International Consultant - Video, Photography and graphic design for the UXO Programme

Background

UNDP Lao PDR: 

Guided by the global UNDP Strategic Plan (2022 – 2025) and UNDP Country Programme Document (CPD) for Lao PDR (2022 – 2026), UNDP in Lao PDR works closely with the line Ministries, mass organizations, civil society, development partners, and the private sector at both national and international levels in pursuit of the national socio-economic development priorities defined in Lao PDR’s five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP’s work is strongly focused on the provision of policy advice and technical support to the Government of Lao PDR in the design and implementation of national legislation and strategies across four broad Priority Pillars – (1) inclusive growth and reduced inequalities, (2) UXO clearance and risk education, (3) natural resources, climate change and disaster risk reduction, as well as (4) effective, responsive, and accountable governance.  

UNDP has a long history working in Lao PDR. UNDP’s comparative advantage has been its ability to work closely with a very broad range of government and local-level institutions at all levels. The new UNDP country programme is aligned with the 9th NSEDP and is anchored in UNDP’s long-term partnership with the Government of more than three decades. The new programme builds on the achievements of the previous CPD that saw the incorporation of the SDGs into the national planning architecture. It will aim to support Lao PDR recovery from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue its transition from LDC status, with a particular emphasis on supporting inclusive growth and reducing inequality. 

UNDP Lao PDR, UXO Unit: 

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in the world. More than forty years after the end of the 1964-1973 Indochina Conflict, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) remains a major humanitarian and socioeconomic challenge to the country, causing deaths and injuries, limiting access to potentially productive land, and adding substantial costs to processes of development. The Government of Lao PDR has been active in the clearance process since shortly after the conflict. Lao PDR has advocated for the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and hosted the first Meeting of States Parties in 2010. It also embraced the UXO issue as a key development matter by locally establishing the Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG18), “Lives Safe from UXO”.

The next National Strategic Plan for the UXO Sector in the Lao PDR 2021 - 2030, “The Safe Path Forward III” (SPFIII), which was endorsed by the Government of Lao PDR in July 2022, details the objectives of the Government and its development partners over the forthcoming period where the aim is to reduce the humanitarian and socio-economic threats posed by UXO. A focus of the document is the need to ensure strong integration with development mechanisms, particularly at a provincial level and to ensure actions are focused towards community level priorities for the facilitation of development.

UNDP support to the UXO sector in Lao PDR has focused in two axes, notably: 1) support to strengthening the capacity and technical competency of the National Regulatory Authority, to be able to oversee and steer the sector in pursuance of national strategic goals and obtaining Lao PDR’s unique UXO Action Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 18: Lives Safe from UXO. 2) To provide capacity support for survey and clearance, through support to UXO Lao and the Humanitarian teams of the Lao People’s Army (Unit 58), thus hastening progress towards clearance in impacted communities.   

OBJECTIVE

Video, Photography and graphic design for the UNDP UXO programme: Under the supervision of the Head of UXO Unit, the consultant will be responsible for ensuring a quality five-minute documentary video, three photo essays and posters with infographics that effectively raises Lao people’s awareness of the UXO by highlighting its implications on the national development and demonstrates the impact of UNDP’s work in UXO sector in Lao PDR

Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK

The successful applicant will be expected to be responsible for the following:

1. Produce a quality five-minute documentary video for raising UXO awareness in Lao PDR
2. Provide three photo essays revealing the daily lives of UXO-affected communities in Lao PDR
3. Provide posters with infographics demonstrating UNDP’s work in the UXO sector in Lao PDR

Task 1: Produce a quality five-minute documentary video

• The consultant shall produce a quality five-minute documentary video that tells stories of the Lao people whose lives have been affected by UXO to make the UXO issues more relatable for the Lao and international audience.
• The video must be developed in Laotiane for Lao audiences, but another version should include English subtitles so that the video can be shared with the international development partners of the UXO sector.
• Videography must be high-quality and suitable for broadcasting and publishing on the web.
• Videography must be designed as an asset, which UNDP could repurpose and redistribute in the future.

Task 2: Provide three photo essays revealing the daily lives of UXO-affected communities in Lao PDR

• The consultant shall produce three high-quality photo essays in English and Lao delineating the daily lives of UXO-affected communities on the ground.
• A photographic essay or photo-essay for short is a form of visual storytelling, a way to present a narrative through a series of images. A photo essay delivers a story using a series of photographs and brings the viewer along a narrative journey.
• One photo essay should include approximately 100 images. Thus three photo essays include approximately 300 images.   
• Photographs must be provided in high quality and suitable for printing, processing, broadcasting and publishing on the web.
• Photography must be designed as an asset, which the UNDP could repurpose and redistribute in the future.

Task 3: Provide posters with infographics demonstrating UNDP’s work in the UXO sector in Lao PDR

• The consultant shall produce posters with infographics demonstrating UNDP and its development partners’ contribution to the UXO sector in Lao PDR.
• The poster must be provided in high quality and suitable for printing, processing, broadcasting and publishing on the web.

Copyrights

• Image acquisition includes reproduction rights for non-exclusive world rights in perpetuity;
• Before the Consultant moves any photo on the wire or uploads it to an online Image database as a photo essay or extended photo caption story, he/she should contact UNDP to obtain consent;
• UNDP can provide the image(s) and video(s) to other UN organizations or the media at no cost, as is the practice.

Competencies

• Advanced knowledge and skills of MS Office (including Adobe Photoshop/Premier Element or other editing software), and editing photographs and video is required;
• Ability to work to strict deadlines;
• Demonstrates a high level of professionalism and ethics;
• Interpersonal communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

• Certification in Communications, Graphic Design, Photography or Videography
• Proven ability in videography and photograph
• Proven ability to assimilate and communicate complex visual messages in an engaging manner. 

LANGUAGE :  Fluency in English 

Requirements for submission of proposals 

All interested and qualified Consultants should apply online using the following links: 

Please find the TOR details here  TOR RPS_108_2023 INTL

Please apply through this link Procurement | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org)

or  Jobs | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org)