Provision of communication and public relations services

COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES I. Background The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is looking for a suitably qualified and experienced company, referred herein as ‘Agency’, to provide communication and public relations services hereinafter referred to as ‘Services’) for a period from early January 2023 until 31 December 2023. II. Introduction of UN Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) unites governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 Parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigate today’s impacts of land degradation and to advance tomorrow’s land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner. The Convention mobilizes multilateral cooperation and action among stakeholders to tackle land degradation, desertification and drought in the affected countries. It also leads global annual observance of Desertification and Drought Day, officially declared by the UN General Assembly on 17 June. According to UNCCD’s flagship Global Land Outlook 2 report released in 2022, up to 40% of all ice-free land is already degraded – meaning its benefits have been lost to varying degrees, with dire consequences for climate, biodiversity and livelihoods. Business as usual will, by 2050, result in degradation of 16 million square kilometres (almost the size of South America). Globally, 5 billion hectares have potential for restoration and the international community has made voluntary commitments to restore 1 billion hectares. About half of these restoration pledges are from UNCCD country Parties that have pledged to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals target of land degradation neutrality by 2030. At the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to UNCCD held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in May 2022, countries have sent a united call about the importance of healthy and productive land for securing future prosperity for all. They adopted 38 decisions, including on drought resilience, tenure, migration and gender, that highlight the role of land in addressing multiple crises. According to the latest Drought in Numbers report compiled by UNCCD, droughts have increased in frequency by 29% since 2000, with some 55 million people affected every year. Recent droughts in Australia, Europe, western United States, Chile, the Horn and Southern Africa, show that no country or region is immune to its impacts. Recognizing the urgent need to shift drought management approaches from the current emergency response to resilience, world leaders launched the International Drought Resilience Alliance at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference in November 2022. The Alliance is a collaborative platform to accelerate action and help countries to be better prepared for future droughts. UNCCD is also hosting the Initiative Coordination Office of a G20 Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats. Launched in November 2020, the goal of this initiative is to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation and reduce degraded land by 50 per cent by 2040. The initiative is tasked, among other things, to showcase and share global best practices on land restoration and terrestrial habitat conservation. Modern communication approaches will need to be implemented to reach a broad base of stakeholders. III. Objectives and justification The objective is to implement a coordinated global communications strategy that engages and reaches partners, decision-makers and influencers to help drive political will, mobilize resources and accelerate national efforts to commit to and achieve land degradation neutrality and take early measures to mitigate drought. The secretariat is seeking Agency support to: • Develop a comprehensive annual communications plan guided by the goals of the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework, decisions of the UNCCD COP15, and the UNCCD strategic branding and messaging platform. • Elevate land and drought issues on the global political agenda and sustain and build momentum amongst leaders and influencers to raise visibility and rally support. • Mobilize public engagement and build momentum to drive commitment and accountability in actions to achieve land restoration targets and take early action on drought. • Ensure effective and consistent messaging that supports all levels of communication from global influencers, regional and national decision-makers to affected communities. Engage the public and partners in actively supporting the vision of the Convention and actions planned for the next biennium • Specifically, on G20 Global Initiative, the agency will support the initiative coordination office on: o Develop an overall communications plan for the G20 Global Initiative including target audiences, key messages and engagement opportunities for the next biennium. o Developing communication profiles of the 19 countries in the G20 formation, including priority communications channels, including traditional and social media and smart phone penetration, o Identify key influencers with potential to be leveraged for land restoration and habitat conservation messaging o Develop and implement global and national communication campaigns to promote land restoration and habitat conservation o Support with organizing the initiative’s presence (exhibitions, side events, etc.) at international events relating to G20, climate change and other topics o Create opportunities for engaging with national and international media to promote G20 global initiatives The communications approaches used by UNCCD are as follows: • Raise awareness and sense of urgency to achieve land restoration targets and take early action on drought • Align partners around consistent messages • Create and share compelling content • Activate champions for the land – influencers and youth in particular • Seize key moments to scale impact • Engage top-tier media IV. Expected Activities and Outputs The Agency will be responsible for the delivery of these expected outputs 1. Develop and implement communications plans to support the Convention’s strategic objectives, including aligning the stakeholders and partners’ messaging and communications activities: comprehensive communications plan for 2-3 key issues per year; 2. Increase quality and quantity of media coverage by identifying strategic media opportunities and facilitating media engagement and outreach: 10% year-on-year increase in UNCCD-generated coverage in target media, with major media coverage spikes around key moments; 3. Developing creative approaches to storytelling and content to drive media and partner engagement: approximately one content packages per month; 4. Increase coverage and engagement of key events, campaigns, milestones and other “international action” days to keep land and drought high on both the political and global developmental agenda: 4-5 key moments per year. The Agency will be responsible for the satisfactory implementation of the following activities linked to each output. The Agency must be able to demonstrate a proven track record in strategic communications on global environmental issues, and direct experience of working in both donor and countries affected by desertification, land degradation and/or drought. It must also have excellent writing and creative skills, and a proven track record in leveraging both traditional and social media. Furthermore, the Agency must be able to