Formulation of an Advocacy And Communications Strategy On Human Development Reports for Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan

UNDP, as the lead agency in recovery and development, has been entrusted by UN System globally with the essential task of supporting national monitoring and reporting on human development.

The Human Development Report (HDR) is an independent report that has been used as one of the main dynamic advocacy tools for UNDP for advancing the human development conceptual framework and in applying it to the current most pressing development challenges. Under the guidance of the national advisory committee on Human Development UNDP Sudan and in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security (MoWSS) has recruited an independent team of intellectuals from the University of Gezira to prepare a solid analysis, report and recommendation to enhance the national progress on the selected human development themes. The theme of the Report is Peace and Human Development with title of “Geography of Peace: Putting human Development at the centre of peace in Sudan. The Report was launched in July 3rd 2011 before the separation of the country into North and South Sudan. The second Sudan National Human Development process is currently under process and the Report will be released by the year 2012.

The principal objective of these reports is contribute to national consensus building and policy formulation with in-depth focused perspectives and analysis on national circumstances and strategies for advancing human development in order to mobilize various sectors of society. To fully achieve this, an NHDR must not only present well-written and substantive information. Equally important are the actions taken once the report is published, through strategies that encompass sustained outreach campaigns as well as materials and events tailored for different audiences. While it is rare for a single document to produce direct policy changes, which are more likely to emerge through sustained advocacy over time, the right steps must be taken to translate the messages of the reports into concrete progress, keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is poverty reduction and growth with equity, as well as the expansion of human freedoms and participation.

UNDP has generally played a strong leadership role in countries where continued human development advocacy has catalyzed genuine policy changes, while drawing together a range of partners to implement them. In countries that have produced a series of HDRs, deepening ownership over time has sometimes encouraged other groups to assume this responsibility.

In this context, the formulation of a comprehensive Advocacy and Communications Strategy on NHDR will contribute to ensuring more consistency in the related messages and activities in Sudan. The NHDR Advocacy and Follow-up Stage includes working with communication and media experts for developing outreach and dissemination strategy for NHDR, along with tools to assess and monitor the impact of NHDR. The Action Plan of the Strategy should include various communications and awareness interventions to facilitate the mobilization of financial contributions from the UN Agencies and other donors. The Communications Strategy will aim to create awareness around the NHDRs processes, as a valuable tools and platform for programme and policy development, and promote debate on the NHDRs at the local level.

The operationlization of this strategy will be coordinated by a specially recruited National Consultant working closely with the Ministry of Communication through academic institutions, National TV & Radio & CSOs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The NHDR communication consultant will work under the guidance and leadership of the project manager of the National Human Development Report according to the work plan approved by UNDP for the preparation of this report and liase closely with the team of Authors in developing the below outputs In doing so, the consultant recruited for this position will ensure that the outreach and communication strategy for the NHDRs meets the quality standards set by UNDP for its Human Development Report series. To this effect, the consultant will:

*Develop an outreach and dissemination media campaign strategy/publicity & operational plan on Advocacy and Communications on NHDR 2010 and reports series to:

• raise public awareness
• generate action on critical human development concerns from key messages

* Ensure NHDR findings influence UNDP, UN and other donor programming and develop and interactive materials from NHDR 2010 to stimulate debate and share resources in internet networks.

* Advise on the identification of stakeholders to be involved and/or targeted by the strategy in addition to sustainability.

* Recommend programmatic approaches to achieve the goals of the strategy (especially in the area of linkages and relations to other government institutions, Ministry of Information, media, and civil society)

* Develop and outline criteria for maximizing and measuring/assessing impacts the of NHDR 2010 messages.

* Plan the preparation of policy advocacy and information campaign throughout year (press kits, booklets and newspaper features/articles etc) and communication/promotional materials for NHDR 2010 and provide inputs on the contents of website.

* Provide guidance and specific recommendations on how the project team and UNDP can improve performance (both substantive and management) for future projects in support of NHDRs.

Expected outputs:

The expected outputs will be a full detailed report at the end of the assignment outlining all the above responsibilities.

Proposed duration of consultancy:

The assignment will be home-based with estimated duration of 60 calendar days.

Competencies

• A strong understanding and experience in human development issues.
• Wide contact and knowledge with the media and public relations; networking, and organizational skills;
• familiarity with communications approaches for planning, executing, and monitoring communications strategies and knowledge of the preparation of website
• Excellent knowledge in English and Arabic as well as computer/information systems skills
• Work experience in conflict/post-conflict country and familiarity with the situation in Sudan's political, socio-economic, government and research – would be an asset.
• Must be creative and resourceful.

Required Skills and Experience

• At least 10 years of work experience in the field of international development, with a focus on social policy and development, and, contribution to at least three HDRs.
• Practical experience in coordinating development projects of a similar nature, such as policy research studies or consultancy reports.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.