Background:

The extra-budgetary project “Assisting the National Authorities of the Republic of North Macedonia to Decrease the Risk of Weapon Proliferation and Misuse of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)” aims to support the country’s efforts to implement international commitments in preventing and combating SALW proliferation, therefore, contributing to the overall security and stability of the country.

As part of the efforts to enhance the awareness-raising capacity of the National SALW Commission, project visibility, and communication, the project will engage a National Communications Consultant who will be entrusted with substantive responsibilities in providing necessary expertise and advice in designing a public awareness campaign including coordinated, inter-institutional and comprehensive awareness-raising outreach activities, constructive engagement and dialogue with the public, to reduce the offer, demand and misuse and threats of SALW based on previously designed Communication Strategy for the National SALW Commission. Moreover, the National Communications Consultant will be responsible for increasing the project visibility, including but not limited to creating five videos reflecting each project activity result and one video summarizing the project results, finalizing the Visibility and Communication Plan, and will be involved in its implementation.

Objective of Assignment: 

The National Communications Consultant shall be responsible for designing a public awareness-raising campaign and outreach activities to reduce the offer, demand, and misuse and on threats of SALW based on previously created Communication Strategy for the National SALW Commission. The campaign shall be designed in line with the objectives indicated in the Communication Strategy of the National SALW Commission. The National Communications Consultant shall provide expertise, advice, and guidance to the members of the National SALW Commission, while the campaign’s objective will be to increase public safety by increasing public awareness of the dangers of illegal possession and misuse of SALW. In addition, the campaign will contribute to the voluntary handover, legalization, registration, and deactivation and destruction of SALW.

The goal of the visibility activities will be to promote the project, OSCE, and donor contributions to the project. The activities link the project activities and achievements to the donors, stakeholders, and general public. Several visibility materials will be developed to present the project results, including leaflets, folders, pens, photographic and video materials for social media presence, and six videos to increase project visibility. The visibility materials will be utilized throughout the project to promote the OSCE and the project donors during national and international events and on external communication channels. The National Communications Consultant will assist in the development of communication materials, as well as visibility plans- and activities for the project.

Duration of Assignment:

The foreseen period of engagement will be from March 2024 to December 2025, not exceeding 140 working days, tentatively 60 days in 2024 and 80 days in 2025.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the direct guidance of the ExB Media Officer and overall supervision of the Project Coordinator, in cooperation with the members of the Project Implementation Team, the National Communications Consultant shall be tasked to:

1. Develop a detailed work plan outlining activities for the entire duration of the engagement with specific deadlines for the distribution of deliverables (outputs);
2. Implement a public awareness campaign for the National SALW Commission in line with the Communication Strategy in coordination with the hired media company responsible for the development of the public awareness campaign;
3. Contribute to the development of the public awareness campaign, focusing on, but not limited to, the following:
   a.    Communication products
   b.    Campaign slogans
   c.    Define target groups
   d.    Key messages for each identified target group
   e.    Select communication channels and message delivery methods
   f.    Identify amplifiers (individuals. organizations, media, etc.);
4. Engage with and support the National SALW Commission in raising its capacity for strategic communications jointly with relevant technical staff;
5. Support the development and rollout of awareness-raising campaigns in alignment with the priorities identified by the National SALW Commission, including managing contracts with external providers of media campaigns jointly with the relevant technical staff;
6. Assist in the production of compelling, relevant content that uses a consistent tone, style, and language to communicate to the target audience;
7. Identify areas for more effective communication and engagement with the public and civil society;
8. Develop and deliver a communication plan according to the project’s needs and priorities;
9. Assist in implementing the social media plan to generate maximum positive local and international coverage of the project activities;
10. Contribute to developing social media messaging and toolkits with draft messages, corresponding links, and appropriate visual content for the project;
11. Schedule weekly social media content for the project and ensure that all necessary clearances are obtained before publishing;
12. Provide communications support for events and conferences for the project;
13. Provide quantitative and qualitative evaluation based on indicators for monitoring the outreach effects of the project to ensure continued improvement;
14. Collect input from both internal and external stakeholders for media-related activities and ensure compliance with visibility guidelines set by stakeholders;
15. Prepare report after finalization of tasks and responsibilities, including detailed descriptions of the activities, achieved output, and potential impacts;
16. Perform other related duties as requested.

Tentative distribution of tasks related to the Public Awareness Campaign for the National SALW Commission: 

1. Coordination meeting with the Project Coordinator and Media Officer (1 working day)
2. Initial meeting with the National SALW Commission (1 working day)
3. Elaborate a detailed work plan (1 working day)
4. Prepare and propose a draft the Public Awareness Campaign (4 working days)
5. Content development of the Public Awareness Campaign (10 working days)
6. Involvement in the Public Awareness Campaign implementation (60 working days)
7. Create social media output for SALW (40 working days)
8. Coordinate the creation of six videos for the project visibility (20 working days)
9. Prepare the Final Activity Report after the finalization of tasks and responsibilities focusing on the outreach effects of the Public Awareness Campaign and visibility activities (3 working days)

Deliverables:

• Detailed work plan
• Draft public awareness campaign
• Final public awareness campaign
• SALW social media concept developed
• Videos for SALW promotion targeted to donors
• Short videos and other materials related to the project visibility
• Final activity report

Necessary Qualifications:

• Citizenship of or permanent residence in the Republic of North Macedonia;
• University degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in media, business and communication, marketing, public relations, or social science-related fields. Advanced degree in public relations, communications, marketing, or related areas in the social sciences field will be considered an asset;
• A minimum of six (6) years of experience in government communications projects, campaigns (i.e., PR), strategic communications, conducting awareness-raising campaigns, capacity building (i.e., training, workshops), implementation of Communications Strategies, and awareness campaigns with strong social impact;
• A minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in directing the development, pre-production, production, principal photography, wrap, and post-production and participation, professional experience in graphics and visualization tools, professional experience in developing scenarios for informational and storytelling videos in at least two (2) implemented projects in line with the scope of requested services;
• Experience in the development and implementation of awareness campaigns related to public safety security or policing will be considered an asset;
• Ability to deliver top-quality communications content on time while establishing good relations with multiple stakeholders;
• Ability to gather and interpret information from various sources, such as statistics, reports, news, and articles;
• Proven record of working independently and taking initiative in developing communication products about complex and politically sensitive areas;
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills;
• Experience with managing influencers and user-generated content is preferred;
• Experience in working with international organizations is an advantage;
• Professional fluency in the English language, both oral and written, and ability to provide all deliverables in Macedonian and English. The ability to provide deliverables in the Albanian language is considered an asset;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant’s/expert’s qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

Travel required to fulfil the terms of the agreement will be covered by the Mission according to the OSCE travel policy.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE’s online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization. 

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.