Consultant to Provision of Photography Services to Document the Socio-Economic Reintegration of Returnees in the Western Balkans in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Sunday 24 Jul 2022 at 23:59 UTC

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Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

For this assignment, up to 3 individual consultants are expected to be contracted, to work separately for up to 8 working days from their duty locations.

The assignment is divided in three Lots, and candidates are invited to apply for one or more lots, as follows:

Lot 1: Albania, selected municipalities: Devoll, Fier, Berat

Lot 2: North Macedonia, selected municipalities: Shuto Orizari, Prilep, Shtip

Lot 3: Serbia, selected municipalities: Novi Sad, Valjevo, Bujanovac

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in some 170 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges, and coordinating the efforts of the United Nations at country level.

As an extension of the UNDP Headquarters, the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH), based in Istanbul, Turkey, serves UNDP’s Country Offices in the region, develops high quality knowledge and policy, and is the organization’s main interface with regional bodies such as the European Union. The Centre also implements UNDP’s Regional Programme for ECIS focused on enhancing inclusive and sustainable growth, widening political participation and giving everyone a voice, and developing responsive institutions which deliver desired services and promote inclusive processes of state-society dialogue.

At UNDP, external and internal communication—nationally, regionally and globally—is critical to achieving both development results and business objectives. Skillful communication contributes to transparency and development effectiveness, attracts and fosters strong partnerships, and can boost resource mobilization. Communications also plays a crucial role in positioning UNDP as a credible and trusted development partner and thought leader, creating greater awareness about the organization’s work and its impact on the continent.

“Strenghten national and local systems to support the socio-economic reintegration of returnees in the Western Balkans”

Since the Western Balkans were declared “safe countries of origin” the region has seen a significant number of returnees from the EU. Still, in 2017, Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia were ranked among the top 20 countries with the highest number of nationals with unregulated residence status in the EU.

Roma men and women comprise a significant share of this irregular migration, ranging from 61.8% in North Macedonia to 82.6% in Serbia. Disproportional social and economic hardship is a main trigger of irregular migration and asylum application of Roma men and women.

Those hardships are still there when those migrants return to their countries of origin. While reintegration strategies providing socio-economic support are being addressed in national policies, they are not yet fully effective on the ground. These challenges are even more profound at local level where the exclusion is most perceptible and where effective institutions can have a marked impact on people’s wellbeing.

This is not an issue that is commonly understood, by neither the local communities nor the greater public. One of the communication priorities of UNDP’s “Strengthen national and local systems to support the effective socio-economic integration of returnees in the Western Balkans” project is to raise awareness amongst the public, donors, media and local stakeholders about this issue and who are the people affected by it. By showing the complexities of the issues that people face as returnees, and doing it through the lens of human stories, this photo series will highlight why strategic support like this UNDP project is necessary.

Through the work, we can raise awareness of the wider public about the project and its objectives; raise awareness among policy makers and local stakeholders of the multi-dimensional vulnerabilities that returnees are experiencing, thus mobilize society-wide action in addressing the issues; and showcase, build knowledge and understanding of the value of implementing holistic approach to reintegration of vulnerable returnees to the policymakers and local authorities that will facilitate systemic change.

Objective of the assignment

The UNDP IRH is seeking the services of highly skilled professional photographers with expertise in capturing the realities of people and communities in a dignified and creative way. Work will be conducted in the following countries and selected municipalities:

  • Lot 1: Albania, selected municipalities: Devoll, Fier, Berat
  • Lot 2: North Macedonia, selected municipalities: Shuto Orizari, Prilep, Shtip, and
  • Lot 3: Serbia, selected municipalities: Novi Sad, Valjevo, Bujanovac.

The photographers will shoot a series of photographs related to the socio-economic circumstances of returnees . The photos will tell a narrative that reflects one (or more) of the complex areas of impact (i.e. employment, health, gender equality, environment, social inclusion, employment) returnees face. These pictures will be used for publication in print as well as online, including the UNDP website, social media promotion channels and other documents as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Photographers will develop a narrative/angle/subjects to cover based on inputs from knowledgeable project staff in the country offices, to be discussed/finalized with the Communication specialists of UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub.

Scope of work

  • Capture high resolution human-interest images on Roma reintegration, in line with UN ethical guidelines on permissions and photo release forms;
  • Provide caption information as metadata within the individual photo file including: names and ages of protagonists, city, country, date, description of activity;
  • Deliver supportive information for photostories, including quotes from selected protagonists depicted in the photographs;
  • Deliver error-free as high-resolution files (high-res JPEG format at a minimum pixel dimension of 2800 x 4200, 10MB at 300 dpi) within a specified amount of time;
  • Participate in an online social media collaboration, including an Instagram takeover on UNDP Eurasia channels and sharing content on personal social media channels using UNDP Eurasia and the project’s tags.

