Avis de recrutement d’un consultant en communication développement individuel et événementiel département capital humain, jeunesse et développement des compétences (AHHD), Côte d’Ivoire

African Development Bank

Request for expressions of interest

Individual Development Communication and Events Consultant

Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD)

Avenue Jean-Paul II, 01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire

Email : j.ndao@afdb.org ; cc: a.i.ba@afdb.org and t.muzira@afdb.org

1. The African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. The Bank provides financial and technical support to Regional Member Countries through transformative projects that significantly reduce poverty and bring inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus on the objectives of the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five operational priorities (High 5s) have been identified to scale up and accelerate delivery, namely: Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Power Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa ;

2. The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department (AHHD) is located within the Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex. AHHD leads initiatives that focus on the High 5 operational priority “Improving the quality of life for the people of Africa” and contributes to the other priorities. The Department has two divisions: (i) the Education, Human Capital and Employment Division (AHHD1) which focuses on scaling up the Bank’s support to education, human capital and employment/livelihoods; (ii) the Public Health, Security and Nutrition Division (AHHD2) focusing on strengthening health systems and nutrition for human wellbeing. The Department also consists of a Regional West & Central Unit; a Jobs for Youth Coordinating Unit, a Regional Sector Outfit and a Coordinating Unit ;

3. The Bank’s direct support to human capital development consists of skills and technology development, health, nutrition, and social protection. The Bank adopted the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy with the aim to create 25 million jobs for young Africans and equip 50 million youths with relevant skills by 2025. Under this strategy, the Bank has developed flagship programs to: accelerate job creation for youth; enhance their employability; and build a strong cross-continental entrepreneurship ecosystem ;

4. The AHHD supports the Bank’s efforts to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation by: (i) developing and promoting the adoption of relevant human capital development policies and strategies; (ii) providing deep multi-sector expertise to the regional hubs by gathering a pool of experienced individuals to provide technical advice on complex transactions (Communities of Practice); (iii) developing new financing instruments; and, (iv) fostering strategic partnerships to leverage resources into the human and social development sectors ;

5. The Bank is preparing a new High 5s-related strategy which will require, among others, a new strategy on quality health infrastructure and an action plan on skills to promote employability in Africa, both of which fall under AHHD. To increase the visibility of these initiatives, the department is seeking the services of an individual consultant with experience in corporate and development communication, including digital and social media ;

6. The consultant will shape and implement the communication and media engagement action plan for the Department’s current and upcoming priorities and initiatives on human capital, youth and skills development. The communication consultant will produce and coordinate communication materials, create and manage events and create advocacy campaigns to advance the Bank’s efforts to promote human capital development and engage with internal and external stakeholders ;

7. This role is instrumental to enhancing the visibility of the department’s objectives and initiatives among existing and potential investors, as well as the specialist development community in which AHHD operates. The consultant will focus on leveraging the platforms and events of the Bank, Regional Member Countries and other stakeholders in line with the priorities and initiatives of the Department. These activities include media engagement, developing communication and digital materials for the Department’s main initiatives and projects, and media coverage of events. The consultant will also develop activity plans, including an events calendar, as per the Department’s strategic objectives and for key initiatives, as well as contribute to the larger Complex communication initiatives ;

8. The communication consults will work under the overall guidance and supervision of AHHD’s Chief Business Coordinator, and in collaboration with the Communication and External Relations Department (PCER) and in coordination with AHVP’s Front Office. Among others, the consultant’s work will entail the following tasks :

