Strategic Communications Support for the High Anti-Corruption Court
The EUACI is committed to providing technical assistance to the establishment and operational development of the HACC by supporting key national stakeholders as well as the HACC judges and judicial and administrative staff of the court.
Objective
The objective of the assignment is to contribute to the establishment of a fully functional HACC. The assignment will contribute towards this end by ensuring that the HACC operates with a clearly defined media and communication strategy, including by assisting the Court in setting up an effective operational framework for communication-related activities. EUACI intends to make this contribution by signing a contract with a relevant professional service provider.
Scope of Work
The service provider shall deliver the following specific tasks:
- Conduct situation analysis and assess the detailed needs of the HACC related to external communications, including a clear mapping of divisions of roles and responsibilities among judicial and administrative staff as well as the envisaged resources (human, budget, equipment) that will be available for delivering planned communication activities;
- Facilitate the development of a vision and mission statement for HACC’s external communication activities, including a description of what successful communication would look like, as well as an assessment of risks and description of mitigating strategies;
- Facilitate the preparation of a draft media and communication strategy, describing the key stakeholders as well as actions that will be taken over the coming period to deliver on the vision and mission statement, the resources that will be made available for the implementation of the strategy, and the procedures that will be followed to monitor and adjust the strategy during implementation;
- Assist the HACC in setting up its operational framework for communication-related activities;
- Develop a crisis manual for the HACC aligned with the assessed risks and mitigation strategies. The crisis manual should include a definition of what constitutes the crisis, crisis management checklist and detailed action plan, including an outline of sample statements/media content to be applied while managing the crisis situation;
- Provide assistance to the HACC, including its spokespersons/communications experts in the implementation of the media and communications strategy, including crisis communications;
- Conduct training and on-the-job coaching sessions for the spokespersons assisting in effectively communicating key messages, polish narratives and preparing for media interviews;
- Assist in developing the HACC press office’s capacity, including the development of a media database and media monitoring;
- Assist and guide the communication experts/spokespersons of the HACC in performing daily tasks and in particular the preparation of media products (press-releases, social media posts, public comments and statements) for HACC;
- Ensure systematic communication with key stakeholders, including the Kyiv-based, regional and specialized media outlets to guarantee required stakeholder reach.
Timeframe
The strategic communication support shall be delivered during the preparatory phase as well as the first operational /positioning phase of the HACC (May 2019 – February 2020).
The commencement date is the date of signature of the contract by both parties and the period of implementation of the contract will be up to 10 months with the possibility of extension.
Outputs
The key outputs to be delivered during the assignment are reflected in the scope of work above and include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- A situation analysis and assessment report defining needs and providing recommendations for the HACC concerning strategic communications;
- Vision and Mission Statement;
- Media and communications strategy as well as crisis manual for HACC;
- Role and functions of the HACC are properly communicated by HACC to the media and the public;
- Training needs assessment and identification of key priority areas for training activities for the first two years of operational activity of the HACC.
A final project report should be prepared and shared with the HACC and EUACI with a view to present a summary of the achievements made against the scope of work above, the key outstanding issues and the recommended follow-up actions to be taken by the HACC to increase the effectiveness of HACC’s media and communication activities.
Professional Requirements
The service provider shall possess the following professional experience:
- Intensive experience related to strategic communications and media, including the development of comprehensive strategies, crisis tools and public statements;
- Experience of working with governmental institutions as well as international organizations or technical assistance projects assisting anti-corruption efforts of Ukraine.
The services should be provided by a team of experts, including strategic advisor/counsellor, media relations manager and project leader/assistant. Experts need to be fluent in English and Ukrainian.
The services are expected to be implemented part-time with inputs based on a work plan agreed with HACC that takes into account the division of roles and responsibilities between the team and the availability of the concerned HACC staff.
Monitoring and evaluation
Definition of indicators
The performance of the contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the sections “objectives” and “outputs” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the contractors will be assessed by EUACI upon successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated above.
Special requirements
By signing the contract, the contractors agree to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents ("confidential information"), disclosed to the contractors or discovered by the contractors or prepared by the contractors in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contract, and agrees that it shall be used only for the purposes of the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party.
The contractor reports to the EUACI. The contractor shall be briefed prior to starting with the assignment. The contractor shall de-brief the EUACI prior to finalising the assignment.
Cross-cutting issues (integration of the youth, equal opportunities)
The assignment will be implemented ensuring equal opportunities for men and women and the integration of the youth.
Selection
The following documents should be submitted to the e-mail [email protected] with the subject “Strategic Communications Support for the HACC”:
- Concept note/methodology for service delivery (max. 5 pages);
- Team of proposed experts with CVs;
- Total service fee and the individual expert fee level. The maximum budget for the service delivery shall not exceed 20.000 EUR.
- Contact information of at least two references.
Deadline for applications is May 3 (Friday) 2019. Please note the deadline for applications is extended till 9 May.
The service provider will be selected in two stages:
- Assessment of received applications against the requirements listed in this announcement;
- Interview with the EUACI.
For any questions, please contact Halyna Kokhan, the Anti-Corruption Expert at EUACI ([email protected])
Please note the deadline for applications is extended till 9 May