Public Call for Retender n. 83462104- Communication and Content Monitoring Consultant PN 21.2202.6-003.00 (Part II)

1. Brief information on the project

The project “Strengthening the influence of Palestinian refugees on their living conditions in the MENA region (PART II)” was commissioned by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in December 2021 to improve the capability of Palestinian refugees to influence their living conditions. The project is active in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Lebanon and its main political partner is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It also works in close cooperation with host government institutions as well as local NGOs and CBOs.

2. Context

The Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) is an inter-ministerial committee directly linked to and mandated by the Lebanese Presidency of the Council of Ministers to deal with Palestinian refugees’ affairs in Lebanon. The committee is currently serving as a focal point to address the file between the Palestinian refugees and local and international stakeholders, so as to provide policy recommendations to the Government of Lebanon based on the national interests of the Lebanese people and the rights of Palestinian refugees to live in dignity and respect, until a durable and lasting solution is found.

In light of the delicate situation that Lebanon has been in up to this point, LPDC aims to maintain its communication with all relevant parties and stakeholders, including the Palestinian community in Lebanon, the Lebanese government represented by the involved in-line ministries and institutions, donors, pertinent INGOs, and the Lebanese community, among others.

LPDC is also working on the monitoring of all risks and challenges that Lebanon could be prone to face in the coming period. Monitoring and tracking are essential at this moment as it is a challenging period to Lebanon and to the Palestinian community by and large. LPDC is cognizant of the incumbent risks and uses monitoring tools for situation assessment and policy recommendations to the relevant parties.

The LPDC strives to use its online communication channels to publish content on its website and social media accounts, as well as to disseminate information and counter false ones. Additionally, the committee aims to constructively communicate its activities and updates about the file to its audience.

In order to achieve this task, LPDC's communication channels must be continuously updated with clear information that takes the context's sensitivity into consideration.

In this context, the services of a communication and content monitoring individual consultant are requested to assist LPDC with its communication implementation, day-to-day visibility work, proactive support to the LPDC management and team in the committee’s work where needed and working toward improving the relations between the two communities through evidence-based journalism.

3. GIZ shall hire the consultant for the anticipated contract term, from 01 July 2024 to 30.11.2024

The services described in Section 4 shall be provided until 30.11.2024.

4. The consultant shall provide the following service:

The communication and content monitoring individual consultant is responsible for monitoring and tracking local and international media platforms tackling the Palestinian context in all its aspects.

Tasks:

Managing and overseeing social media channels:

• Manage LPDC’s communication channels (Website and social media platforms);
• Manage the SEO and CMS modules on LPDC’s website,
• Maintain LPDC’s website up to date on a regular basis, and monitor the performance and traffic of the latter,
• Coordinate continuously with the company responsible for the hosting and maintenance of the website;
• Develop and maintain a database on LPDC’s website and email addresses to enhance the committee’s outreach;
• Feed LPDC’s website to function as a resource-hub for researchers and journalists (including proposing new research and sections as deemed necessary);
• Manage and maintain LPDC’s social media platforms and provide recommendations on posts, captions, etc. paying close attention to the context of which LPDC operates;
• Maintain and update the existing photobank that can be accessed and used by the LPDC team;

Monitoring and reporting of media news:

• Monitor, track and scan LPDC’s online media coverage from social media channels for news and mentions about LPDC and other relevant related news on the Palestinian file (including reporting during crisis events, emergent clashes, etc.)
• Monitor, track and scan LPDC’s ground media coverage from CSOs and CBOs for news and mentions about LPDC and other relevant related news on the Palestinian file;
• Contribute at length to the general reporting in light of any emergent conflict and incident in Lebanon and in the MENA region;

Strengthening internal and external communication:

• Keep a constant updated communication with the LPDC team members, sharing useful links and news relative to the specificity of each department and to any emergent conflict, clashes and incidents in the region;
• Maintain a constant external communication with the audience by improving systems for increased information sharing (newsletter, answering messages and comments on LPDC’s social media platforms);

Content creation:

• Provide creative visualizing materials/instruments including video editing for interviews, and interventions and content focusing on LPDC’s projects/pillars adaptive to LPDC’s different social media platforms (Website, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.);
• Translate LPDC data and content into engaging and understandable visual material for social media posts;
• Provide content in Arabic and English languages and ensure quality control of all communication materials in Arabic language, including but not limited to editing and proofreading (including newsletter, publications, videos, speeches, etc.);
• Keep working on “Jousour” news supplement by collaborating with young writers and artists, copy-edit and proof-read written output in Arabic Language as needed;
• Write articles, stories, contribute to LPDC’s newssupplement “Jousour” considering the political context of Lebanon and the region and the Palestinian file by and large.

LPDC communication planning and strategy:

• Synchronize LPDC’s National framework strategy with the communication strategy and do the necessary adaptation as deemed necessary in light of the emergent key events in the country and the MENA region;

Content support to management:

• Assist LPDC Chairman with drafting LPDC’s messages and talking points into visualized communication materials easily grasped.
• Assist LPDC Chairman with communication and content analysis
• Consult with and get approval from LPDC Chairman on the communication materials and provide recommendations where applicable;
• Transcribe and summarize interviews relevant to LPDC’s scope of work;
• Design efficient outreach tools for the dissemination of LPDC’s messages

Period of assignment: from 01.07.2024 to 30.11.2024 and up to 90 working days.

