Communications Consultant for ECHO Odette Response in Bohol At Acción contra el Hambre España

Title: Immediate and Comprehensive Response for Communities Affected by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines

Purpose: With the influx of projects for the Typhoon Odette Emergency Response, a heightened need to capture Action Against Hunger’s programs on the ground and effectively communicate the impact of the typhoon on affected communities to our respective audiences.

The Communications Consultant will provide crucial support to the Communications Department and overall Project Team by documenting activities and human-interest stories through good quality photos, videos, and articles that adheres to Action Against Hunger branding and guidelines as well as donor’s branding and standard deliverables.

Reporting to: Head of Project

Duration: Minimum of 30 days

Consultancy start date: Immediate

Other requirements:

This position is open to all interested applicants with preference given to applicants who are from the project areas and who know the language and culture. For a successful application, Action Against Hunger will not cover the cost of airfare, accommodation, COVID-19 testing, and in-land travel cost to Bohol.

1. ABOUT ACTION AGAINST HUNGER’S TY ODETTE EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Super Typhoon Rai (locally known as Odette) entered the Philippine area of responsibility late evening of 14 December 2021. It quickly intensified into the typhoon category with recorded wind speeds of 195 km/hour and gustiness of up to 240 km/hour. It made eight landfalls across six provinces from 16 to 17 December, initially in the province of Surigao del Norte, and then moving on to the provinces of Dinagat Islands, Southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Palawan. Odette exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on 18 December as the strongest storm to hit Mindanao in 10 years and the 3rd ever strongest recorded storm in the Northern Hemisphere.

According to the 11 January 2022 report from the Philippine Government’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), a total of 8.07 million persons were affected by the typhoon. About 166,883 persons are still taking temporary shelter in evacuation centers while 41,597 are temporarily staying with relatives or friends.

According to the UN World Food Program, the price of many basic goods, including essential food items, has increased due to the disruption of the supply chain caused by the typhoon. In the areas that were badly hit by the typhoon, prices of essential goods have doubled.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated on their revised Humanitarian Needs and Priorities document released on 02 February 2022 that USD 169 million is needed in the following sectors: Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Education, Emergency Shelter, Emergency Telecommunications, Food Security and Agriculture, Health, Nutrition, Logistics, Protection, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH), Early Recovery, and Coordination.

1. SCOPE OF WORK

The communications consultant will be working closely with the Head of Base, Head of Project-based in Bohol, as well as the Communications Officer based in Manila. The scope of work are:

1. Document project activities of ECHO Typhoon Odette Emergency Response, and produce quality photos consistent with Action Against Hunger’s brand and ECHO/consortium project while focusing on cross-cutting themes i.e. gender, climate change, etc.
2. Conduct qualitative interviews with beneficiaries, and/or affected community members, stakeholders, or partners, and produce quality articles for human interest stories.
3. Ensure that the project complies with donor visibility requirements.
4. Accompany/support video production team on
5. COORDINATION
6. Coordinate with the HOP on the schedule of planned activities.
7. Coordinate with HOB and HOP on security and agenda.
8. Coordinate with HOP and project staff when interviewing identified beneficiaries.
9. Coordinate with Communications Officer on project visibility guidelines.
10. Coordinate with Communications Officer on submission of above-standard visibility materials to deliver.
11. DELIVERABLES

Action Against Hunger will require from the communications consultant the following outputs:

Output

1. At least one (1) set of photo essays/ 8-12 photos per set. Photo essays should already include captions. To be submitted

Specifications

• Captions/essay should not exceed 150 words.
• Minimum of 8 good quality photos per set.

Deadline

On or before end of the contract duration

Output

2. Three to five (3-5) photos with captions to be submitted weekly to the Communications Officer and Head of Project

Specifications

• With project documentation report and captions
• With social media content form

Deadline

Weekly:

Week 1 (June 24)

Week 2 (July 1)

Week 3 (July 8)

Week 4 (July 15)

Output

3. Three to five (3-5) human-interest stories/feature articles

Specifications

• Minimum of 400 words
• In-action and profile photos of interviewees with captions
• With social media content form

Deadline

Bi-weekly

Week 1 (June 24)

Week 2 (July 8)

Output

4. Four (4) written activity update articles

Specifications

• Minimum of 150 words; must be submitted 1 day after the activity date
• In-action and profile photos of interviewees with captions
• With social media content form

Deadline

One (1) day after each activity date; or bi-weekly

Week 1 (June 24)

Week 2 (July 8)

Output

5. All raw photos and, audio recordings, notes, transcriptions, videos, including signed consent forms, must be turned over to Action Against Hunger Communications Department

Specifications

• Submitted via external hard drive and/or download link

Deadline

On or before the end of the contract duration

5. TIMELINE OF ENGAGEMENT

Total consultancy days: Minimum of 30 days either consecutive or intermittent, depending on the work plan agreed upon between Action Against Hunger and the consultant.

1. OBLIGATION OF ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

Action Against Hunger will provide:

1. Relevant documents, primer, code of conduct, PSEA, security in the field relevant program documents
2. Consultant will be integrated as part of the project implementation team
3. Basic logistic support (area-to-area field visits/activities)
4. Oversight to consultant
5. Payment of the consultant upon successful completion and submission of agreed outputs
6. Basic PPE during visits/activities
7. KEY COMPETENCY OF CONSULTANT

The consultant has preferably the following key competencies:

1. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, Tagalog, and Boholano/Cebuano
2. Experience drafting articles and press releases
3. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher.
4. Proven experience in photography or videography
5. Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, and video editing is a plus.
6. Familiar with donor communication and visibility guidelines
7. Ability to work under pressure and adapt to an evolving and complex humanitarian context and within multidisciplinary and different cultural background teams

8.. CONDITIONS

• Consultant will provide their own equipment (camera, voice recorder, etc.)
• Consultant will provide for their own accommodation.
• Consultant will provide for their own transportation.
• All outputs must comply with Action Against Hunger Branding and Visibility Guidelines, and policies on Data Protection, Child Protection, Safeguarding, Gender, and other related policies.
• The consultant should be available to work on weekends if needed.

Payment Terms are as follows:

1. 40% upon signing of the contract
2. 30% upon validated submission of:

• 1 set of Photo Essay
• 3 Human Interest Stories
• 4 Activity Stories

1. 30% upon completion of all validated deliverables required.