Communications consultant

Title : Communications consultant to develop a communications strategy and communications and visibility tools for Immigration and Border Management (IBM) projects in West and Central Africa

Duty Station : Home based (with possibility of travel in the West and Central Africa region)

Contract Type : Consultancy

Length of Contract: 6 months (deliverable based)

Estimated Start Date: 1-Aug-22

Closing Date: 20-Jul-22

Duration of consultancy: Six months – with possible breaks between the deliverables to be completed within the course of the consultancy to allow for implementation and feedback.

Project Context and Scope:

IOM’s Immigration and Border Management (IBM) Division promotes the 3 pillars (Resilience, Mobility and Governance) of IOM’s Strategic Vision 2019 – 2023, when supporting Member States to develop policy, legislation, operational systems, human resources and administrative and technical structures required to respond more effectively to diverse migration and border management challenges in order to improve border governance.

Specifically, in West and Central Africa, IBM supports holistic response to promote peace, security and stability and to ensure sustainable development. This aims at strengthening the presence of the State at the border area, integrate and develop marginalized border areas through provision of essential infrastructure and promotion of a sense of security and well-being among the border population, enhance communication and information exchange between neighboring countries.

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing: IBM Unit

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Communications Strategy: Draft a simple, clear and actionable communications strategy for IBM, in consultation with IBM colleagues and the RO Dakar Media, Communications and Awareness Raising Unit.
2. Templates: Develop editable templates to support the communication strategy and ensure cohesion on IBM communication efforts in the region. A Canva professional team site would be required for these and building capacity of IBM staff to use this.
3. Visibility Kit: Develop a series of materials to showcase IBM interventions, knowledge and results, including handouts, presentations, factsheets, brochures, branded folders.
4. Photo Library: Build a photo library of IBM images to be used in communications and work with a photographer to expand library assets.
5. Written and/or audio-visual assets: Promote the impact of IBM initiatives on migration management through storytelling in various forms.
6. Capacity building: Support training of IBM staff to use the communication strategy, templates and visibility kit, as well as improved capacity for written communications and photography.
7. Media engagement: Engage with leading regional and international media houses to promote IBM work in the region.
8. Online engagement: Review and update content on IBM’s web presence and drive increased social media engagement with IBM activities.
9. Communications monitoring: Prepare monthly monitoring report of IBM communication efforts in the region, including social and traditional media.
10. Support all other tasks to ensure improvement of IBM’s communication actions during the consultancy period and sustainability beyond.

Tangible and measurable output of the work assignment:

1. 1 x Communication Strategy in English and French
2. 6 x Templates in English and French (PPT presentation, factsheet, social media cards, in line with IOM’s visual identify guidelines)
3. 1 x Visibility Kit in English and French (brochure, factsheet, presentation slides, branded folders in line with IOM’s visual identity guidelines)
4. 1 x Photo Library with 200 curated images organized by country (potentially on Flickr)
5. 4 x Written and/or Audio-visual Assets in English and French (disseminated online to promote IBM’s work)
6. 2 x Capacity Building in English and French (to equip IBM staff to use Comms strategy, templates and visibility kit)
7. 4 x Media Engagement in English and French (four media mentions of IBM work in national or country media)
8. 8 x Online Engagement in English and French (posts on social media promoting IBM’s work) (in
9. 5 x Communication Update Reports in English (monthly)

Details as to how the work must be delivered.

Tasks will be delivered, from remote and, if required onsite/in the West and Central Africa region, over a period of 6 months as detailed in the table below with indicative number of days –

Output a)

Task- Communications strategy ; consultant responsible for translation and delivery in English and French

Days (indicative number)- 12

Output b) & c)

Task- Templates and Visibility Kit (including a 12-month Canva Pro account subscription)

consultant responsible for translation and delivery in English and French

Days (indicative number)- 10

Output d)

Task- Photo Library (including 12-month Flickr Pro account subscription and engaging a professional photographer to capture images at a minimum of two IBM events in the region)

Days (indicative number)- 12

Output e)

Task- Written and/or Audio-visual Assets (including at least two different video products, in both English and French, for which the consultant will engage a videographer to storyboard, script, film and produce high-quality video content)

Days (indicative number)- 20

Output f)

Task- Capacity Building consultant responsible for translation and delivery in English and French

Days (indicative number)- 6

Output g) & h)

Task- Media Engagement and Online Engagement consultant responsible for translation and delivery in English and French

Days (indicative number)- 10

Total Days (indicative number) = 70

Output i)

Task- 5 Monthly update reports and 1 Final report

Education, Experience and/or skills required

Education

• Master’s degree in communications, media studies, journalism, international relations, international development, marketing, or another related field.

Experience

• A minimum of five years of relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: journalism, public relations, advocacy, international relations, marketing, development, advertising, digital communications, multimedia agencies, or another relevant field.
• Experience in media relations using traditional and social media, multi-media and a variety of platforms.
• Experience developing clear and actionable communication strategies.
• Experience in delivering training.
• Experience in with International Institutions and Organisations.
• Strong experience in managing social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Demonstrated high competency as a writer, editor in French and English.
• Proficiency in Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign an asset.

Language

Fluency (oral and written) in French and English is required.

Knowledge of one other local language of West Africa is an advantage.

Travel required

A maximum of 4 trips in the West and Cemral Africa region to be determined between IOM and the consultant during the assignment period.

Competencies

Values

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible.
  • Integrity and transparency: maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
  • Professionalism: demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators

• Teamwork: develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.
  • Delivering results: produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner; is action-oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.
  • Managing and sharing knowledge: continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.
  • Accountability: takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own action and delegated work.
  • Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.