Job Description

1. BACKGROUND
Gender equality is smart economics, contributing to poverty reduction, strengthening resilience and boosting shared prosperity. Empowering women and girls has an intrinsic value and is instrumental to achieve more inclusive institutions, sound policies, and effective development outcomes.

In the Mashreq countries of Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon important gains have been made in women’s access to education and health, but persistent challenges remain in women’s economic opportunities. In the Mashreq countries, around 1 in 5 women work and less than 5% of firms are led by a woman. Legally, there are certain restrictions related to areas and tasks in which women can work in all three countries. Women also have less access to formal financial services. Furthermore, countries are faced with context-specific problems, especially in the face of fragility and conflict. Increased female economic participation would contribute to inclusive growth, and to help grow the middle class. For example, closing the gender gap in labor force participation rates by 25 percent can boost GDP (PPP terms) by 9 percent in Lebanon (ILO, 2019).

The Mashreq Gender Facility, launched on January 19, 2019 in Beirut, Lebanon, provides technical assistance to the Mashreq countries to enhance women’s economic opportunities as a catalyst towards more inclusive, sustainable, and peaceful societies, where economic growth benefits all. Through collaboration with private sector, civil society and development partners, the Facility supports government-led efforts, country level priorities and strategic regional activities that: (i) Strengthen the enabling environment for relevant stakeholders to effectively identify and address constraints to women’s economic participation; and, (b) Improve women’s access to economic opportunities.

The 5-year Facility (2019-2024) supports country level activities guided by government developed Action Plans under three, interconnected, pillars:
i. Dialogue & Participation: building capacity and awareness at all levels, convening stakeholders across sectors and segments
ii. Data & Knowledge: country and regional data and analytics for evidence-based policies
iii. Innovating for Results: testing and assessing interventions to identify solutions and provide support to catalytic initiatives that boost women’s economic opportunities

In Lebanon, the MGF is working closely with the government on supporting the implementation of the “Women’s Economic Empowerment Action Plan” (WEEAP). This action plan aims to increase the Female Labor Force Participation Rate by 5 percentage points in the next 5 years based on a government-led 18-month country work plan that adopts a "dual-track approach", balancing national-level strategic interventions with selective activity-level pilots. The Lebanon MGF action plan for the first phase focused on creating the building blocks for change by focusing on building the evidence base on issues such as labor market and care economy; instituting coordination mechanisms for increased collaboration on women’s economic empowerment; initiating legal reforms with a focus on sexual harassment; and developing capacity among relevant public and private sectors. Several activities, such as leadership, technology, and overall adoption of family-friendly practices, work directly with the private sector. To encourage behavioral change, communications and outreach initiatives strive to address cultural barriers and promote rights.

Throughout this action plan, the MGF aims to create an enabling environment with increased capacity for stakeholders to address constraints for women’s economic participation and improving Women’s access to economic opportunities through the following pillars: (i) Pillar 1: Enabling Environment; (ii) Pillar 2: Research and Care Economy; (iii) Pillar 3: Private Sector Employment; (iv) Pillar 4: Entrepreneurship; (v) Pillar 5: Behavioral Change.

During Phase I, under Pillar 5, a behavioral-focused Communications Strategy and Action Plan were designed. The goal of this communication strategy is to create lasting change in attitudes, social norms and behaviors in Lebanese society in a way that encourages female labor market participation. To this end, three target groups have been identified, each with its own targeted campaigns, that address three specific contexts while contributing to Lebanese society at large. The three target groups are women, men, and employers. Considering the different behavioral barriers faced by each of these actors, a number of target behaviors for each group of actors were identified in which the communication strategy would seek to encourage (Annex 1). The communications strategy was designed based on an evidence-based research comprising of an extensive qualitative study with representative samples of the target groups across the country. In addition, further focus groups and interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders and experts.

Building on the evidence-based communications strategy, an action plan was designed, offering step-by-step and time-bound actions for the three target groups to take. The action plan also offers a proposed matrix of potential responsible entities, their roles, and estimated budget for each action.

During Phase II (2021-2022), the MGF workpplan (See Annex 2) will focus on communicating results of activities under the above pillars, leverage the WEEAP Communications Strategy and Action Plan designed during Phase I, and raise awareness about the GoL commitments to women economic empowerment.

2. OBJECTIVE
The selected Consultant is expected to: (i) implement specific areas of the behavior-focused Communications Action Plan, in line with the Strategy (mentioned above); and (ii) create visibility and awareness about MGF and associated activities by engaging with the relevant target groups, stakeholders, media and producing suitable material on the plan’s activities, results and recommendations, in close coordination and under the guidance of the MGF team, and National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) team.

