Communication Consultant at International Labor Organization (ILO)

CONTEXT

The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, there were about 68.5 million forcibly displaced persons in 20l7, of whom about 24 million are refugees and asylum-seekers. Overall men and women were almost equally represented in the population of concern. Forced displacement is increasingly protracted and disproportionally affects children: one in two refugees worldwide is a child. The overwhelming majority of the forcibly displaced are hosted in developing countries with limited resources and capacities to respond to the situations – and substantive socioeconomic impacts on both refugees and host communities.

The impact of forced displacement is substantial both among those in displacement and hosting communities. Forcibly displaced persons face specific vulnerabilities, including loss of assets and psychological trauma, limited rights, lack of opportunities, a protection risk as well as a risk to be out of school, and a lack of planning horizon. Host communities, which tend to be among the poorest in their country, typically in lagging regions, have to pursue their own development efforts in an environment that has been transformed by a large numbers of newcomers. Economic opportunities and access to jobs as well as services, especially education and protective services, are key to a successful management of such situations - for both refugees and host communities.

Action is urgently needed to mitigate the plight of both forcibly displaced persons and hosting communities. Humanitarian assistance is critical, but insufficient when situations become protracted, and they need to be complemented by a development approach that is focused on the medium- and long-term socioeconomic dimensions of the crisis. This is in line with the global effort to 'leave no-one behind" and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): refugees and their hosts are among the most vulnerable and 'furthest behind' groups.

There is a window of opportunity for improving the management of the forced displacement crises. A new consensus has emerged - especially around the need for displaced persons and host communities to access enhanced economic opportunities, and for children on the move to have effective and inclusive access to protection and education. This consensus is reflected in the 2016 New York Declaration for Migrants and Refugees, in the commitments made by the governments at the September 2016 Leaders' Summit, in the rolling out of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), and in the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees. It is paralleled by regional and country-level efforts, in several areas including in the Middle East and North Africa region and in the Horn of Africa.

Significant international support is needed to enhance the education, protection, and economic opportunities available in areas affected by forced displacement - in partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders. Country-level efforts need to be complemented by regional and global action. Improved data needs to be made available and evidence needs to be further built on 'what works' in such contexts that also embraces more vigilantly private sector solutions and crisis prevention. Most importantly, international organizations must build a new set of partnerships, which maximize synergies and leverage comparative advantages.

PARTNERSHIP FOR IMPROVING PROSPECTS

In response to this context, UNICEF, UNHCR, ILO, IFC and the World Bank, in collaboration with and supported by the Government of the Netherlands, have developed a joint and fully integrated approach to respond to the forced displacement situation in the Middle East and North Africa and the Horn of Africa by joining the partners' efforts to develop a new paradigm in responding to forced displacement crises through the involvement of development actors.

The Partnership aims to help transform the way governments and other stakeholders, including the private sector, respond to forced displacement crises - and in particular: (1 ) to enhance the enabling environment for the socio-economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons (to mitigate their plight during years of exile and to best prepare them for their return); (2) to enhance access to education and child protection for vulnerable children on the move; and (3) to strengthen the resilience of host communities through inclusive socio-economic development that also benefits forcibly displaced persons.

The Partnership will provide a platform for mutual learning across all institutions, including to build "bridges" across thematic areas, to strengthen dialogue with host governments and other stakeholders, and to foster Innovation. The partnership is expected to build on existing coordination arrangements between partnering organizations and leverage them as may be needed.

Synergies are expected to strengthen strategic coordination, to ensure coherence in identifying priority activities and to seek opportunities for complementarity across individual programs. The Partnership also provides a platform to identify areas in which the institutions can effectively collaborate in joint endeavors to maximize impact on the ground and to collectively stimulate dialogue with other stakeholders, including host governments.

In this partnership, ILO brings significant expertise and experience in supporting enabling environments to underpin inclusive socio-economic growth and decent work, strengthen labour markets and promote access to improved working conditions and fundamental rights at work, including through the involvement of its tripartite national constituents. The ILO stimulates labour market demand and immediate job creation through employment-intensive investment, local economic and business development and promotion of specific value chains and market systems. It provides targeted support to labour market institutions, services and compliance and monitoring mechanisms that facilitate the integration of refugees into the labour market in accordance with its strong normative foundation of international labour standards. The ILO brings also expertise on technical and vocational education and training and on the recognition of prior learning for certifying the skills of refugees to better ensure access to the labour market, and methods for assessing labour market demand to provide the right skills to refugees needed by employers.