Expected Outputs

The expected outputs will be:

  1. A collection of 60-­70 photographs per country (at least 20 per municipality) depicting impact relating to reintegration, especially around the following themes: social protection, employment, housing, education;
  2. Finalized (including post-processing and editing) and captioned pictures to illustrate uploaded stories;
  3. Background notes on and quotes from photographed protagonists;
  4. Instagram takeover of UNDP Eurasia channel to create and post content relevant to the assignment (i.e. 1 story (5-8 slides), 3-5 photo posts, possible video post, etc.).

Reporting The successful candidate will administratively be under the overall supervision of IRH Inclusive Growth Team and the Regional Project Manager, but will work collaboratively with IRH’s Digital Communications Specialist, and the Project Communication Specialist to deliver the assignment.

Assignment Duration

The assignment will cover approximately 6-8 working days per Lot. Maximum of 8 working days per Lot is expected from each individual consultant/photographer.

UNDP considers 1 working day as 8 hours of work in total.

Payments:

Payments will be released against expected tasks and outputs and their acceptance by the certifying officer- Communications Specialist.

The contract does not form a financial obligation or commitment from the UNDP at the time the Individual Contract is signed. The volume of work is not guaranteed and will depend on UNDP needs. Financial commitments will be established each time the services are requested within the scope of the Individual Contract.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Travel:

This assignment requires travel missions to the following selected locations for photo shooting:

Lot 1: Albania (Devoll, Fier, Berat);

Lot 2: North Macedonia (Shuto Orizari, Prilep, Shtip); and

Lot 3: Serbia (Novi Sad, Valjevo, Bujanovac).

If the candidate apples for a Lot which is same as their country of residence (duty station), then they need to calculate and include the local travel costs in their offer. If the Lot(s) that the candidate is applying for are different

from their country of residence (duty station), then they need to calculate and include the international travel costs in their offer. Travel costs will not be covered separately by UNDP. The costs that might occur for local and international travel/ missions should be included in the Offeror’s Letter, as this is an all-inclusive contract offer.

Intellectual Property

UNDP maintains non-exclusive rights to all materials pertaining to this project (documentary, digital, project documents, etc), with first selection rights in all media in perpetuity to the final photos selected.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Functional competencies:

  • Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
  • Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
  • Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in Photography, Photojournalism, Journalism, Graphic Design, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Media Relations, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience

  • At least 3 years’ experience in documentary photography;
  • Experience in photographing development-related work or a related field in Europe and Central Asia;
  • Creative approach to *storytelling through photography**;*
  • Previous professional experience with the United Nations or similar organisations in photographing or a related field would be considered an asset.
  • Experience working with/photographing Roma communities would be considered an asset;

Additional requirements

  • Availability and willingness to travel (locally/in-city, in- country);
  • Ownership or possession of high-resolution, state of the art digital camera/equipment is a must.

Language skills

  1. Fluency in English and one of the local languages spoken in the respective target country (Albania, N. Macedonia or Serbia) is required. Knowledge in the language(s) spoken by the local Roma communities will be considered an advantage.

5. Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website.

The application should contain:

  • Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the position described in the provided terms of reference, including proposed narrative idea(s). Please denote in your application what Lot(s) you are applying for. Please sign the cover letter to be provided.
  • At least 5 work samples demonstrating past experience, including photo narratives
  • Filled P11 form or CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
  • Filled Offeror’s Letter for Financial Proposal* in USD – specifying total lump sum amount for tasks specified in this announcement. Daily rate price offer must be all inclusive with a breakdown of professional fee based on expected number of working days, as well as travel costs. Candidates that apply for more than one Lot, need to submit a separate Filled Offeror’s Letter for all inclusive offer for each Lot. For the candidates that are included in the RBEC Roster, the daily fee offered shall not exceed the daily fee rate in the Roster.

(blank template can be downloaded from https://bit.ly/2KO1okS).

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials and work samples.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor (e.g. fee, local and/or international travel, health insurance, professional equipment (e.g. professional photo camera, lights, voice recorder), office supplies, communications, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). Please provide breakdown of expenses in the offer for daily fee rate and travel expenses.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org

General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

6. Evaluation

Lowest price and technically compliant offer. The award of a contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as both: a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and b) offering the lowest price/cost “responsive/compliant/acceptable” fully meeting the TOR provided.

Candidates that obtain a minimum of 49 pts out of a maximum 70 pts will be considered for the financial evaluation. Candidates that do not meet the minimum requirements will be disqualified.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points.

  1. Criteria A (relevant education) – max points: 5
  2. Criteria B (at least 3 years’ experience in documentary photography) – max points: 20
  3. Criteria C (experience in photographing development work or a related field in Europe and Central Asia) – max points: 15
  4. Criteria D (creative approach to storytelling through photography) – max points: 20
  5. Criteria E (previous professional experience with the United Nations or similar organizations in photographing or a related field) – max points: 5
  6. Criteria F (experience working with/photographing Roma communities) – max points: 5

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

7. Annex(es)

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org