National Consultancy: Media and Development Communication Practitioner

TERMS OF REFERENCE  

Hiring Office:

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Philippines

Consultancy Period

The consultancy will involve 55-person days spread over a duration of 6 months

Purpose of consultancy:

Background and Rationale:

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Philippines is committed to promoting gender equality, human rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). As part of the UNFPA’s Country Programme (CP) for 2025, a key initiative is to challenge and transform discriminatory social and gender norms through multi-stakeholder engagement, including the media.

Media plays a crucial role in shaping societal perceptions and influencing behaviors. Traditional and social media, with their vast reach and influence, are powerful tools for promoting positive gender norms, human rights, and SRHR. By engaging media organizations at the national level, UNFPA aims to foster a pool of media champions capable of promoting positive, gender-transformative messages. In addition, the guidelines shall strive to eliminate gender bias, and ensure utmost sensitivity in reporting cases of gender-based violence. This effort aligns with the Country Programme’s output indicator focused on media promoting respect for human rights and positive social change. 

To achieve this, UNFPA is seeking for a Media and Development Communication Practitioner who will be responsible for developing communication guidelines and capacitating national-level media organizations to effectively promote positive gender and social norms. This initiative will contribute to the overarching goal of eliminating discriminatory social and gender biases in media, and transform the Philippine media landscape as a platform that actively advocates positive gender and social norms, informing social behaviour change. 

Objectives:

The main objective of this consultancy is to develop communication guidelines that promote positive gender and social norms, and build the capacity of national-level media organizations to effectively incorporate these guidelines into their work and practice. Specifically, the consultant will:

• Develop communication guidelines that promote positive gender and social norms, SRHR, and Human Rights in media content.
• conduct capacity-building workshops to media organizations and journalists  to enhance their ability to create and disseminate gender-transformative content.
• Support UNFPA’s efforts in establishing a network of media champions who can advocate for SRHR and gender equality.

The outputs of this consultancy will contribute to achieving UNFPA 9th Country Programme commitment, ensuring that media platforms play a pivotal role in promoting gender equality and social transformation.

Scope of work:

The Media and Development Communication Practitioner will be responsible for the following:

1. Develop a Comprehensive Situational Analysis
   • Conduct consultations with national media organizations, gender experts, and UNFPA staff to gather input and conduct situational analysis on current media practices, challenges and barriers to promoting positive gender norms, and opportunities in reporting on gender issues and SRHR and for capacity-building.
   • Identify and engage key media organizations (both traditional and digital) that can be engaged in the project and collaborate with them throughout the consultancy.
   • Identify and support media champions who can serve as advocates for gender-transformative communication.
2. Development of Communication Guidelines:
   • Engage media organizations and journalists in discussions to promote responsible and ethical media practices.
   • Develop comprehensive communication guidelines that promote positive gender and social norms, focusing on gender equality, SRHR, and human rights. These guidelines should be practical and adaptable to different types of media platforms (print, broadcast, digital, and social media). 
   • Develop and deliver training materials that will enhance media professionals' understanding of gender-sensitive reporting, social norms, and SRHR issues.
   • Ensure the guidelines align with UNFPA’s goals and the Philippines’ national priorities for gender equality and SRHR.
3. Capacity-Building of Media Organizations:
   • Design and implement a capacity-building program for media organizations. This will include training workshops, seminars, and ongoing mentoring to strengthen their ability to incorporate gender-sensitive, inclusive, and transformative content into their practice.
   • Work with media partners to ensure they have the necessary tools, resources, and skills to produce and distribute content that challenges negative gender stereotypes and promotes human rights.
4. Monitor and Evaluate Progress:
   • Document lessons learned and share recommendations for future media initiatives.
   • Provide technical support to the UNFPA CO on how to possibly monitor and evaluate the progress of the media organizations involved in the program. This includes developing strategies and mechanisms to track the implementation of communication guidelines and assess the impact of capacity-building efforts.
   • Design a monitoring and evaluation tool to assist the team in tracking progress and outcomes.
5. Report Writing and Documentation:
   • Prepare regular progress reports, including activity reports for the capacity-building activities.
   • Submit a final report outlining key achievements, challenges, and recommendations for future media engagement.

Please note that if the consultant determines that additional experts or personnel are needed to complete all deliverables in this project, all associated expenses, including travel costs, professional fees, and any other related expenses, will be covered by the consultant.

