National Media Expert

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN-Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 outlines the Entity’s strategic direction, objectives and approaches to support efforts to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. It highlights UN-Women’s contribution to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and spells out how UN-Women intends to leverage its comparative and collaborative advantages to accelerate the achievement of results for women and girls. 

Increased engagement of partners in support of UN-Women’s mandate

The UN Women Albania programme is framed under the GoA and UN Programme of Cooperation 2017-2021 and it supports government, civil society and gender equality advocates in cooperation with UN agencies and international development partners to achieve national and international commitments towards gender equality.

UN Women more specific areas of programme intervention in Albania focus on:

1. Women’s leadership and political participation
2. Women’s economic empowerment
3. Governance, National Planning and Budgeting
4. Ending Violence against Women

During implementation of Annual Work plans as well as to achieve results in the above mentioned areas, UN Women will organize a series of different events such as launching of publications or reports, study visits in support to main partners, conferences, campaigns, trainings, and field visits that will be held in Tirana and in other regions where programme is being implemented. These events require adequate media coverage and visibility conveying specific messages and targeting specific audiences. Moreover, UN Women will also regularly contribute with articles related to UN Women Albania mandate, activities and results to be published in different websites (UN Albania, UN Women/Region, UN Women HQ etc.) and social media, Facebook and Twitter account. New digital platforms and social media, will serve not only as a means to access and share information, but also to engage people-in particular youth- and transform attitudes and behaviour in support of women’s empowerment.

UN Women Albania has already developed a Communication Strategy to ensure higher visibility to its mandate, activities and results. Among the main recommendations made in the strategy was the need to ensure a systematic and strategic coverage of UN Women Albania activities. Another main communication document is the Strategy on Social Media recommending increased visibility of UN Women work in social media. In line with corporate and national communication strategy and advocacy, UN Women Albania office will also lead a number of national campaigns with different purpose and target groups. 

As outlined in UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan 2018-2021, UN Women will expand its communications channels to increase its reach and continue to provide spaces for public engagement in campaigns such as HeForShe, UNiTE to End Violence against Women and “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. News media will continue to be engaged to increase UN-Women’s visibility and to drive progress  for  women  and  girls.

In light of these needs, UN Women Albania is recruiting a National Media Expert to increase UN Women outreach, visibility and communication in Albania.

Under the direct supervision of Head of Office and in close cooperation with the Programme Specialist and Country Office colleagues the National Media Expert will support programme visibility, advocacy campaigns and donor relations initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and produce communication instruments and materials, including briefing materials, press releases, infographics and impact stories, articles, and manage their dissemination;
• Identify and propose information opportunities, activities, approaches and platforms and partners;
• Ensure effective communications, visibility and knowledge management;
• Promote and disseminate corporate advocacy materials for launching flagship initiatives, publications, and campaigns;
• Provide communication support for activities related to UN/ UN Women international days
• Provide dedicated communication support to the UNiTE campaign (16-days of activism) 2017 in cooperation with EVAW technical project analyst, UN Gender Theme Group and government partners (support in preparation of calendar of events, design and implementation of joint activities, communication products, media monitoring and preparation of campaign media reports);
• Contribute to UN Communications Team initiatives, such as the SDG campaign, press trips and activities on international days; provide input, information and support to joint UN visibility materials.
• Assist the programme teams to develop all communication materials including presentations for public awareness and training programmes;
• Support activities, media visibility, campaigns and information sharing of UN Women regional programmes such as Ending violence against women and girls and Gender Responsive Budgeting as per their Communications Strategy
• Ensure timely submission of required communication and knowledge products including case studies and lessons learnt, reports, etc. to the National Programme Manager, the UN Women Representative and the regional Communications Specialist.
• Manage relationships with media in the country; maintain and update database of relevant media contacts
• Respond to a variety of inquiries and information requests; prepare related correspondence;
• Organize roundtable discussions, press conferences, briefing sessions and media field visits as required;
• Engage in social media for project information dissemination;
• Engage with civil society organizations - proactive information flow, hold transparent and timely consultations, and gather and report on feedback;
• Prepare inputs for the quarterly monitoring report as well as annual report related to communication activities, results and related indicators.

Expected Deliverables

The following products and deliverables are expected to be completed by the National Media Expert according to the below schedule:

• Press releases and news about conferences and programme activities prepared and posted on UN Albania and UN Women website/ newsletters and shared with the media and on social media
• Daily update of social media channels, UN Women Albania Facebook and Twitter account.
• At least four human impact stories showcasing programme achievements and impact on the ground prepared for UN Women regional and global website.
• At least three infographics about women’s issues in the country and UN Women programme results prepared.
• Articles and media coverage on programme activities and UN Women impact in communities.

Duration of the Work

The National Media Expert will be contracted for a maximum of 6 (six) months ((19 days per month), for a period from October 2017 through 30 March 2018 to perform the specified tasks.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Possesses the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Possesses the ability to work independently;
• Excellent writing skills in preparing briefs, reports, guidelines, articles or similar for various audiences;
• Solid analytical, writing and communication skills in both Albanian and English;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong writing and report writing skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

Academic requirements: Masters’ degree in communication, journalism, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development or a related field;

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in media and public relations.
• Familiarity with gender issues and challenges or previous experience in these areas would be considered an asset;
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system is considered an asset.

Language Requirements: Excellent written and oral English and Albanian communication skills are required.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Financial Proposal specifying the total monthly lumpsum in Albanian Lek for the tasks (19 days per month). 

Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). Other travel costs different from the above will be covered by UN Women separately.

• Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval of final draft; and (iv) submission of the respective invoice.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 3 October 2017.

• A Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description explaining why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• P11 including past experience in similar assignment. Can be downloaded at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
• Financial Proposal specifying the total monthly lump sum in Albanian Lek for the tasks specified in this assignment.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. 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 and financial criteria.

Applications will be assessed according to the following Technical Criteria:                       

• Masters’ degree in communication, journalism, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development or a related field (max 10 points);
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in media and public relations (max 30 points);
• Familiarity with gender issues and challenges or previous experience in these areas would be considered an asset (max 20 points);
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system is considered an asse (max 10 points);.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.