National Consultant for Communications, Campaigns and Policy Advocacy Coordination

Background

In the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk to violence against women migrant workers is increasing – as tensions rise, freedom is restricted, economic tensions are felt, and women are isolated from support systems.  This “shadow pandemic” festering beneath the current global health crisis is that of gender-based violence (GBV). Cases of GBV are reported to be on the rise due to mobility restrictions and lockdowns being implemented during COVID-19. Women migrant workers who live in close quarters with their abusers are left vulnerable and more susceptible to such incidents. The situation is further compounded by the fact that many services, agencies, and authorities are adopting a skeletal workforce during the pandemic. Moreover, a number of women migrant workers – both returned and on-site – may be residing in far-flung areas or rural communities, with limited access to information regarding useful programs and services for migrant workers.

Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, women migrant workers were already experiencing abuse from their employers. DFA data (2013-2016) notes that 75% of the 4,830 OFWs who seek assistance from the embassy per year are women who have experienced physical, verbal and psychological abuse, sexual harassment and rape while 402 women are trafficked each year and 75% are repatriated every year.  The pandemic has only intensified the already existing abusive treatment, exploitation and gender-based violence experienced by women migrant workers due the disruption or limitation of the channels to file reports.

Onerous and unclear processes, insensitivity and discouragement from public officials, threat from employers, deprivation of freedom including irregular retention of document make women migrant workers less likely to seek help or remedies. The ability of survivors to report violence is also affected by pervasive cultural stigma, victim-blaming from both the authorities and the public in general; and fear of retaliation and losing their employment and the financial investment made at the beginning of the migration cycle.

The Programme, “Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region (2018-2022)” is part of the multi-year EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls. Safe and Fair is implemented by the ILO and UN Women. Safe and Fair delivers technical assistance and support with the overall objective of making labour migration Safe and Fair for all women in the ASEAN region. Safe and Fair engages with ASEAN Member States’ government authorities; ASEAN institutions; workers’ organizations; employers and recruitment agencies; civil society organizations; community-based organizations; families and communities; research institutions and academia, media networks, youth, and the general public and supports programming in ten countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam).

Safe and Fair works in close cooperation with governments and social partners to achieve three inter-linking specific objectives:

Specific objective 1: Women migrant workers are better protected by gender-sensitive labour migration governance frameworks;

Specific objective 2: Women migrant workers are less vulnerable to violence and trafficking and benefit from coordinated responsive quality services; and

Specific objective 3: Data, knowledge and attitudes on the rights and contributions of women migrant workers are improved

The strategy of Safe and Fair mainstreams three cross-cutting topics: women’s voice and agency; rights-based approaches; and broad engagement of stakeholders. Safe and Fair ensures visibility, awareness-raising and dialogue promotion on changing norms around violence against women throughout migration and strengthening rights-based approaches to Safe and Fair labour migration governance for women in the ASEAN region.

Duties and Responsibilities

he following are the duties and responsibilities of the Consultant:

1. Update and Implement the Safe and Fair Philippines communication and campaign strategy together with the Safe and Fair Task Force Campaigns, ensuring participation of and perspectives from women migrant workers and CSOs working on VAW and migration:
   • Coordinate, organize and facilitate consultations for strategy development, planning, development and implementation of all communication tasks related to the campaign plans of the Safe and Fair Philippines developed together with the Task Force on Campaigns, linking it with on-going national campaigns on VAW and migration
   • Take the lead in organizing media outreach; arrange media contacts; press briefings and interviews; draft media talking points and other materials as needed for Safe and Fair Philippines representatives; respond to media inquiries quickly and effectively
   • Coordinate with the management team and secure presence of celebrity champion of Safe and Fair Philippines national campaign, Babaeng BiyaHero, Maine Mendoza in campaign events, including consultations with the Task Force on Campaigns; provide guidance for and ensure alignment of messaging with the celebrity champion
   • Regularly manage and update the website and social media channels of Babaeng BiyaHero campaign
   • Gather stories of women migrant workers who were able to seek/ access to essential services and/ or shared the information with other women migrant workers through the Babaeng BiyaHero campaign various platforms
   • Regularly update UNW ROAP on the events planned/ progress on outreach and  information disseminated and share lessons learnt with other offices
2. Campaigns and Policy advocacy and coordination work:
   • Monitor policy measures and on-going legislative hearings which would present opportunity for policy intervention from Safe and Fair Philippines especially in relation to violence against women migrant workers and ensuring protocols on coordinated and quality of essential services
   •  Establish and maintain working relationship with legislative committees working on VAW and migration, ensuring that UN Women/ Safe and Fair Philippines’ representatives are being invited to present policy interventions
   • Build and/ or strengthen lobbying networks pushing for the rights of women migrant workers, especially in relation to violence against women migrant workers
   • Take the lead in developing and implementing campaign events around key international advocacy days including International Women’s Day, the 16 days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign and other UN observances
   • Develop and implement strategies for securing corporate sponsorships or philanthropic partners that would support cause-related campaigns of Safe and Fair Philippines and its Babaeng BiyaHero campaign, in consultation with the management team of the celebrity champion
3. ?Production and promotion of high-quality communication and reporting products:
   • Provide guidance to writers, graphic artists, advertising firms, etc. for the production and promotion of high-quality communication and knowledge products
   • Support Safe and Fair teams (UN Women and ILO) to identify and develop key external communication materials, including thematic briefs, statements, brochures, posters, videos, photography, infographics, human interest stories etc.;
   • Oversee and coordinate the development and production of bi-lingual (Filipino and English) information products and communication materials (stories, press releases, social media content, donor bulletins, brochures, fact sheets, presentations, information leaflets, knowledge products, etc.);
   • Undertake media and communication work, including producing and delivering press materials, press releases, media advisories
   • Ensure the delivery of communication products and dissemination to the different target groups

Deliverables

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for DiversityIntegrityProfessionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender IssuesAccountabilityCreative Problem SolvingEffective CommunicationInclusive CollaborationStakeholder EngagementLeading by Example

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, Public Relations/Affairs, Marketing, Journalism or any other related field; Master’s degree in these fields is an advantage
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in development communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or a related field
• Capability and proven experience in developing and executing communication, campaigns and policy advocacy plans and strategies; preferably related to/ popularizing social issues such as VAW, migration, women’s rights, etc.
• Background on Safe and Fair Babaeng Biyahero campaign is an advantage
• Experience in gender equality in the context of labour migration, violence against women, preferably in the Philippines;
• Previous working experience with UN agencies, government agencies, Philippine women’s rights and migrant rights’ organizations is required; and
•  Strong written skills in English and Filipino based on sample work on communication and campaigns plans and/ or information materials in English and Filipino

Submission package

• Application Letter
• CV, P11
• Financial proposal in PHP which shall specify a total lump sum amount based on deliverables. Proposed fee should include all related costs for this consultancy e.g., travel, communication, taxes, insurance, etc.
• Sample work on communication and campaigns plans and/ or information materials in English and Filipino

Please note that the system only allows 1 attachment per application so merge documents into one file only.  In case that is not possible, you can submit the application again with different attachments.

You may also submit your electronic application to royelynne.colobong@unwomen.org  no later than 3 March 2021. Please provide brief explanations of why you are suited for this Consultancy and cite relevant experience.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis. 

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%] 
• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.