Work Schedule Arrangements:

The consultancy entails a commitment to accomplish the project, commencing promptly upon contract approval. This includes consultation workshops and back to back meetings with UNFPA lead programme teams. Bulk of the work can be efficiently carried out via virtual means, facilitating a flexible home-based work environment.

The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables :

1. Situation Analysis Report
   • A comprehensive assessment of media reporting trends related to gender and SRHR in the Philippines, including a mapping of active media organizations at both national and sub-national levels.
2. Media Champion Network
   • Identification and engagement of key media professionals as advocates for gender-transformative communication.
3. Development of Communication Guidelines:
   
   
   • The consultant will develop a set of communication guidelines that reflect the needs and contexts of the target media organizations, with a focus on gender norms and SRHR.
   • Organize a validation workshop with key stakeholders (including media partners) to ensure the guidelines are practical and relevant.
4. Capacity Building of Media Organizations:
   
   
   • Conduct a series of training workshops, webinars, and seminars with media professionals to enhance their skills and knowledge of gender-sensitive communication.
   • Provide ongoing mentorship and support to media organizations as they integrate the developed guidelines into their programming.
   • Create and distribute training materials, including resource guides.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation:
   
   
   • Design a monitoring and evaluation framework and tool to assist the team in tracking progress and outcomes of media organizations in implementing the communication guidelines and producing gender-sensitive content.
6. Final Report:
   
   
   • Compile a final report detailing the implementation process, achievements, challenges, and recommendations for future media initiatives.
   • Share the final report with UNFPA and key stakeholders.

Duration and Delivery dates, Proposed Payment Schedule and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

The consultant will be paid on a per deliverable basis, following the schedule below:

1. The first payment of 30% will be made upon receipt and acceptance of the first deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically);
2. The second payment of 40% will be made upon acceptance of the second deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically);
3. The remaining 30% will be made upon approval by the representative and acceptance of the third deliverable as per the table of deliverables (electronically).

A detailed project timeline, including specific deliverables and their associated deadlines, will be mutually agreed upon by the consultant and UNFPA. This timeline will be outlined in an inception report to be submitted by the consultant at the commencement of the engagement.

Place where services are to be delivered:

Please note that locations may change depending on the agreements during the Inception Phase.

Target locations for the activities:

Please note that the travel costs for the consultant (1 pax), including airfares, land transportation expenses, daily subsistence allowances, and incidentals for fieldwork such as consultations, validations, and data gathering, will be covered by UNFPA in addition to the professional fee.

Monitoring, Supervisory, and quality check arrangements: 

The UNFPA Gender/GBV Programme and Communications Team will work hand in hand to monitor the progress of all deliverables and the entire consultancy.

Supervisory Arrangements:

The project will be under the overall management of UNFPA Senior Management Team with day-to-day technical backstopping from the Communications and Gender/GBV Programme Team. The consultant is expected to work closely with parties involve

UNFPA Programme team will have frequent interactions with the consultant at various stages to:

1. Brief the consultant and provide clarity on the assignment; the process, and the deliverables;
2. Provide key documents relevant to the deliverables;
3. Introduce and facilitate the consultant to work with key stakeholders and counterparts if necessary; and
4. Provide feedback and get agreement on the next steps of the assignment.

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

The following experience and qualifications are required for the IC:

Education and Experience

• A degree in Development Communication, Media Studies, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in media and communication, gender advocacy, and capacity-building within media organizations.
• Strong understanding of gender equality, SRHR, and human rights issues, particularly in the context of media.
• Proven ability to develop communication strategies and guidelines, particularly related to gender and social norms.
• Experience in delivering training programs, workshops, and mentoring for media professionals.
• Familiarity with the media landscape in the Philippines and experience working with national media organizations.
• Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.

Please note that if the consultant determines that additional experts or personnel are needed to complete all deliverables in this project, all associated expenses, including travel costs, professional fees, and any other related expenses, will be covered by the IC.

Inputs/services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA will manage the logistical aspects required for the activities outlined in the Terms of Reference, including arranging the venue and accommodations (if necessary), and meals. 

UNFPA will provide essential reports, databases, research, and other relevant documents to support the development of the communication guidelines and capacity building for media organizations.