SCOPE OF WORK

As part of the programming process under the Dutch partnership, joint Vision Notes at global and country levels have been developed as a first step in the process. These Vision Notes have been followed by the development and design of costed work plans for year 1 between October 2019 and 2020 which include the key activities planned by the partners for 2019, including diagnostics, pilot demonstration activities and consultations with other stakeholders.

Against this backdrop, the purpose of the assignment is to support the ILO to promote the visibility of the partnership, develop communication products and support dialogue forums with constituents and other stakeholders on the Recommendation 205 and the guiding principles on the access of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons to the labor market.

The work of the consultant will require liaising with DCOMM and IT specialists at the ILO to ensure that communication and advocacy guidelines are followed, as well as supporting the programme team in consultations and exchanges among and between partners relating to knowledge management and communications issues, including partnership branding, guidelines and joint activities.

TASKS

• Strategic communications
  • Ensure visibility of PROSPECTS in Kenya. Provide communication support to the Chief Technical advisor and other staff under the PROSPECTS programme.
  • Develop a country communication strategy (in accordance to the global communication strategy).
  • Raise awareness around the need for development approach (moving away from the traditional humanitarian approach) and decent work conditions in the protracted forced displacement crisis.
  • Provide guidance on strategic communications, in close coordination with the Communication Officer in Geneva.
  • Create visibility around ILO’s work and contribution to each of the three pillars of the partnership.
  • Develop good communication practices (based on the global communication strategy) to advise staff members on their information outreach and presentations.
  • Ensure coherent communications (following the branding guidelines and using the PROSPECTS templates).
  • Adapt communication material and messages to culturally diverse audiences.
• Graphic design & multimedia production
  • Extract essential information from global and country vision notes, relevant reports and discussions to produce easy-to-read, visual and succinct promotional materials, such as brochures, infographics, maps, diagrams and flyers.
  • Coordinate the translation and production of these materials in other languages and ensure that they are adapted appropriately to the local context.
  • Work with and oversee the work of consultants and external companies, managing the delivery of multi-media communication products.
  • Feed the Flickr photo/video gallery for activities happening in Kenya.
• Web portal and content management
  • Update and maintain up-to-date information on the Kenya Country page on the ILO/PROSPECTS web pages.
  • Prepare content for the web pages.
  • Write content, edit and publish news, articles and general content.
• Social media
  • Edit and upload content about the project on Facebook and Twitter. Animate the social media networks and drive participation and engagement around PROSPECTS activities in Kenya. Share pictures, quotes, videos and social media cards on a weekly basis.
  • Make recommendations regarding the use of social media (hashtags, frequency of posts, partners etc.) in Kenya.
  • Liaise with DCOMM, partners’ networks and Communication Officer for Prospects to coordinate communication
• Advocacy and partnership
  • Liaise with partners (UNICEF, UNHCR, IFC, World Bank and the Dutch Embassy) in Kenya for joint communications.
  • Develop advocacy messages for host government to strengthen assistance efforts for forcibly displaced people and host communities.
• Media
  • Support the project coordinators to develop effective media relations.
  • Monitor press in electronic and print format and bring relevant issues to the attention of the project CTA and the global team in Geneva.
• Other
  • Carry out other relevant tasks that may arise during the contract period.

COMPETENCIES

• Good knowledge of the organization’s mandate and its programme of activities.
• Excellent track record in implementing strategic communication, including engaging with media.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, and ability to translate technical findings for consumption by a wide public.
• Ability to deal with media, including preparing for and doing media interviews, preparing press releases and ensuring media attention.
• Ability to analyze complex information from different sources and to synthesize this information into coherent briefs and communication documents in appropriate style and use traditional and new media channels for distribution.
• Ability to deal with discretion on sensitive issues such as forced displacement, forced labour, protection etc., respond positively to challenges and find creative and innovative solutions to problems.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Proactive approach to meeting deadlines and delivering results with limited supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to facilitate work with a wide range of individuals and groups from culturally diverse publics; ability to use tact, diplomacy and persuasiveness.
• Ability to work autonomously under broad guidance as well as a member of a team.
• Good knowledge of computer applications for information collection, management and dissemination.
• Ability to evaluate information needs and to provide appropriate and targeted information accordingly. Ability to adapt message to cultural diverse audiences.
• Knowledge of audio/visual production techniques and methods.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.