Terms of Reference - Communication and Visibility Officer

Introduction

The Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) is an international inter-governmental organisation established to enhance regional cooperation, promote shared learning and support the development of public administration in the Western Balkans. ReSPA Members are the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, and the Republic of Serbia, while Kosovo* is a beneficiary of ReSPA activities. ReSPA’s purpose is to help governments in the Western Balkan region develop better public administration, public services and overall governance systems for their citizens and businesses, and prepare them for membership in the European Union (EU). The decision-making body of ReSPA is the Governing Board composed of the Members’ governments representatives and the European Commission participates in its works in the capacity of Observer. The activities of ReSPA are executed by its Secretariat which is located in Danilovgrad, Montenegro.

The European Commission (EC) provides directly managed funds for support of ReSPA activities (networking meetings, research and capacity development activities) in line with the EU accession process. The overall objective financed by the current EC grant (concluded for the three years’ period) is to support the public administrations of the Western Balkans to provide better services for citizens and businesses. The specific objective of the project aims to improve the implementation of the key horizontal governance and public administration reform fields identified in the national PAR strategies.

Purpose

Compliant with the recommendations from the EC ROM Report, identifying need for increased visibility and communication with the regional stakeholders, the implementation of the current EC Grant profiles outputs to ensure solid promotion of the activities through the professional communications with the relevant audience and ensuring the visibility of the results achieved by ReSPA.
Communication and visibility should be achieved in accordance with the Communication and Visibility Action Plan of the EC Grant (Annex 1), and aligning ReSPA practices with the new Communication and Visibility in EU-financed External Actions requirements (the document is available on the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/communication-visibility-requirements-2018_en.pdf).

The purpose of engagement of the Communication and Visibility Officer (C&VO) is to provide the ReSPA Secretariat with a project employee in the domain of Communications and Visibility, in order to implement the Communication and Visibility Action Plan of the EC Grant and align ReSPA practices with the requirements for Communication and Visibility in EU-financed External Actions. The C&VO shall operate under the guidance of the Director of ReSPA and other relevant ReSPA managerial staff. This is the International Staff position.

Objectives and Scope of the Assignment

The Objectives of the Assignment are to:
• Strengthen ReSPA’s influence by highlighting results achieved through the implementation of the EC Grant;
• Prepare information and practical illustrations for media about ReSPA results and activities;
• Increase influence on decision and policy makers and implementers to clearly accept, promote, and implement PAR, especially related to the complex thematic areas covered by the Programme Committee and ReSPA regional Working Groups;
• Involve ReSPA staff and Governing Board members in communication and advocacy activities with the purpose of promotion of programmatic results and relevant recommendations for PAR enhancement;
• Boost the visibility and impact of the most important ReSPA research documents, such as policy papers and regional comparative studies;
• Attract wider interests and deepen public awareness related to the importance of having and linking strategic projects with regional practical needs, with cross-cutting and value-added effects;
• Increase internal capacities and boost available resources towards identifying and promotion of good practices, recommendations and policies resulting from ReSPA work processes and its outcomes.

The Scope of the Assignment is closely related to reaching out to the following target audiences:
• Direct beneficiaries of ReSPA activities (public institutions in ReSPA Members and Kosovo* whose representatives are either involved in ReSPA activities or are directly supported by ReSPA: senior and mid-level public servants working in the ministries and governmental agencies responsible for PAR and European Integration, and in other relevant line ministries);
• High-ranking officials of ReSPA’s partner ministries/ regional key decision makers;
• Organizations that ReSPA collaborates with in assisting the Western Balkan governments to introduce and support PAR (European and global change agents committed to social/political change and reform for development, universal and regional organisations connected with PAR, relevant agencies in the EU countries, academic and research institutions in the Western Balkans and the EU);
• Promoters of effective PAR and regional cooperation (business associations, professional organizations, and regional organisations);
• National and international media in the Western Balkans;
• Direct and indirect users of public services in ReSPA Members and Kosovo*.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The C&VO should use communications and advocacy mechanisms and tools that are the most appropriate in the ReSPA’s programme outreach efforts towards the target audiences, in order to positively impact the standing of ReSPA activities financed by the EC Grant in the region that it covers, as well as among partners, with special emphasis on the European Commission (EC) as the main donor.

