ONLINE VOLUNTEERING MARKETING CONSULTANCY

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. Since 1970, UNV has collaborated with a variety of partners at different levels to promote volunteer contributions to sustainable human development and peace. Every year around 8,000 skilled individuals from about 160 nationalities serve as UN Volunteers in about 130 countries (Africa, Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Baltic States and CIS). Many live and work in challenging conditions. The majority of UN Volunteers are from low and middle income countries. UNV also operates the Online Volunteering service, which connects development organizations directly with online volunteers who can provide services and advice over the internet. Every year, UNV mobilizes more than 10,000 online volunteers who undertake more than 15,000 online volunteering assignments. 62 percent of online volunteers come from developing countries. The UNV organization UNV is headquartered in Bonn, Germany and has approximately 150 staff positions – with the majority in Bonn and some positions with different UN peacekeeping and political missions, and in other Headquarters locations (e.g. New York and Tokyo). The major organizational groups within UNV are: the Office of the Executive Coordinator (OEC); the Evaluation Unit (EU); the Corporate Planning and Performance Unit (CPPU); the Volunteer Programme and Management Group (VPMG) comprising the Peace Division (PD) and the Development Division (DD), Volunteer Recruitment Resources Section (VRRS), Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) and Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section (VKIS); the Partnerships and Communications Division (PCD) comprising the Partnerships Section (PS) and the Communications Unit (CU); The Management Services Division (MSD) comprising the Information and Communication Technology Section (ICTS), Finance Section (FS), Human Resources Section (HRS) and the Administration Unit (AU). Additionally the Common Services Unit (CSU) provides support to the UN presence in Bonn. Organizational setting and background The Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation Section enhances UNV’s proactive capacity to mainstream volunteerism into peace and development initiatives through: Promoting sound volunteer management practices, including the development of innovative volunteering solutions (volunteer modalities and volunteer management resources and tools) and the management of the Online Volunteering service; Leading the delivery of volunteerism advisory services for integration of volunteerism for peace and development into policies and programming; and for enhancing the recognition of volunteerism contributions; Leading initiatives for Volunteer Learning and Knowledge management; The UNV Online Volunteering service connects development organizations with volunteers through the Internet and supports their online collaboration. Volunteers contribute their skills online to help organizations address development challenges. Organizations collaborate with online volunteers over the Internet to strengthen the impact of their development work. Since its creation in 2000, the Online Volunteering service has grown steadily. Although disparities exist between countries, the use of Internet technologies continues to expand worldwide. Access to relatively basic and affordable mobile and Web-based communication has opened a new set of opportunities for volunteers to contribute to peace and development. Online volunteering has eliminated the need to be tied to a specific location and online volunteering assignments can be chosen in ways to fit any schedule, greatly increasing freedom and flexibility of volunteer engagement. The benefits of online volunteering are now well known and recognized, attracting an always growing number of individuals and organizations interested to advance peace and development through this efficient means. UNV is currently developing its Strategic Framework for the period 2014-2017, which contains ambitious growth targets for its Online Volunteering service. To support the delivery of expected results, the need for a marketing strategy for the Online Volunteering service has been identified as a critical need that will help the organization to identify and communicate its sustainable comparative advantage including innovative ways of diversifying the product.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives and Scope Under the responsibility of the Online Volunteering Programme Specialist, the Online Volunteering Marketing Consultant is expected to: Analyze the current situation of the Online Volunteering service, including but not limited to: Undertake a desk review of compiled documents. The documents include but are not limited to: UNV Strategic Framework UNV Annual and Executive Board reports UNV Partnership Strategy UNV Communication Strategy and outcome of Communications review (project document; New Corporate Communications) UNV Volunteer Knowledge and Innovation project document Historical documentation on the Online Volunteering service Online Volunteering service reports (narrative, financial, statistical, user surveys) Perform a situation analysis covering UNV Online Volunteering service (goals, culture, strengths and weaknesses, estimated market share, measurement of the Online Volunteering service to UNV’s brand value and social return) users of the Online Volunteering service (size, demographics, values) competitors (mapping, position, market share, strengths and weaknesses, marketing strategy), the service’s environment (technological, political, legal, economic and social environment) Survey of existing and future business needs Conduct direct informant survey to obtain necessary data and explore possible recommendations. Conduct scoping exercise with the Online Volunteering service Identify data collection methods for diverse stakeholders Develop the survey Prepare consultations with stakeholders (UN agencies, CSOs, Governments, Volunteer Sending Organizations, donor countries, private sector, online volunteers, users) and data collection Analyze collected data and produce report Conduct a market segmentation (needs-based) and product relevance analysis Map segments (size, demographics, share of activity, usage of existing services, satisfaction with services, current and future needs, constraints especially technological and economic) Analyze technology trends and innovations and their potential influence on UNV’s future service offer Identify technology trends (e.g. mobile, relationships, data) potentially relevant to differentiate and expand UNV’s service offer Recommend tools and approaches that would allow shaping UNV’s service offer and innovating in the field of online volunteering. Recommendations should contain justifications and requirements. Analyze the resource (financial) implications of the service and the marketability of the products offered as well as potential sources of funding Look for and recommend potential sources of funding Explore private sector and other philanthropists initiatives in different parts of the world Look at full cost recovery mechanisms and the implications for resources Develop a marketing strategy for the Online Volunteering service describing the business objectives, the innovative products and service offered. Identify marketing strategy options providing detailed justifications for each. Options should consider pricing alternatives and include new business opportunities and innovations as well as technological recommendations. Design the marketing strategy, containing segment-specific propositions (Specific recommendations per subset audience UN agencies, CSOs, governments, donor countries, private sector, online volunteers as well as per targeted regions are to be provided): detailed justifications, including business approaches result projections (short term and long-term) risk factors and mitigation steps cost Develop a multi-year marketing plan Analyze organizational capacities and support required for implementation Develop annual implementation plans (concrete road-map detailing specific tools to be produced, methods to be used and actions to be undertaken by various groups of UNV staff: Online Volunteering service team, Field Units, Peace and Development divisions, Partnerships and Communications Division, Management Services Division) Recommend monitoring tools regarding value delivery Methods and Approaches The Online Volunteering Marketing Consultant will be partly home-based with two trips to UNV Headquarters in Bonn, Germany, for initial consultation and final presentation and debriefing. The source of information will be UNV primarily. The consultant will also identify and pursue additional secondary information sources and will be responsible for implementing additional research and exploratory consultations as needed. Methods and tools can be combined at various stages of the process. Guidance to the consultant and support to the process will be provided by the Online Volunteering service team. In addition, a reference group (made up of individuals representing the Development and Peace Divisions, the Partnerships Section and the Communications Section) will provide advice throughout the consultation process. It will contribute to framing the consultation as well as providing feedback on materials emanating from the process. Consultation Process and Deliverables For each of the deliverables below, the consultant is expected to submit a draft, to which s/he will incorporate the Online Volunteering service team’s and reference group’s comments (up to two rounds of comments) before submitting a final version. See link to the detailed TOR which shows the full deliverable table

