Vacancy: Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist
GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA
HOUSING RECOVERY PROJECT
Terms of Reference
Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist
Introduction
An urgent and critical issue confronting Dominica is the recovery of its housing sector in the wake of Hurricane Maria which struck the island in September 2017. The hurricane devastated the country’s infrastructure, communities and households, along with the main productive sectors – agriculture and tourism. Prior to Hurricane Maria, it was already established that the country’s development was challenged by the vulnerability of its population and economy to natural disasters, which can impose large costs on the country’s fragile economy. The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica has embarked upon a broad range of housing recovery strategies aimed at increasing structural resilience in the housing sector and the built environment, thus reducing the vulnerability of citizens and the economy to natural disasters.
Project Background
The Commonwealth of Dominica has secured financing from the International Development Association (IDA) credit and a Crisis Response Window Grant for the Housing Recovery Project (HRP). The HRP is one of the projects in the GoCD’s National Home Repair and Reconstruction Programme portfolio. The HRP will contribute both to the recovery of housing for disaster-affected households and to improving the application of resilient building practices in the housing sector. The Project will finance support for housing recovery systems and capacity building, support for the reconstruction of houses, and project management and coordination. The project has a significant construction works component and other activities related to institutional strengthening and capacity building. It has been formulated in keeping with the GoCD’s National Housing Repair and Reconstruction Programme (NHRRP). The HRP is prepared as part of an overall development partner initiative to support medium- and long-term recovery in Dominica, and is part of a broader World Bank recovery portfolio comprised of two other operations: (i) an Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project; and (ii) an Additional Financing to the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project.
A stand-alone Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will be established under the Ministry of Housing and Lands (MoH) to be responsible for the timely implementation and execution of the HRP program. The PIU will report directly to the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the MoH, and will liaise constantly with the technical divisions of the MoH and the Ministry of Planning (MoP) as well as the Housing Task Force (HTF), responsible for overseeing sector recovery. In the implementation of the Program, the Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and the PIU staff will have support from a team of international experts, who will form an Implementation Support Team (IST), housed in the Ministry of Finance. This IST will have expertise in areas of World Bank procurement, social/environmental safeguards and financial management, and will serve as a shared resource across all World Bank financed Projects in Dominica.
An essential component of the Project is the establishment of up to seven (7) Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) throughout the country to serve as satellite offices of the Physical Planning Division of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoP) and MoH. These TACs will be the primary interface between the public/eligible beneficiaries/contractors and the implementing agencies. The PIU will oversee the operations at the TACs while the TACs support the PIU in the collection of the demographic information required for administering eligibility under the project, for undertaking technical assessments and carrying out development control functions. These Terms of Reference have been prepared to assist in the engagement of a Communications, Monitoring and EvaluationSpecialist for the PIU. He/She will be responsible for all aspects of strategic communications for the project, and managing and overseeing the monitoring and evaluation frunction of the project at all levels.
Objectives
The Communications, Monitoring and EvaluationSpecialist will design and carry out a communications strategy to ensure public awareness, understanding and buy-in of the Project activities and ensure dissemination of information to potential beneficiaries and affected households. The Specialist will serve as the direct supervisor of the communications strategy and its implementation, in close coordination with the Government and World Bank. Additionally, the Specialist will establish a results-based monitiroing approach, monitor data quality, track the progress of activities, contribute to staff capacity building initiatives, provide strategic information to the PIU Project Manager for evidence-based decision making, and coordinate with technical divisions of the MoH and MoP to implement specific project interventions.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities
- Develop an information and communications strategy for the Housing Recovery Project informed by communication needs beneficiaries, Government, and the World Bank, and monitor its implementation;
- Hold consultations with various audiences and stakeholder analyses to ensure stakeholders participate in effective ways to inform the design and development of the communications strategy;
- Conduct public opinion research and assessment of public attitudes and key stakeholders on issues related housing recovery and reconstruction in general, and the Project in particular;
- Supervise the implementation of communications campaigns during Project implementation, tailored to different audiences, and ensure campaigns reach hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations. Campaigns should include various media delivery mechanisms, including radio, print, megaphone delivery, television, social media, billboards, to ensure broad reach;
- Continuously assess beneficiary perception of the HRP’s implementation and activities, including but not limited to, customer service evaluation of services provided at TACs and beneficiary satisfaction among housing recovery subsidy recipients;
- Continually assess the quality of the communication campaigns, ensuring lessons feed into subsequent media campaigns;
- Develop media highlights and materials documenting Project progress for dissemination locally and beyond;
- Work closely with local media including government information service, private media outlets; social media outlets;
- Advise key project stakeholders on trends, news developments, or changing/unexpected circumstances related to information and communications needs and determine appropriate strategic responses to address them;
- Serve as the principal point of contact for the communications related to the Project, including development of press releases, organization of press conferences and responding to media questions related to the Project;
- Participate in World Bank missions and other meetings to assess the implementation progress of the Project;
- Perform other tasks and orders required and confirmed for successful implementation of the Project.
