BACKGROUND
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relation and systems.
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), in consortium with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and The Europe External Program with Africa (EEPA) is establishing a research and advocacy hub in Eastern Africa (Africa Action Hub, the Hub), to be located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When fully operational, the Hub will be a peacebuilding center with staff and space to convene, train, and mobilize civil society both in-person and virtually, and support research to create evidence-based advocacy on shared and sustainable peace, just responses to displacement and migration, and economic justice.
The Hub will mobilize East African civil society and faith-based organizations (CSOs, FBOs), academia and activists in the peacebuilding sphere by strengthening the advocacy capacity of participants, creating and sustaining networks to influence policy through evidence-based advocacy, and by acting as a trusted convener for civil society and other stakeholders to deliberate on sensitive issues as they impact peace in the region.
The long-term goal of the project is to support African civil society to interact efficiently with institutional stakeholders in Africa, Europe, and America in protection of human rights, peace, and stability in the East and Horn of Africa region.
THE ASSIGNMENT
To profile the Africa hub and its work in the region, AFSC intends to engage the services of a consultant(s) to help create a logo, a tagline and an initial website for program visibility. Specifically, the assignment aims to ensure the Africa hub has its own identity to advance its work in transforming lives in East and the Horn of Africa. This assignment will be carried out in close consultation with the AFSC Communications unit in Philadelphia, USA.
APPROACH
The communication consultant will work closely with the AFSC Regional Director Africa and the Hub Program Director upon hire to:
· Develop a logo that captures the hubs work in protection of human rights, peace and stability in the East and Horn of Africa region
· Develop a tagline that will accompany the logo and speaks to the Africa hub work (supports the advocacy strategy)
· Build an initial website to announce the project and generate the hub’s visibility.
The consultant will also develop guidelines for media outreach to drive increased visibility for partner and donor engagement, including media relations, social media, and promote the project launch scheduled for August/September 2021.
Specifically, the consultant will:
- Develop logo and tagline for the Africa hub, in a way that compliments the American Friends Service Committee’s global brand.
- Construct a tagline to accompany the logo, that also clearly projects the identity of the Africa hub.
- Build the hub website in consultation with AFSC and partners.
- Prepare guidelines for media statements and key advocacy messages.
The output for this process will be crucial in setting the profile for the Africa hub, and in providing a clear road map for communicating the hub’s agenda with various audiences.
DELIVERABLES
The consultant will be expected to:
Preparation phase:
· Develop an inception report that captures the proposed methodology, approach, a review checklist, delivery plan, assumptions, anticipated risks, and mitigating strategies.
Review phase:
· Liaise with AFSC and partners to access all the relevant documents for review. Develop a checklist and interview relevant AFSC and partner staff.
Technical support phase:
· Develop the Africa hub Logo and tagline
· Build a small, mobile-friendly Africa hub website on a Drupal 9 platform, in consultation with AFSC’s Communications Department, on AFSC’s web server.
· Develop communication guidelines to promote the launch of the project.
OUTCOME OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The Africa hub has a logo and tagline that uniquely identifies it
An initial visibility website that includes the Africa hub logo, tagline and colors is developed and functional
The Africa hub has clear communication guidelines and strategy to guide its work over the next three years.
DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The assignment will be conducted and concluded within 30 days of consultancy spread over a period of two months June and July 2021.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST/PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposals may be submitted by individuals, teams of experts, or consultancy firms. The selected contractor must demonstrate proven experience in branding and website development. Knowledge and experience in communication strategy development.
The consultant(s)/consulting firms interested in this assignment are expected to submit proposals (both technical and financial) with CVs of the proposed teams.
The technical proposal must detail the following:
· Objectives and understanding of the assignment.
· Expected outputs and products.
· Demonstrable experience in similar assignments.
· Availability to deliver the assignment within the required time.
· Financial proposal in USD for the entire assignment.
· Provide a sample of similar work done previously
QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal consultancy firm/consultant (s) should include CV’s of the lead consultants that should possess post graduate qualifications in relevant discipline such as communications and public relations, web and graphic design Minimum of 5 years of related professional experience.
· Demonstrated track record in website creating.
· Experience in media engagement
· Be able to work as part of a team and independently within stipulated timelines.
· For consultancy firms, they should have a legal status, a company profile and tax registration.
How to apply:
Interested parties are requested to submit their proposal responding to the terms of reference by 12 noon East African Time (EAT) on Friday 21stMay 2021 to The Regional Director-Africa, American Friends Service Committee. infoafrica@afsc.org
(Only eligible consultants/firms based in Ethiopia and Kenya should apply)