• Update and implement the AHHD communication action plan of the Department ;
• Identify communication opportunities within the Bank, its partners, and at Regional Member Country levels that the Department may leverage and/or co-lead ;
• Develop an event action plan and calendar for the Bank’s special initiatives and strategies led by the Department ;
• Co-lead planning for events (virtual and in-person) from large events to smaller workshops of the Department ;
• Assist in writing, editing and proofreading all communication materials, including intranet articles, blogs, social media content, brochures, press releases, talking points, videos, photos and other communications products. The consultant will make sure that deliverables conform to PCER guidelines. In addition to the duties outlined above, the consultant will also be required to take on the role of English/French Editor and edit publications using the PCER Style Guide as reference ;
• Identify communication opportunities and develop relevant communication/media content ;
• Support AHHD in ensuring a prominent presence in the media. The consultant may also be required, in coordination with AHVP Front Office and PCER, to carry out media outreach activities, such as pitching experts, story ideas and articles across traditional, digital and social media platforms, as well as media monitoring ;
• Be responsible for modern and appropriate filing, archiving of AHHD-related photos, video and press contacts to databases managed by AHHD as well as PCER ;
• Help secure media, writing and communication training as needed, including creative ways to ensure training events are well attended and effective ;
• Produce fact-based content, key messages, advocacy and outreach materials for a variety of Bank audiences and their communications channels (key internal and external audience in support of AHDD work) ;
• The consultant will assist with media interviews and be able to leverage press and social media influencer contacts, in conjunction with PCER ;
• Arrange media interviews for AHHD management when necessary ;
• Contribute to the department internal newsletter, departmental web pages and Bank external website: select topics, events and stories for coverage; confer with AHVP Front Office and the Bank’s Communication Department regarding news stories ;
• Provide communications support for the soon-to-be established Centre of Excellence for the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks Initiative ;
• Edit and proofread documents and write-ups for external and internal audiences: press releases, news stories, speeches, presentations, as required ;
• Work with AHHD management and AHVP Front Office to execute digital content and events training for AHHD divisions and teams within duration of consultancy ;
• Perform any other job-related duties assigned by the Director.

9. The Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department invites individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing the above services. Interested eligible individual consultants will provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to provide the services (capability statement with references for similar services, experience in comparable assignments, availability of qualified staff, etc.) ;

10. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Procurement Policy for Recruitment of Individual Consultants ;

11. The Bank is under no obligation to shortlist any individual consultant who expresses interest ;

12. Interested individual consultants may obtain further information at the email addresses below :

Ms. Josephine Ndao, Email : j.ndao@afdb.org

Mr. Tapera Jeffrey Muzira, Email : t.muzira@afdb.org

Ms. Aissatou Ba-Okotie, Email : a.i.ba@afdb.org

13. The consultant to be recruited should have the following qualifications, skills and experience :

• A master’s degree in the field of the position (e.g. communication/journalism, international relations, political science, economics, development, etc.) and: A minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience ;
• A good understanding of, or willingness to learn about, human capital issues in Africa and related approaches of international organizations ;
• Be client- and results-oriented ;
• Strong analytical skills, a sense of accuracy and attention to detail; Strong verbal and written communication skills ;
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and to build effective working relations with colleagues ;
• Ability to work under a high degree pressure and in time-sensitive situations; Understanding of media storytelling and the newsgathering process ;
• Familiarity with Adobe Edit Suite: knowledge of multimedia applications like Final Cut Pro, Canva, Quik or iMovies a distinct advantage ;
• Fluency in social media and social media management platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.) ;
• Submit sample(s) of past event management campaigns, noting level of involvement and event impact in application ;
• Submit sample(s) of past communication materials, including articles, press releases, video scripts, social media posts, etc. in application ;
• Fluency in English or French, and knowledge of the other ;
• Competent in the use of standard software applications (MS Word, Power Point, Excel), advanced Power Point and layout/design skills will be a distinct advantage; and Be a national of one of the member countries of the Bank.

14. Kindly provide references ;

15. The duty station will be Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with some flexibility for remote work, subject to updates to relevant policies ;

16. The position is open to nationals of member countries of the African Development Bank Group. Interested applicants are encouraged to send an updated Curriculum Vitae and samples of communications and/or multimedia material. Selected candidates will be asked to participate in a skills assessments. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted ;

17. The assignment will be executed over a period of 6 calendar months, renewable. It is expected to commence in December 2021. Renewal will be subject to budget availability and work performance ;

18. Expressions of interest must be submitted at the email address mentioned below no later than December 1^st at 17:00 GMT with the subject “Expression of Interest: Individual Development Communication and Events Consultant”.

For the attention of :

Ms. Josephine Ndao, Email : j.ndao@afdb.org

Mr. Tapera Jeffrey Muzira, Email : t.muzira@afdb.org

Ms. Aissatou Ba-Okotie, Email : a.i.ba@afdb.org