- Develop and implement the project monitoring and evaluation plan to define standard operating systems and guidelines for M&E, reporting, and related services;
- Establish guidelines on project monitoring and evaluation for the different project components, sub-components and activities;
- Identify and define information requirements of components concerning planning, monitoring, and evaluation;
- Develop and monitor performance indicators in conjunction with PIU management, and the MoH and MoP technical teams and agree on reporting requirements;
- Assess training needs relevant to monitoring, evaluation, and management information systems;
- Coordinate and undertake field visits to monitor data collection approaches to ensure compliance with operational procedures;
- Provide strategic inputs/information and assist the Project Manager in preparing periodic (monthly, quarterly and annual) programmatic and management reports to the MoH, Housing Task Force, and the World Bank;
Minimum Required Qualifications and Experience
- Minimum years of relevant experience: Masters degree (Communications, Public Affairs, Journalism, Marketing, or other related field) and a minimum of 5 years' relevant experience, or a Bachelor's and 8 years of experience.
- Thorough knowledge of and practical experience in a full range of communications approaches, tools and methodologies essential to planning, executing, and monitoring communications strategies e.g., media operations, social marketing, opinion research, audience outreach, message targeting, and so on;
- In-depth knowledge of Dominica’s social, political and development issues with strong current knowledge of key constituencies, their operations, policies, practices and priorities;
- Ability to plan and successfully implement a comprehensive communications programme in support of defined objectives;
- Demonstrated political awareness and ability to diplomatically handle sensitive situations with target audiences and to otherwise cultivate effective, productive client relationships/partnerships;
Required Skills:
- Proven planning and organisational skills: strong conceptual and research/analytical skills, with the ability to think strategically and rapidly analyse and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusions and recommendations;
- Exceptional ability to write and edit for a wide range of communication products as well as for the Internet, with experience conveying complex ideas in a clear, direct and lively, (non-academic) style;
- Effective interpersonal skills; proven experience in working both as a leader and a member of the team;
- Excellent oral and written communication and presentational skills. Spoken and written fluency required in English;
- Strong computer skills; ability to use common software packages, e.g., Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, as well as the Internet.
Reporting Arrangements
The Consultant will report directly to the Project Coordinator of the Housing Recovery Project/Project Implementation Unit, Ministry of Housing.
Terms of the Assignment/Contract Duration
The Consultancy is expected to be awarded for a period of duration of one year, and will be renewed subject to satisfactory performance reviews. The assignment is expected to commence in July 2018 and is to be renewable annually as the HRP project continues through its project cycle. The Consultant shall be engaged on full time basis, eight hours a day, and five days a week. A six (6) month probation period will be included.
Expression of Interest
Interested applicants whose qualifications and experience are in line with the Terms of Reference are invited to submit their CV and a letter of motivation / application stating suitability for the position on or before Friday 15th June 2018 to
Fred Esprit
National Housing Coordinator,
Ministry of Housing, Lands and Water Resource Management