deliver expected outputs and effectively engage with media, partners, policy makers and influencers in at least three of the six working languages of the Convention: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Strategic communications support and partner engagement: • In close coordination with the UNCCD communications team: o Flesh out and support the implementation of a comprehensive communications plan that will elevate desertification, land degradation and drought issues on global development agendas to drive leadership, commitment, and change, as well as reinforce the Convention’s positioning as the global authority, convener, consensus builder and coordinator of these issues. o Provide, and possibly execute, recommendations for improving the Convention’s communications function o Engage partners and stakeholders in promoting and amplifying the Convention’s vision and activities Facilitate and strengthen media relations: • Work proactively with the secretariat to identify: o Leverage strategic and creative media engagement opportunities to raise the visibility of the Convention and strengthen its positioning as a leading and credible source of information on desertification, land degradation and drought issues as well as increasing the quantity and quality of media coverage of these issues worldwide, including in donor and affected countries o Support the Convention in implementing specific engagement opportunities for journalists from affected countries to build their capacity to report around these issues, including through media trainings and regular virtual media briefings o Support the Convention in developing and implementing strategic media partnerships around key environmental events and campaigns (see annexed events), including Desertification and Drought Day, during the official meetings of the Conference of the Parties and its Subsidiary Bodies, and launches of flagship reports such as the Global Land Outlook, etc. o Support the UNCCD to analyse the global media coverage collected by an external media monitoring service provider. Content development: • Recommend and develop relevant content as needed, e.g. reports, blogs, op-eds, etc., that includes highlighting success stories as well as jeopardy of inaction, importance of innovation and the immediate and long-term value of increasing investment in achieving land degradation neutrality and developing robust national action plans. • Recommend and support the UNCCD in collecting information, photo and video footage for the • development of promotional materials, case studies and other activities, with graphics and multimedia content produced in-house by UNCCD or by external service providers; • Support UNCCD in its social media outreach and engagement, including developing monthly social media calendars, ad-hoc social media toolkits around major events, identifying and engaging relevant online influencers, and suggesting promotional activities across social media channels. Key Global Events • Develop and implement communications strategies, including content creation, event communications support and media relations, for key events and campaigns taking place in 2023 such as: o Desertification and Drought Day, 17 June o Official meetings of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties and its Subsidiary Bodies, notably the 21st meeting of the Committee on the Review of Implementation of the Convention (CRIC21) in October 2023, o External events where UNCCD is participating, such as the UN General Assembly, meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund, the UN Environment Assembly, etc. (2-3 maximum per year) Work process The work process will be managed by the UNCCD Chief of Communications, with approval of deliverables to come from the UNCCD senior management team. For the G20-related work, the work process will be managed by the Initiative Coordination Office, in close consultation with the UNCCD Chief of Communications, with approval of deliverables to come from the G20 Initiative Director. The scope of the contract shall be conducted remotely with contact with relevant stakeholders via electronic communications means. The Agency will have bi-weekly calls (and more often if a specific project requires) with the UNCCD Communications team and one annual face-to-face meeting. The Agency shall be able to work in the European time zone. The Agency shall also include in the proposal and bear costs for expected travel to two 3-day meetings/events per year, one in Europe and one on another continent. Time frame The expected timeframe for the work is beginning early in January 2023 and completing by 31 December 2023. Payment Schedule and Reporting Requirements Fixed quarterly payments on submission and acceptance of Quarterly Progress Reports, describing accomplishments and impact of the activities outlined in the agreed implementation plan, and design layouts and other materials already completed must be attached as final products to this report. V. Minimum requirements for key personnel a. Team leader / Project Manager • Minimum 10 years of relevant experience including proven track record in managing teams and leading communications/PR campaigns and projects in either an agency or in-house for a leading international entity; • Advanced university degree in marketing, communications, international relations, development studies or another relevant field (2 years of relevant experience will be considered in lieu of an advanced university degree); • Excellent written and spoken English, with capabilities in other official languages of the Convention seen as an asset; • Track record in working with global media, web-based communication tools and social media; • Creative thinking with respect to developing new and compelling media angles and content; • International experience and demonstrated ability to work in different cultural settings; and • Experience in the global environment and/or development fields. b. Senior Expert • Minimum 7 years of relevant experience including proven track record in successfully delivering communications/PR campaigns and projects in either an agency or in-house for a leading international entity; • University degree in marketing, communications, international relations, development studies or another relevant field; • Excellent written and spoken English, with capabilities in other official languages of the Convention seen as an asset; • Track record in working with global media, web-based communication tools and social media • Creative thinking with respect to developing new and compelling content • International experience and demonstrated ability to work in different cultural settings; and • Experience in the global environment and/or development fields would be an asset. c. Junior Associate • Minimum 2 years of relevant experience including working in communications/PR in either an agency or in-house; • University degree in a relevant field; • Excellent written and spoken English, with capabilities in other official languages of the Convention seen as an asset; • Experience in working with global media, web-based communication tools and social media; • International exposure and cultural sensitivity; and • Experience in the global environment or development fields would be an asset. VI. Gender and sustainability criteria Vendors should be able to demonstrate overall commitment to gender, diversity and sustainability and state how they plan to integrate these measures in the execution of the contract for the outlined services.