Communications Consultant

DESCRIPTION: 

The Community Organization for Development and Empowerment - INITIATE is a non-governmental, non-political, and non-profit organization that aims at working with communities in Lebanon that aims to create an environment in which women and youth live in dignity and develop joint acting platforms among communities in Lebanon.

With the financial assistance of the European Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPPII) for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, INITIATE is implementing “1001 Nights Life Skills and Civic Education Program in Lebanon to Promote Social Cohesion” project in Lebanon, which is an edutainment project that aims at increasing positive civic values, decreasing negative civic values, decreasing the notion of vulnerability among children, and enhancing social cohesion. The project is implemented in formal and non-formal education settings in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), Catholic Schools Network, and 105 safe spaces across Lebanon until December 2022.

With the support of RDPP II for its partners’ capacity development, INITIATE is seeking a communications consultant to support its senior management team in developing the organization’s communication strategy to complement its 5-years strategic organizational plan, in addition to reviewing and amending its current communication related policies, SoPs, and templates, communications’ work-plans and calendars. The consultant is also expected to provide INITIATE’s communication staff with mentorship and guidance on the developed strategy, in addition to advice on structuring the Ways of Working (WoW) between the communication department and other departments within the organization.

The Communications consultant will work in close coordination with INITIATE’s General Director who will support with any requirement for the implementation of this assignment. The consultant will also be working in cooperation with INITIATE’s Program Manager who will follow up closely on the accomplishment of deliverables according to required standards and timeline provided by the consultant.

Expected Deliverables

Communications Strategy:                                                                                                          

• The consultant will work in close coordination with INITIATE’s senior management team to develop its 5-years Communication strategy, which will complement the organization’s 5-years strategic plan.  The strategic plan sets INITIATE’s objectives for the next five years (2022-2027), and is currently under revision and finalization. The purpose of the Communication strategy is to set key achievable objectives that ensure INITIATE’s efforts to feed in its own organizational strategic objectives, in addition to its requirements towards its donors. The Communication strategy is also expected to highlight key activities in a shape of calendar and/or work-plan.
• The consultant will support INITIATE’s Program Managers to deliver on project-based communications plans, which will feed into both the donors’ requirements and INITIATE’s Communications strategy.
• The consultant will provide INITIATE with an analysis to its existing social media platforms and website as part setting the objectives of the Communication strategy, and will provide a list of recommendation for enhancement.

Policies, SOPs, and TORs:

• Review and amend current INITATE communications policies and templates, and provide guidance to relevant staff on how to use them.
• Develop SoPs on how to work with local, regional and international media outlets to make INITIATE more visible in local traditional and social media.
• Develop SoPs on how to approach relevant stakeholders with communication materials to engage International NGOs, Donors, UN Agencies, and government agencies.
• Assess and recommend ways of working for internal communications departments to increase INITIATE’s external visibility.

Capacity Development:

• Conduct a training for all INITIATE staff on how to spot communications opportunities, success story writing, photo taking, and how to adhere to communication policies when conducting field visits and dealing with beneficiaries.

Expected timeline for deliverables

The consultant is expected to submit a timeline for the below deliverables within his/her application:

Deliverable

Communications strategy including project-based communications plan

Activity calendar for 2022 and 2023 for the communication strategy

Social media analysis and list of recommendations

Revision of existing communications policies and templates

SoPs for engaging with media outlets and external stakeholders

Internal WoW

Staff training on Communications

Requirements

Applicants are expected to meet the below requirement to be considered eligible for this consultancy:

• Bachelor’s degree and/or Master’s degree in a relevant field of study with a minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in media or 10 years of relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrated experience of the key responsibilities, including delivering communications strategies, managing internal communications, knowledge of digital media, creating networks, and working with media,
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate complicated and technical issues in a concise and clear way.
• A track record of achieving results and strategic impact on communications and media and in building capacity for teams to deliver
• Familiarity with the social, political and economic context of Lebanon and the region, and its humanitarian and development issues
• Fluency in English and Arabic, French is a plus
• Experience of working with international and Local NGOs, and/or UN Agencies.