making visible the multitude of actions implemented in partnership with government, as well as communicating clearly and actively about all the results achieved for women in rural areas in BiH, UN Women is seeking to engage a National Communications Consultant to support the implementation of visibility and communications activities, including events, campaigns and development of knowledge products in the area of empowering women in rural areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of this consultancy is to promote and contribute to women’s economic empowerment, through raising awareness among the public about the issues that women in rural areas face and providing better support mechanisms for their capacity strengthening.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE

The immediate objective of this consultancy is to support UN Women communications activities in building resilience for women in rural areas, which includes developing and shaping communications products  and activities, support to developing and implementing campaign concepts, and contributing to the visibility of UN Women and partners’ actions and results.

SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFIC TASKS

Under the supervision of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Coordinator, the National Communication Consultant will work in collaboration with the WEE team and Communications Associate. Based on UN Women BiH Communications Strategy and in consultation with the WEE team, the National Communication Consultant is expected to design and propose communications actions and products to enhance the visibility of the WEE portfolio work and results as following:

• Support design and implementation of campaign concepts - at least 1 campaign concept designed and implemented;
• Develop communications products (success stories, infographics, quote cards, photos, videos, and similar content, as agreed with WEE team) - at least 10 products developed;
• Support development and design of knowledge products (factsheets, newsletters, advocacy briefs, reports, studies, analyses) - at least 3 knowledge products finalized;
• Support organization of in-person and online events from a communications perspective (media outreach, press conferences, press releases, use of online platforms) – up to 3 events supported;
• Create social media content - up to 20 social media posts related to women in rural areas topics;
• Produce regular reports on visibility and communications results and targets for the UN Women Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolio - at least 2 reports produced on visibility results;
• Provide other inputs and perform other tasks as necessary according to agreed work plan.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The consultant will be expected to complete the following tasks within the indicative timeframe:

The consultancy will last max 48 days, in the period from 4 December 2023 to 15 June 2024. The assignment might require some presence at UN Women premises in Sarajevo.    The consultancy generally does not require travel. Any possible travel to field locations for events will be agreed and arranged in advance in consultation with the supervisor and covered by UN Women.

REPORTING

Under the overall supervision of the WEE Programme Coordinator the local expert will develop and deliver the above listed deliverables in accordance with the indicative timeframe. Payments will be processed based on approved deliverables and the schedule of payments outlined in the contract. The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

1. Reports including workplans;
2. Relevant deliverables as indicated in the deliverables table and/or links to developed communications products;
3. Final report on the entire assignment.

Competencies

CORE VALUES:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Development and Operational Effectiveness
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• University Degree (BA) in media and communications, journalism or related field. A Master’s degree in communications, journalism, or a related field such as international development, gender studies or social science will be considered an asset.

Skills and Experience:

• At least 5 years of demonstrated work experience in communications including experience in media relations and managing media campaigns. Relevant experience at the national level in delivering communications services to promote activities of international development organizations will be considered an asset.
• At least 2 years of experience in producing communication materials (print and online) for a variety of media;
• At least 2 years of experience in use of web editing tools and social media platforms;
• Experience in promotion of gender issues and working with women is an asset;
• Good understanding of new and evolving technologies and digital platforms is desirable
• Previous experience within the UN System is an advantage;
• Fluency in English and B/H/S, excellent spoken and written skills.

EVALUATION OF OFFERS

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications. Candidate applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant qualifications and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
• having received the highest score out of below defined technical, interview and financial criteria.

Based on a desk technical evaluation, only candidates receiving a minimum of 50 points at technical evaluation will be considered for validation interview.  

Criteria:

Technical Evaluation - documents based (70%) Out of which:

• University Degree (BA) in media and communications, journalism, or related field. SATISFACTORY/UNSATISFACTORY
• A Master’s degree in communications, journalism, or a related field such as international development, gender studies or social science – 5 points;
• At least 5 years of demonstrated work experience in in communications including experience in media relations and managing media campaigns.  – 25 points;
• At least 2 years of experience in producing communication materials (print and online) for a variety of media – 15 points;
• At least 2 years of experience in use of web editing tools and social media platforms – 15 points;
• Relevant experience at the national level in delivering communications services to promote activities of international development organizations – 5 points;
• Experience in promotion of gender issues and working with women  – 5 points;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian is required. Candidates to provide certificate of English knowledge or sample of a part of study conducted in English (one to two pages maximum) REQUIRED

Financial Evaluation (30%)

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30 S - score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F - financial offer under the consideration.

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents:

1. Expression of interest
2. Detailed financial proposal in BAM inclusive of all costs (except for travel related costs)
3. Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from
4. Two samples or links to previous work (published communications products)

For any additional information, please contact

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)-
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, and Expression of Interest into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.  

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.