The C&VO shall perform the following tasks:

1. Develop and implement, in consultation with the Director of ReSPA, and other relevant managerial staff, the communication practices and visibility guidelines in relation to the implemented activities financed by the EC Grant;
2. Maintain, further develop, publish and disseminate the ReSPA newsletter and other publications;
3. Support the Secretariat in improving ways on how information, data and results are organised to increase quality of data that support ReSPA’s key messages, and that information and communication is organised in an appealing manner, in particular through the upgrade of the ReSPA website;
4. Assist the Secretariat in developing contacts with communications and public relations departments in partner institutions, moderate and involve them to participate on the occasion of joint events; in collaboration with them, prepare media advisories to announce events to the media and draft media releases to send out after/right at the end of the events;
5. Prepare drafts of texts about ReSPA activities and achievements for the ReSPA website, organised in easily readable format, including re-design of web site and it’s content;
6. Develop and increase communication and visibility of ReSPA in Social Media Platforms with its stakeholders, expert groups and community of practitioners, involved in implementation of EC Grant Activities;
7. Increase internal capacities and provide support in collecting materials for preparing event short video clips/teasers and annual or target based video clips, containing statements from the ReSPA Stakeholders and/or the Secretariat, including their distribution through media, social media and other appropriate channels;
8. Provide support in presenting important ReSPA’s results – including ReSPA Members’ success stories, using as many communication channels as possible;
9. Provide support to the Secretariat in promoting ReSPA’s specific contributions to the Western Balkans’s development towards European Integration (events, initiatives and activities envisaged in the EC Grant including presentations of comparative studies and follow up on their policy recommendations);
10. Monitor, collect and chronologically archive regional and international news of interest to the objectives of the EC Grant implementation;
11. Other tasks in the field of communications and visibility that may occur during the assignment, and are closely related to ReSPA activities, such as providing assistance in preparation of the ReSPA reporting documents.

Necessary Qualifications

The C&VO shall possess the following qualifications:
• University degree in social sciences;
• Minimum 5 years of experience in dealing with communications, media, marketing in private or public-sector institution / organisation in the Western Balkan region the EU financed projects or similar;
• Hands on experience in drafting newsletters, managing of information for websites, and/ or drafting annual reports in the English language;
• Proficiency in English language (C Level as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages proved by an internationally recognised certificate), and at least one official language of ReSPA Members (Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin or Serbian);
• Advanced computer literacy;
• Good understanding of web-design;
• Ability to work with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds;
• Excellent organisational skills, proven communication and presentation skills and ability to work in an environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors including government representatives, international organizations, and other stakeholders.

The C&VO shall possess the following competencies and core values:
• Demonstrates professional competence to meet responsibilities and task requirements, and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Results orientation: plans and produces quality results to meet established goals, generates innovative and practical solutions to challenging situations;
• Communication: possesses excellent communication skills, including the ability to convey complex concepts and recommendations in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences;
• Teamwork: is able to interact, establish and maintain effective working relations with a culturally diverse team;
• Client orientation: is able to establish and maintain productive partnerships with regional and national partners and stakeholders, and pro-actively identify and address the needs of beneficiaries and partners;
• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling ReSPA values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Time-frame and Location

The C&VO will be engaged within the period of the EC Grant implementation and will be based in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. The initial contract will be concluded for one year with the probation period of three months and possibility of extension upon satisfactory performance up to three years, or the final date of EC Grant Contract implementation period.

Eligibility

Applicants must be nationals of the ReSPA Members.

Remunerations

The gross monthly salary envisaged for this engagement is up to EUR 2,450.00. ReSPA will make relevant deductions from this amount for health and travel insurance. The applicant may benefit from applicable privileges and immunities envisaged for ReSPA International Staff by the Host Country Agreement concluded between ReSPA and the Government of Montenegro.

Application Information

Qualified applicants are invited to send the below documents rendered into English by 1 July 2019 by 17:00 Central European Time vie e-mail to jobs@respaweb.eu .

The submitted documentation will include the following scanned documents:
1. Cover letter explaining the motivation for the Assignment;
2. Curriculum Vitae including information on relevant knowledge and experience and contact details;
3. University Diploma;
4. Internationally recognised certificate proving C level of English (level defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

The original documents referred to under 3. and 4. have to be presented if the applicant is invited to the further selection process.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.