Competencies

Proven track record of developing marketing strategies, especially for services-focused business and marketing for non-profits; Excellent competence in conducting market and product analysis In depth knowledge in online user behavior and online user analytics; Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards; Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: An advanced university degree in marketing, business management, or other relevant field. Experience: Technical personnel must have a minimum of 5 years of experience in marketing; Experience in the field of online services and advanced knowledge of trends and new developments in the field of technology Experience in innovation and product development Knowledge of UN agencies and or similar organisations and their needs would be an asset Language: Fluency in written and spoken English is an absolute requirement. Knowledge of French and/or Spanish is an asset Important: UNV will interview the proposed technical personnel consultant to determine the technical competencies of the Offeror. For more detailed information including the evaluation criteria and required information, please follow the link below: http://www.unv.org/fileadmin/docdb/pdf/2013/procurement/TOR_Consultant_OV-Marketing.pdf How to apply Applications should be submitted online via the UNDP Job shop. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Applications submitted by e-mail, fax or mail will not be considered. This consultancy is open to individuals and companies. Companies wishing to apply with multiple consultants should submit through the UNDP Job Shop one application per consultant with the name of the consultant followed by the company name in brackets; e.g. Joe Bloggs (Acme); John Doe (Acme). By submitting an application, UNV expects that you have read and agree with the TOR and the UNV Terms and Conditions for Individuals or the UNV Terms and Conditions for Professional Services (Companies). For any queries, please send an e-mail to procurement@unv.org, att.: Marc Wharton with ‘Online Volunteering Marketing Consultant Ref. No. 37791’ in the subject line. Financial proposal: The technical part of the proposal must not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated. UNV expects a lump sum financial proposal, the Offeror is expected to show the total cost and breakdown by key milestone within each phase of work. Daily staff rates and number of man days required by each milestone must be provided. The offer must cover all costs, including any expected travel costs, per diem costs and admin costs. The financial proposal should be submitted in a separate e-mail to procurement@unv.org with ‘Online Volunteering Marketing Consultant Ref. No. 37791-‘Your Name’ Financial Offer’.

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.

http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=38796