Advocacy and Communications Specialist: Moldova

Position:  Advocacy and Communications Specialist

Contract Type: Consultant

Application deadline: Friday 13 October 2023

Location:  Moldova (Remote)

Start date: ASAP

ABOUT IWPR:

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent not-for profit organisation that works with media and civil society to promote positive change in conflict zones, closed societies, and countries in transition around the world. As part of its program activities, IWPR, in partnership with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), is implementing its initiative Building Resilience in the Eastern Neighbourhood (BREN), which is supported by the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).

IWPR’s BREN program seeks to strengthen the resilience of non-state actors, including marginalised communities, and enhance their ability to deliver transformative, inclusive, and sustainable contributions to peace, stability and security in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova.

The BREN project contributes to enabling CSOs to build resilience and deliver transformative change in the peace and security area to increase human security for women and marginalised, vulnerable and socially excluded groups in the four target countries.

Developing advocacy and communications capacity is the foundation to building CSO resilience to bring about societal change. Building on IWPR’s previous activities on this subject, IWPR is seeking the consultancy services of an expert in Moldova to support the development and implementation of advocacy and communications strategies and campaigns for up to 7 CSOs.

The objective is to build CSO capacity to use modern advocacy and communications tools and techniques to best help create the desired change by producing engaging content that effectively reaches and influences the target audience, including stakeholders and decision makers.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The consultant will:

1. Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each CSO’s advocacy and communications capabilities and its existing strategies, if any; in consultation with the CSO, prioritise the types and areas of support the CSO most needs; develop an agreed-upon capacity building plan for each CSO;

2. Conduct a two-day group in-person training session in Moldova that addresses both advocacy and communication capacity building topics as recommended by the consultant and in consultation with IWPR. The topics should include, but are not limited to, the following:

Advocacy:

• Developing an organizational advocacy strategy and plan with templates.

In addition to the above, IWPR will provide the following advocacy training session based on assessed need:

• Digital advertising on social media for advocacy

Communications:

• Developing an organizational communication strategy and plan (external communications) with templates;
• Story Telling (using story telling for effective communications; how to tell a story effectively);
• Developing your “Elevator Pitch”.

In addition to the above, IWPR will provide one or more of the following communications training sessions, based on the assessed need:

• Online Crisis Management;
• Snackable Content for social media;
• Social Media Reporting (Qualitative & Quantitative).

3. Provide individualized online or in person (or combination thereof) mentoring to each CSO to support development and implementation of:

1. a) an organizational advocacy strategy; and
2. b) an organizational communications strategy.

4. Provide individualized online or in person (or combination thereof) mentoring to each CSO to develop and implement an organizational advocacy or communications campaign to put the training and respective strategies into practice. Some or all of the CSOs may choose to work together on a joint advocacy or communications campaign of mutual interest;

5. Support development of a sustainability plan to ensure ongoing review, maintenance, and implementation of the CSO’s advocacy and communications strategies. The mentor will verify implementation of the strategies to ensure they are being put into practice.

The activities must accommodate all levels, from beginner to advance. The capacity building and mentorship support will vary from CSO to CSO based on its assessed maturity as the consultant determines, and within the project’s maximum number of mentoring hours of 56 for the project.

MAIN DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE:

Deliverable 1:

1 week: October 23-27, 2023.

• In consultation with IWPR, finalize the detailed workplan and develop the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) framework for the project.

Payment upon deliverables approval:

• At Milestone 1 below.

Deliverable 2:

2 weeks: November 2023.

• Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each CSO’s advocacy and communications capabilities and its existing strategies, if any; in consultation with the CSO, prioritise the types and areas of support the CSO most needs; develop an agreed-upon capacity building plan for each CSO.

Payment upon deliverables approval:

• At Milestone 1 below.

Deliverable 3:

November 2023

• Conduct a two-day group in-person training session for up to two participants per each CSO (i.e., 22 participants) on developing and implementing organizational advocacy and communications strategies and campaigns.

Payment upon deliverables approval:

• Milestone 1: After delivery of the training session and submission of the required invoice.

Deliverable 4:

4 months: November 2023-February 28, 2024

• Provide individualized online or in person mentoring for up to 8 hours for each CSO to support ongoing review, maintenance, and implementation of organizational advocacy and communications strategies and campaigns.

Payment upon deliverables approval:

• Milestone 2: After delivery of the CSO strategies and campaigns and submission of the required invoice.

Deliverable 5:

Due March 15, 2024

• Prepare MEL report and submit to IWPR

Payment upon deliverables approval:

• Final Payment: Upon delivery of the MEL report and submission of the required invoice.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION/ INDIVIDUAL:

• Experience providing communications and advocacy training and mentoring consulting services to civil society organizations for all skill levels, from beginning to advanced;
• Experience providing communications and advocacy training and mentoring consulting services to civil society organizations for all skill levels, from beginning to advanced;
• Experience supporting implementation of organizational advocacy and communications;
• Experience running local or regional communication and advocacy campaigns for CSOs;
• Experience managing the training and mentoring of multiple CSOs and their respective campaigns at the same time;
• Experience working in conflict zones, closed societies, and countries in transition around the world that require sensitivity in communication and advocacy.

Principals only. No calls please. Only those who have been considered for an interview will be contacted.

IWPR is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, veteran status or pregnancy and maternity. IWPR will never ask for payment for recruitment.

Keywords

Moldova