Description
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), on behalf of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) is seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) from communications consultants to provide communication services to the program over the period from October 2020 to December 2021.
The main objective of the consultancy will be to enhance the development impact of water, land and ecosystem findings through (i) more strategic engagement with WLE’s key audiences; (ii) effective and creative presentation of knowledge and results; (iii) active promotion and targeted outreach of WLE’s research, insights and knowledge; and (iv) working closely with IWMI (WLE’s lead center/host institution) and other partners, including CGIAR centers and other external organizations.
This consultancy will entail working alongside WLE’s Program Director and governing bodies, the Management Committee and the Independent Steering Committee, as well as IWMI’s Head of Global Communications and Knowledge Management. The consultants will also provide bespoke support to the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI), hosted by WLE.
Duration of consultancy: The consultancy is expected to start on or before October 31, 2020. The inception phase should be completed 2 months after signing of the contract, at which point, a detailed plan for services to be provided will be agreed. The consultancy will end on December 31, 2021.
Place of assignment: The consultants will work from their normal work location, and WLE expects the consultancy to be reasonable in accommodating and working within the varied time zones of WLE staff. It is expected that the work will be initially or entirely conducted online due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, with increased in-person interaction during 2021 as travel restrictions ease.
For the detailed Terms of Reference, view:
WLE call for EoI – Communication Services Support
Only experienced communications consultancy or communications firms are eligible to apply.
Only short-listed applicants will be informed of the result. This will occur as soon as possible after the preferred applicant is confirmed, which should be within a month after the submission deadline for the EoI.
Requirements
Expression of interest (EoI): instructions and process
Eligibility
Applications are welcome from an experienced communications consultancy or communications firm. Experience of similar communications work in the sustainable agriculture field is essential, as is past experience of working for CGIAR. The team leader should have experience in managing teams to produce high-quality communication results on time and within budget, including experience of managing multiple streams of communications, with demonstrated clear, concise writing and presentation and facilitation skills, and excellent English.
This consultancy provides an excellent opportunity for a group with the enthusiasm, inspiration and ambition to make WLE the place to go for evidence, insights and knowledge, and would be suitable for a group that enjoys fast-paced delivery, and working through and across multiple networks and institutions.
Content of EoI
All applicants should provide a brief EoI (a maximum of 12 single-spaced pages) which includes the following information:
- Postal address, legal registration and electronic contact information for the lead applicant in the consortium. Please provide the name of a contact person with title, phone number, Skype ID and e-mail address.
- Names and contact addresses of other applicant(s) in the consortium and respective role(s) (it is understood that additional partnerships may be developed during the inception phase).
- Names of the proposed team leader and other core team members[1], including confirmation of dates of availability and respective time inputs for the duration of the consultancy.
- Summary of experience of the team leader and other core team members, supported by Annexes 1 and 2, and proposed roles and responsibilities.
- Proposed scope of work and outputs (with SMART targets), and justification for the proposals made on how to structure the work, taking into consideration that this may be refined during the inception phase.
- The approach and methods recommended to accomplish the overall objectives and scope, and expected outputs.
- Brief plans for the inception phase, including engagement with WLE and any other relevant stakeholders.
- Budget and time required for the inception phase, including daily rates and anticipated numbers of days for named individual consultants, and any other anticipated operational or overhead costs.
- An outline of the total budget related to the proposed scope of work, outputs and approach in (e) and (f) under Outputs in the detailed Call for EoI, including the anticipated numbers of days and costs for different levels of consultants, and any other anticipated operational or overhead costs. Assumptions made on tasks to be completed and time requirements underlying the estimates should be spelled out.
- Conflict of interest statement. All applicants should disclose any contractual or financial relationships with WLE, CoSAI or IWMI.
- Annex 1: Short curriculum vitae for the team leader and other proposed team members.
- Annex 2: Examples of previous communications work carried out by the proposed team members or the organization/firm that demonstrate relevant experience, with links or attachments.