Kindly refer to the milestones and deliverables table found in the attached ANNEX 2- TOR

• I. Tender requirements

The tenderer is required to propose personnel for the positions specified here and described with respect to the areas of responsibility and qualifications on the basis of relevant CVs.

The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

1. Qualifications of proposed staff

    1.1 Expert 1: Communication and content monitoring individual consultant:

         1.1.1. General qualifications

• Education:
  • Bachelor’s degree in journalism;  2.5 %
  • Trainings in digital journalism and online search engines; 2.5 %
• Professional experience:
  • 5 years of proven experience as a journalist in the field of political journalism (local); 5 %
  • 2 years of proven working experience as a journalist in regional magazines, newspaper; 5 %
  • 5 years of proven experience with reporting and writing political news and articles with newspapers and online magazines; 5 % (provision of portfolio of articles)
  • 3 years of experience in the dissemination (writing and editing) of Communication materials on websites and social media channels, especially Facebook and Twitter (press releases, editorial calendar). 2.5%
  • Excellent proven writing skills in Arabic with for press releases; 5 % (provision of portfolio of articles)
  • Advanced knowledge and experience working on WordPress tools. 5 %
  • Previous proven monitoring experience and tracking of online media news. 5 %
• Experience in the region/knowledge of the country (1.1.2)
  • Great understanding and knowledge of the Palestinian refugees’ context and actors in Lebanon; 5 % (addressed in the concept note)
  • Good understanding, knowledge and analytical skills of the recent emerging events relevant to the Palestinian context in Lebanon and in the MENA region); 5 % (addressed in the concept note)
• Language skills (1.1.3):
• Business fluency in Arabic (Written and spoken) 2.5 %

2. Quantitative requirements

Sustainability aspects for travel

GIZ would like to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 emissions) caused by travel. When preparing your tender, please incorporate options for reducing emissions, such as selecting the lowest-emission booking class (economy) and using means of transport, airlines and flight routes with a higher CO2 efficiency. For short distances, travel by train (second class) or e-mobility should be the preferred option.

If they cannot be avoided, CO2 emissions caused by air travel should be offset. GIZ specifies a budget for this, through which the carbon offsets can be settled against evidence.

The market for carbon credits is made up of a large number of providers, each with different claims as to their climate impact. The Development and Climate Alliance has published a list of standards. GIZ recommends using the standards specified there.

Kindly refer to the fee days table in the attached ANNEX 2- TOR. 

Calculate your financial bid exactly in line with the quantitative requirements of the specification of inputs above. There is no contractual right to use up the full days/travel or workshops or budgets. The number of days/travel/workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum amounts. The regulations on pricing are contained in the price schedule.

3. Conceptual design

The tender should indicate how the services outlined in Section I.4 (Tasks) are to be provided. Reference should be made to the following criteria:

The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter 2 Context)

• (3.1) reflect the interpretation of the objectives in the ToR with close attention to the sensitivity of the context and in light of the current global situation  5 %
• (3.2) list and briefly describe the recent challenges Lebanon was prone to face in the Palestinian context. 5 %

Technically qualified candidates will be invited for the interview. 40%

Commercial and Technical eligibility of the tender

In order to proceed with the technical assessment, the bidder is required to comply with the below minimum requirements referring to the Annex-3 -Eligibility Grid. Failure to submit them will result in commercial disqualification of the bidder, and therefore overall disqualification from the bidding process.

• At least 2 reference projects in the technical field journalism and managing online media and website for refugees topics.
• At least 2 reference projects in Lebanon in the last 3 years

• II. Requirements on the format of the tender

The structure of the tender must correspond to the structure of the ToRs. In particular, the detailed structure of the concept (Chapter 4) should be organised in accordance with the positively weighted criteria in the assessment grid (not with zero). The tender must be legible (font size 11 or larger) and clearly formulated. It must be drawn up in English (language).

The complete tender must not exceed 10 pages (excluding CVs). If one of the maximum page lengths is exceeded, the content appearing after the cut-off point will not be included in the assessment. External content (e.g. links to websites) will also not be considered.

The CVs of the personnel proposed in accordance with Chapter ‎4 of the ToRs must be submitted using the format specified in the terms and conditions for application. The CVs shall not exceed 4 pages each. They must clearly show the position and job the proposed person held in the reference project and for how long. The CVs can also be submitted in English (language).

Please calculate your financial tender based exactly on the parameters specified in Chapter 5 Quantitative requirements. The contsultant is not contractually entitled to use up the days, trips, workshops or budgets in full. The number of days, trips and workshops and the budgets will be contractually agreed as maximum limits. The specifications for pricing are defined in the price schedule.

• III. Option

This Service Contract incorporates an option for an extension of up to 45 working days and an contract duration extension of up to 9 months, contingent upon the initiation of a second project phase.

This extension is intended to facilitate the completion of additional tasks, specifically:

• Advanced Analytics Integration: Utilizing analytics to refine and enhance the digital strategy of LPDC.
• Community Engagement Campaigns: Crafting initiatives aimed at fostering dialogue and building community among stakeholders.
• Strategic Content Collaboration: Developing innovative content to boost outreach and engagement.

The activation of this extension requires a mutual written agreement between both parties and must be formalized at least 30 days before the expiry of the current contract term.