Foreign Media Relations Expert  (ТСА project)

Scope of Work

Foreign Media Relations Expert  for the Office of Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro Atlantic Integration of Ukraine  

 Contract duration: 6 months  

LOE: up to 40 hours per week within 6 months  

 Background:  

The Office of the Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine is responsible for coordinating Ukraine’s integration efforts with the European Union and NATO. Being a part of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, its primary mission is to promote and facilitate Ukraine’s integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. This involves advancing Ukraine’s political, economic, and legal reforms, aligning the country’s legislation and regulations with EU acquis, and fostering cooperation with NATO and other Euro-Atlantic organizations. The ultimate goal is to ensure Ukraine’s development as a member of the European family and enhance the country’s stability, prosperity, and security. 

The communication team of the Office of the Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine currently faces several challenges. According to the EU-wide Eurobarometer public opinion survey dated April 2022 regarding the future of Ukraine as an EU Member, 66% EU MS citizens agreed that ‘Ukraine should join the EU when it is ready”. The perception of Ukraine as a part of the European family varies from country to country. Some opinions show that EU MS citizens; attitudes towards Ukraine are heavily influenced by socio-economic impact of Russian war of aggression (especially those related to sanctions), perception of Ukrainian refugees in the EU countries, cost of ongoing military, financial, humanitarian and other support of Ukraine. Additionally, past bias towards Ukraine in some EU MS, as well as Russian ongoing propaganda, aiming to depreciate Ukraine as a state, undermine the EU support and unity, will also shape the public field. 

 With a high degree of probability, these negative trends will remain. Partial evidence for this is the results and audience feedback to the recently implemented Office of the Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine communication campaign in support of Ukraine “Embrace Ukraine. Strengthen the Union 2.0” (March 2023). The campaign received a high number of reactions and engagements, but the feedback demonstrated the high percentage of negative reaction to Ukraine’s agenda in general. Ukraine has become closer to other European nations; however, there is a great need for consistent, well-coordinated, and comprehensive communication efforts on Ukraine, its values, goals and achievements. It requires creative formats and ideas to engage the public. Involvement of additional Media Relations Expert will allow strategic planning of media activities in foreign media with an emphasis on the specified list of countries, and also provide more thorough preparation for interviews, articles and other media outputs. In particular, it will allow early formation of messages corresponding to discourses/narratives in a certain country. 

Considering the large number of events where it is necessary to convey the Ukrainian position, limited resources do not allow the Office on its own to ensure good communication support and media coverage. Involved expert will help to significantly strengthen and improve the effectiveness of communication work on event coverage. This is essential support for the team at a time when international attention to Ukraine is extremely important, and therefore there is a great need for systematic communication with foreign media, prompt and high-quality processing of all requests. 

Responsibilities  

The Media Relations Expert will be responsible for the monitoring of strategic world media agenda on key EU relations topics and Ukraine, trends and narratives on the European integration aspirations of Ukraine. The Expert will also be responsible for developing media databases as well as interaction with the national and foreign journalists, pitching targeted mass media with key messages, assisting in  preparation of articles, comments, news, posts to cover the key events and OVPM’s activities. 

 Capacity Building:  

• Develop and implement communications strategies to reach high-profile stakeholders in EU MS countries as well as the media relations activities of the Office of the Vice Prime Minister on  European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine to support the mission and goals achievement, building relationships with key foreign media and stakeholders.  
• Analyze media landscape in Ukraine and targeted countries, developing key narratives in cooperation with TCA research team to promote key messages about Ukraine’s reforms’ progress and European integration, as set by the Office for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
• Approaching foreign media in EU MS countries to pitch key narratives and convey the key messages (approved by TCA and the Office for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine) 
• Monitor targeted topics and sources (foreign and Ukrainian mass media) daily. Monitoring tools will be provided by TCA. 
• Consolidate information and summarize data result sets across multiple sources to deliver information in an appealing way to target audiences.
• Drafting strategic documents and press materials to implement communications strategies in EU MS countries.  
• Ensuring efficient public and media relations in EU MS countries. 
• Supporting other activities identified by the Office for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine to implement the communications strategies. 
• Supporting and evaluating the results of the communication campaigns.
• Convening in-person or telecom meetings with the corresponding media and communications professionals.
• Relevant ad hoc requests, assisting in organizing events (forums, conferences, offline and hybrid type – upon the request of the Office for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine)
• Preparation and/or translation of press materials, social media posts etc. 
• Assist the communication efforts, ensuring that messaging is consistent and effective across all channels, and supporting the overall goals and objectives. 
• Identify target audiences, creating messaging, and selecting appropriate communication channels for each of them. 
• Provide media relations support, being the point of contact for journalists and media outlets seeking information or interviews with the officials. Provide timely and accurate responses to media inquiries. 
• Maintain control over distribution of content, such as press releases, newsletters, speeches, and social media posts.  Collaborate with the team and other governmental bodies to ensure that communication strategies align with overall goals and objectives. 

 Reporting and TCA Support:  

•  Plan working hours according to Ukrainian legislation and report on results to TCA weekly and monthly. 
• Provide written reports on a monthly, and as-requested basis on the progress of work within the Office of the Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro Atlantic Integration of Ukraine of Ukraine. 
• Support USAID Transformation Communications Activity (TCA) in developing and strengthening established partnerships with the Office of the Vice Prime Minister on European and Euro Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. 

Primary Deliverables/Outcomes:   

• Set up of media monitoring system of EU media 
• Developed mechanics of narratives formation and development of message boxes based on narratives and current situation in Ukraine and EU
• Developed databases of targeted media and stakeholders contacts for key EU member states (will be specified);
• The mechanics of development press releases, information products and materials for OVPM official pages and portal;
• Prepared, translated texts, website content, media kits, social media posts;
• Publications in foreign media as a result of targeted pitching – at least 5 publications per month 
• Final reports to the OVPM and TCA which includes best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for the next months after the end of the contract.  

Requirements   

• At least 5 years of experience in communications. 
• Master’s degree (preferably in communications, marketing or other relevant field related to PR and Communications).  
• Professional Ukrainian writing and speaking. 
• Advanced English writing and speaking. 
• Strong facilitation and communication (written and oral) skills, ability to communicate effectively at all levels. 
• Ability to unite people around common goals.  
• Experience in building relations with foreign media is required. International experience is preferred.   
• Strong analytical skills, risk assessment and anti-crisis communication skills, exceptional attention to detail. 
• Proactive, results-driven approach, track record of successfully working in a reform-driven environment. 
• Ability to work both in a team and autonomously with minimum supervision but with respect to given constraints and guidelines. 
• Advanced computer literacy. 
• Experience in working with government bodies and donor-funded projects is highly preferred.   

 Application instructions:

To apply, please submit your application via the following link no later than October 15, 2023. https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/6116f86e2e7d442f96cc45447742b1d6.  Please complete the required information and upload your cover letter and CV for consideration. No telephone inquiries, please. Finalists will be contacted.

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