Communications Expert. Проведення оцінювання спроможності АРР у сфері комунікацій

Location: Ukraine, UCORD’s pilot oblasts

Expected start date: 17 July 2023

Duration of Assignment: July – October 2023

Number of working days: up to 30

1. Context

Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development Project, UCORD is a technical assistance project supported by Switzerland through the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine (SDC) and implemented by the consultancy company NIRAS Sweden AB.

UCORD aims at citizens, businesses and public authorities to contribute and equally benefit from recovery actions and coherent regional development that fosters improved quality of life, resilience, peace and social cohesion in Ukraine. The project will work in 4 pilot oblasts of Ukraine: Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia oblasts as the starting points, targeting capacity development and awareness raising initiatives spread through the whole country. UCORD consists of the three components:

Component 1 embeds the regional policy development in Ukraine through supporting and strengthening the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in pilot oblasts. More about the role of RDAs as per the Ukarinian legislation is presented in the Annex 1 herewith.

Component 2 seeks to improve public services delivery in WASAW (water supply, sanitation and waste management) sector with a focus on environment.

Component 3 aims at construction social cohesion through culture, dialogue and creative industries.

Within Component 1 it is foreseen to provide support to the Reginal Development Agencies (RDAs) from 4 pilot oblasts (Sumy, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil) in their institutional strengthening and transforming their organisational structures. For this UCORD will address the vision of the RDAs, their purpose and role in regional development, governance arrangements, main functions, priorities, organisational arrangements and staffing and financial requirements. UCORD aims to ensure the pilot RDAs have the necessary policies and manuals of procedures in place to guide all their actions and decisions. It is also planned to support the RDAs to develop business plans, which will be their operational answer to the regional and local recovery plans and strategies, their primary focus for the medium term, and other actions identified as a priority for developing their oblasts. It is also planned to support the pilot RDAs in developing their communication strategy for both internal and external communication. The described support is planned to be provided within 4-months interim period. During this period UCORD will be able to establish the level of RDAs cohesion, whether they are capable to build partnership with UCORD and among themselves, whether RDAs are ready to share their knowledge and experience; how effective RDAs are in creating commong understanding with their  advisory boards and partners.

2. Objective of the Assignment

The assessment will be performed with reference to international best practices under thorough supervision from the international expert (External Assessment Team Coordinator) and based on the developed Guideline for the Organisational Assessment of the Regional Development Agencies in Ukraine (Guideline).

The Communications expert is expected to: a) conduct a Qualitative Organisational Measurements – evaluation of the effectiveness of internal and external communication strategies, channels, and tools within every of the four pilot RDAs. The assessment will be conducted based on the RDA Organizational Assessment Guidelines methodology and self-assessment tools (questionnaires/tests provided in the Guideline), bilateral and group on-line meetings (planned by the Communication expert) for understanding, researching and documenting the findings. The Communication expert will update and finalise the assessment tool to ensure a systematic and comprehensive approach across all 4 RDAs – the tool will be approved by UCORD prior to utilisation;; b) identify strengths, weaknesses, gaps, challenges and opportunities for improvement in the RDAs’ communication; d) prepare a relevant section to the Organisational Assessment Report for each pilot RDA with practical recommendations to enhance communication effectiveness, considering both internal and external aspects, e) develop RDAs Capacity Building Programme to address the identified gaps and recommendations, including training, mentoring and coaching sessions, as well as policy/strategy revision, to build the capabilities of RDAs in communication.

3. Methodology and Scope of Work

a) the Communication expert will undergo a briefing session by the External Assessment Team Coordinator on organisational assessment steps, b) the Communication expert will get acquainted with the provided Guideline, including the Organisational Assessment Plan, c) the Communication expert should conduct comprehensive review of relevant communication materials, policies, and strategies available within the 4 pilot RDAs, d) the Communication expert should carry out interviews and consultations with key stakeholders, including the RDA’s staff, partners, and external stakeholders to gather feedback from internal and external stakeholders, e) the Communication expert should conduct a comparative analysis of communication practices in similar agencies, if applicable f) the Communication expert should analyze the collected data and provide a clear assessment of the current state of the communication capacities, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement to the RDA’s communication practices, considering the C4D guidelines when evaluating and recommending improvements.

These activities will be done under the supervision of the External Assessment Team Coordinator who will ensure that the conclusions formulated for each RDA by the external assessment experts are conclusive and correlated among them.

While working over the communications capacities assessment of 4 pilot RDAs, the Communications expert will cover communication-related areas within each of 4 pilot RDAs, including but not limited to:

1. Internal communications processes of RDAs, including staff communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
2. External communiction strategies and plans of RDAs including public relations, media outreach, and stakeholder engagement.
3. Visualisation tools and digital communication channels, including the agency’s website, social media presence, and online campaigns as well as their correlation to the RDAs’ goals, objectives and mission.
4. Existing communications and visibility practices, policies, and channels for their effectiveness and relevance, both internally and externally.
5. The Communication for Development guidelines to ensure alignment with best available practices.

4. Required deliverables

• Workplan:
  Prepare a workplan to guide the delivery of this assignment
• Communication section to the Organisational Assessment Report:
  Prepare a comprehensive report detailing the findings, analysis, gaps and recommendations of the communication capacities assessment
• Presentation:
  Deliver a comprehensive presentation of the assessment findings and recommendations to the pilot RDAs, the Supervisory Board, and UCORD
• Capacity Building Programme:
  - Training Modules: Develop customized training modules to a) address the identified gaps and enhance communication skills among RDAs staff, b) take into account the necessity in digital communication training to improve the RDA’s online presence and engagement, c) offer media training to designated staff members to effectively engage with the media and deliver key messages.
  - Coaching and Mentoring: Provide coaching and mentoring sessions to support staff in developing effective communication strategies and techniques, as well as the establishment of feedback mechanisms and evaluation processes to continuously monitor and assess communication effectiveness.
  - Policy Revision: Review and revise communication policies, guidelines, and strategies that align with the identified recommendations, RDA’s objectives and target audience and suggest structure for RDAs’ communication strategy.

5. Qualifications

The Communication expert should have:

• Minimum 10 years of proven experience in conducting assessments of communication capacities for development agencies or similar organizations
• Expertise in PR management, communication campaigns
• Profound knowledge on Communication for Development principles
• Strong analytical, communication, and report-writing skills to effectively deliver the assessment findings and recommendations
• Minimum 10 years of proven experience in designing and delivering training programs, coaching initiatives, and policy development
• Knowledge of English is an asset

6. Reporting

All outputs should be delivered in Ukrainian.

The Communication expert reports to UCORD Deputy Project Leader & Regional Development Adviser and maintains regular communication throughout the assessment process. The Communication expert will provide progress updates and seek clarification or guidance, as needed, to ensure the assessment meets the RDAs expectations. The Communication expert will work closely with External Assessment Team Coordinator to ensure that the conclusions formulated for each RDA by the Communication expert and other external assessment experts are conclusive and correlated among each other.

Interested candidates can submit their application by sending CV outlining the relevant expertise and experience to [email protected] up to July 2, 2023

Only short-listed candidates will be notified.