Communications Strategy Design Consultant

Term of Reference (ToR)

Reports to: Senior Program Coordinator
Position:Communications Strategy Design consultant
Location: Fish Town, River Gee County, Liberia
Timeframe: 5 weeks
Deadline to Apply: 21st August 2015.

COUNTRY PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

In view of the mission to improve access to quality education, healthcare, safe water, sanitation, and nutritious food and vision of communities empowered to improve their lives in southeastern Liberia, starting in November 2014, with OFDA, ARC set up, equipped, staffed and managed an Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Fish Town, River Gee County to respond to Ebola virus disease (EVD) and prevent the spread of the disease. With Liberia pronounced Ebola free in May, the Government of Liberia has shifted strategy from EVD response and treatment to restoration and strengthening of regular health service delivery, infectious disease preparedness and response. ARC in Liberia supports the national strategy through the following areas:

• Providing an EVD rapid response capability by staffing, managing and operating an isolation and treatment unit for infectious diseases at a Community Care Center (CCC) on an on-call basis and in the hospital isolation unit when the CCC is decommissioned.
• Strengthening IPC, triage and isolation procedures, and infrastructure in targeted health facilities
• Strengthening infectious disease surveillance and referral systems
• Improving WASH infrastructure in targeted health facilities
• Facilitating the government’s expanded program of immunization (EPI) in targeted remote areas
• Engaging and educating communities on prevention, response and mitigation of EVD and other epidemic-prone infectious diseases
• Building local/community health capacity to prevent, respond, mitigate and treat epidemic-prone infectious diseases
• Support community based surveillance for infectious diseases through gCHVs and selected lower level health facilities in River Gee County.
  Additionally under OFDA funding, ARC also provides capacity building in infection prevention and control, surveillance and referral systems, and emergency preparedness planning to the River Gee County Health Team (CHT). ARC also focuses on strengthening the services and capacity at Fish Town Hospital, which has been designated by the Ministry of Health as the Infectious Disease Referral Hospital for the counties of River Gee, Maryland, and Grand Kru. Furthermore, ARC implements emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities at the community and health facility level, as well as community outreach and education about Ebola.

PROJECT ACTIVITY

ARC must develop a communications campaign about Ebola in close consultation with the CHT and other implementing partners in social mobilization. Communications and social mobilization campaigns about Ebola during the height of the epidemic were limited in River Gee. Since the county was not as affected as others in the country, there is still a great deal of disbelief and misunderstanding about Ebola in River Gee, especially in remote communities. In many of those same communities in the three targeted districts, messaging on EVD created unintended consequences. For example, in an ARC-led nutrition assessment conducted in March 2015 in Tiempo District, 37% of farmers interviewed (n=41) reported disruption in food production during the Ebola outbreak, many of whom cited being too frightened of Ebola to work in their fields outside of the village.

Radio is considered an effective and efficient means of information dissemination in the county. In community meetings conducted during ARC’s health and WASH assessments in Tiempo District, most community members attributed their knowledge of Ebola to radio programs such as “talk shows” and public service announcements. ARC intends to host a weekly radio program will be hosted on Radio Gee community radio station based in Fish Town. In this radio program, a clinician or other Ebola expert will field call-in questions from community members about Ebola and address the importance of vigilance for any resurgence in Ebola.

While able to reach many remote communities, radio is often not enough to ensure clarity of message or understanding. For this reason, ARC intends to use the five steps of the community centered approach to “Communicating with Communities” (CWC). CwC is a specialized method that strengthens the ability of communities to actively engage in their own preparedness and response by re-establishing two-way communication channels. In this case, it will be employed to support community voices and participation in Ebola surveillance, referral and response. ARC will then conduct at least three visits to communities in the targeted catchment areas for direct contact with community members and leaders. The CHT Community Engagement Team and general community health volunteers (gCHVs) in the targeted catchment areas will be engaged as critical members of the outreach teams.

Additionally, ARC plans to provide directing support to a local theater group, Concerned Youth for National Development, to perform village-based dramas with relevant messaging concerning the dispelling of rumors surrounding Ebola.

SPECIFIC TASKS:

The consultant will lead a team of ARC staff and local and international partners and stakeholders to develop an Ebola communications plan for River Gee County incorporating the elements described above. The communication campaign must be designed to be carried out prior to December 31, 2015. It should be focused on general Ebola awareness, dispelling myths and rumors, and encouraging community members to practice specific Ebola prevention behaviors. The consultant should use the community-centered “Communicating with Communities” approach in designing the communications campaign. Specific activities include:

• Conduct rapid formative research, as necessary, in targeted health catchment areas in order to fully understand community knowledge and misconceptions around Ebola. This research should be used to design a targeted message strategy.
• Design a communications strategy and messages using the CWC approach (or a similar participatory methodology methodology). The strategy should include both general awareness-raising, but should also move beyond traditional IEC (e.g. didactic billboards, social mobilization comprised of ‘telling’ community members what is good for them) to focus on the adoption of routine Ebola prevention behaviors. Creative, cutting edge strategies that can be implemented in a short time period are welcomed and encouraged.
• Pre-test messages with key population segments, and revise messages accordingly.
• Work with the Health program coordinator, Community Engagement Specialist, Senior Program Coordinator, and the CHT Community Engagement Team to develop an implementation plan for the communications strategy, including guidance on the production of any products or materials (print, radio, community facilitation guides, etc.). Ensure complete comprehension among team members and complete handover by the end of the consultancy.
• Together with the community engagement manager and in consultation with the Health program coordinator develops radio talk show messaging and evaluate its effectiveness in the community.

DELIVERABLES

• Provide written weekly progress reports
• Written Ebola communication strategy, including implementation plan, for River Gee County
• Written incident communications reports.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in public health, cultural or medical anthropology, communications/marketing, or related field
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in social & behavioral change communications, social marketing, social norms approaches, or related field
• Experience training and leading multi-cultural teams made INGO staff, local government representatives and community leadership
• Proven track record of developing effective communications and behavior change strategies
• Experience using the “Communicating with Communities” framework or a similar community participatory methodology
• Experience in working with low literacy communities in limited resource settings

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Verbal and written fluency in English, including editing skills
• Strong comprehension and creativity skills
• Self-motivated and proactive, able to work with a high degree of autonomy
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, problems and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, ability to perform in a multifunctional team setting
• Fully committed and motivated to achieve the aims of ARC and the OFDA project objectives
  HOW TO APPLY:

Interested qualified candidates can submit their Motivation Letter, 2-page Proposed Strategy Development Plan, and a detailed CV. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

HOW TO APPLY:

Click here to apply