National Individual Consultant to Support the ILO in developing and implementing communication and visibility material

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In view of the long-term structural challenges that Lebanon is facing as well as the profound effects that the subsequent crises are having on its economy, there is an ongoing need to support job creation and inclusive economic growth especially for women and youth in the most disadvantaged areas. The Productive Sectors Development Program (PSDP), which is funded by the Lebanon Recovery Fund through the contribution from the Government of Canada, is being implemented in Lebanon by six UN agencies, namely UNIDO, FAO, UNDP, ILO, UNWOMEN, and UNICEF with support from the RCO in overall coordination. The programme presents a comprehensive approach to supporting the manufacturing (agro-food) and agriculture sectors in Lebanon, identified as having a high potential for job generation for women and youth. The PSDP was designed to include interlinked activities on the Macro, Meso, and Micro levels:

- Macro: Improved enabling policy environment for women economic empowerment and participation in productive sectors.

- Meso: Improved access to markets for women and men-led Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in productive sectors.

- Micro: Improved capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives, and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender-equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices.

The outcome of PSDP’s inception phase resulted in the final selection of Fruits, Vegetables, and nuts (including pulses) preparation as an identified value chain among 13 pre-selected ones. For the provision of training and business development support to agro-food enterprises and cooperatives, IDRAC (Industrial development and research Agro-Agri center) in Tripoli was selected specifically to serve as PSDP’s main service center. The overall aim of this center is to improve the capacity of women farmers, women-led cooperatives, and women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), as well as male-led entities in productive sectors to create and sustain gender-equitable job opportunities and adopt environmentally sustainable practices.

ILO’s activities within PSDP fall under the micro-level of the identified intermediate outcomes listed in the previous section. The ILO will be rolling out gender-sensitive business support services and coaching to existing and newly created MSMEs prioritizing women and youth start-ups in the selected value chain.  

The ILO has enrolled its activity and field level implementation with the direct beneficiaries of which the profiles are entrepreneurs and MSMEs working in the agro-food and agricultural sector located in the North of Lebanon and Akkar. The ILO with its implementing partner have reached throughout the first phase of the implementation a pool of 200-250 beneficiaries who received the 5 day Women Do Business training curriculum and gained valuable skills to improve their existing or to establish their businesses.

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In line with the Micro level intermediate outcome “Improved skills of female and male youth in targeted value chains strengthening their employability and entrepreneurship capacities”, the ILO is seeking to conduct communication and visibility activities for the upcoming field level implementations.

The assigned communication and visibility consultant will be supporting the ILO in promoting the impact of the PSDP project within the agro-food and agricultural sectors in Lebanon and with a particular focus on women’s entrepreneurship.

SCOPE OF WORK

Communications content produced under this work is intended to reach several different target groups, including:

• Donors, international community, and the ILO (national, regional, global)
• National and international media
• Governments and social partners of the ILO
• Project implementing partners
• Beneficiaries being supported under PSDP

Content produced will be published and disseminated namely through ILO, UN Lebanon, Donors’ and other possible platforms (other PSDP partners, local and international media news where applicable).

Produced content is subject to a pre-approval for publication from PSDP donors.

Tasks and timeframe for content creation and publication are subject to ILO’s workplan and ongoing implementation, deliverables should be in line with the project cycle and submitted as per agreed on deadlines upon the start of the assignment.

METHODOLOGY

With the overall support and guidance from ILO’s PSDP implementing staff, the communication and visibility consultant will be undertaking the following tasks:

1. Through scheduled field visits, and as per ILO’s workplan, to travel and interact with beneficiaries and stakeholders and to collect testimonials, success stories and feedback with audio/visual products suitable for publication on ILO and UN Lebanon social media platforms.
2. Develop specific messages and social media campaigns, including for international days and promote media publications for a targeted audience.
3. Produce at least 3 press releases highlighting key events/activities
4. To provide communication reports for publication on ILO and UN Lebanon websites demonstrating ILO’s activity and achievements: Produce at least four feature articles/creative content (such as photo-essays, video diaries, blogs)
5. Support in the production of at least 2 videos, alongside related still photography for PSDP in Lebanon (hiring film crews, organizing shoots and interviews, drafting questions, assist in editing, transcribing, and translating, uploading, and disseminating).
6. Draft/updated project-related briefs, pages, and factsheets including infographics.
7. Support with media, donor, and other comms-related requests
8. Coordinate with PSDP communications focal points (RCO, PUNOs, and Implementing Partner)
9. Ensure communications output, including promotional material, visibility products, and publications are in line with ILO and PSDP visibility and branding guidelines, and respective to donors’ specific requirements.

DELIVERABLES

1. Develop and implement a communication plan upon the start of the assignment including a social media calendar to be validated by the ILO.
2. Provide the final publication material as indicated in the approved communication plan.
3. Provide consultations and respond to ad-hoc requests from PSDP counterparts and focal points.
4. The publication material is expected to include the following products:

• At least 3 Press releases
• At least 2 videos
• Social media coverage (four months)
• At least 5 feature articles/creative content
• At least 3 project briefs/factsheets

All data and information received from ILO for this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference (TOR). The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the express advance written authorization of the ILO. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these TOR are assigned to the International Labour Organization. The intellectual property rights of the materials modified through the assignment remains with the International Labour Organization.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Media and Communications
• At least seven years of experience in the field of communications, media and journalism
• Excellent professional writing and editing skills (Arabic & English).
• Knowledge and experience of using social media, writing for the web and updating/editing web content for international organizations and NGOs.
• Graphic, editing (audio, photo & video) and photography/ video skills.
• Capacity to respond to strict deadlines and ad-hoc requests.
• Excellent communication & interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build good relationships internally and externally while representing the ILO.
• Previous work with NGO activities related to agriculture, enterprise development and gender mainstreaming is an asset.

SUPERVISION AND LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant will conduct the assignment under the supervision of the ILO PSDP Project coordinator and the overall guidance of the ILO ROAS communications Specialist.  

TIME FRAME

The consultant will work for 24 working  days over the period of September 1st – January 15th