TASKS & DELIVERABLES
The selected Consultant will be responsible for the implementation of the following activities
1- Strategize & Plan Communication Activities (approx. 17 days)
- Leverage the Communications Strategy and Action Plan developed as part of Phase 1 to develop a detailed plan of action for the duration November 2021-December 2022. Specific activities should include communications products, events, social media outreach, and other relevant activities, with a clearly defined timeline and expected outputs and responsibilities.
- Create a stakeholder matrix which includes key media outlets based on target groups’ profile to reach, contacts and media focal points within relevant GoL entities, as well as relevant social media influencers and social media accounts.
- Develop an engagement plan with relevant stakeholders and media (local TV, radio, social media and press) on topics supported by the MGF to raise awareness and coverage of issues of interest for increasing women’s economic opportunities.
2- Develop Communication Materials (approx. 30 days)
- Review MGF assessment reports and recommendations for policies to develop relevant communication material such as briefs, presentations, press releases, talking points, etc.
- Suggest recommendations for improving communication material including the development of infographs, videos, brochures, banners, etc., based on MGF and WB guidelines and standards
- Supervise the creation of designs and visuals of the communication material mentioned above as needed and in coordination with the WB MGF and Communications teams.
- Coordinate sharing of developed material internally on the WB and MGF and NCLW websites, and externally at relevant GoJ and media and social media outlets including conducting interviews, sharing press releases, updated webpages and social media accounts.
3- Implement of outreach activities (approx. 17 Days)
- Support the MGF team in the design of communication activities including activity description, timeline, target groups and communication material needs
- Collect input for developing events agendas and invitations
- Ensure logistical coordination with the MGF team to run timely and effective events, online and face to face as needed
- Support documentation of key events including attendance sheets, photography, accompanying media coverage, etc.
4- Capacity Building of Stakeholders (approx. 10 days)
- Engaging stakeholders to be active partners in communicating about women economic empowerment (WEE) and ensuring gender-sensitive messages
- Support and coordinate a series of quarterly workshops/seminars with media representatives and GoJ communication focal points on topics related to WEE and MGF support
- Supporting stakeholders in identifying the best media tools and pathways suitable for their image, budgets, institutional media and outreach strategy; and
- Ensuring the publication communication material on the websites and social media platforms of relevant stakeholders

Based on the above, the Consultant is expected to submit the following deliverables:
- A detailed communication action plan based on the Communications Strategy and Action Plan (mentioned in Section I above) covering November 2021-June 2022 (within month 1)
- Stakeholder matrix of key target groups, stakeholders, media outlets and contacts, as well as media focal points within relevant GoL entities (within month 1)
- Engagement plan with target groups, relevant stakeholders and media (local TV, radio, social media and press) (within month 2)
- Content development for a series of communication products as per the agreed upon communication action plan

The Consultant is expected to coordinate with the World Bank MGF and Communications teams for the review and approval of all deliverables before sharing with local partners, and to ensure that all activities are aligned with the World Bank guidelines. The Consultant is also expected to coordinate closely with MGF communication staff working in Jordan and Iraq, as well as to liaise with the regional MGF Secretariat to ensure regional alignment.

3. CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS
o A university degree in communications, media or related field.
o At least 7 years of experience supporting national and/or international agencies in communication strategies and implementation of campaigns related to gender or other social inclusion related issues in Lebanon.
o Proven record in timely delivery of high-quality outputs (launch event programs, marketing material, press releases, infographs and social media posts), and proven basic skills in graphic design.
o Demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills, including ability to facilitate multi-stakeholder meetings and work sessions with different stakeholders and the ability to develop and maintain close and constructive working relationships across teams.
o Experience working with the government, and/or previous work with the World Bank or other international and donor organization, especially on gender or social matters, is highly desirable.
o Experience in capacity building of media stakeholders.
o Proficiency in written and spoken English and Arabic required.

4. ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND REMUNERATION
The assignment will be from October 2021 to December 2022 with an estimated 74 days of effort. Additional days may be considered upon program needs and requirements. Remuneration for this Short-Term Consultancy will be determined based on the candidate’s experience and the Terms of Reference. In the day-to-day activities, the consultant will work closely with the MGF Lebanon Task Team Leader, the National Coordinator of the MGF from NCLW, relevant members of the MGF team and the communications team.
The World Bank reserves the right to shorten and/or terminate the contract and/or suspend payments if the consultant does not fill the commitments, or if the project is cancelled.

5. INSTRUCTION FOR APPLICATION
A curriculum vitae, along with a cover letter explaining the applicant’s motivation to work on the national communications strategy and action plan for women’s economic empowerment (not exceeding 600 words) should be emailed to careers@bddacademy.com by October 4, 2021.

Company Profile