Peace-Building Public Information Specialist Job Vacancy in Karomoja, Acholi- Uganda

Job Title: Consultant (Peace-Building Public Information Specialist)
Employer: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Closing date: 31 Dec 2010
Location: Uganda - Karamoja and Acholi Sub-Regions
PEACE-BUILDING PUBLIC INFORMATION SPECIALIST - TERMS OF REFERENCE
25 DECEMBER 2010
Position Title Consultant (Peace-Building Public Information Specialist)
Duration of Assignment Two (2) months
Starting Date ASAP


In 2010, IOM has been able to establish itself as an informed source and has built a team of highly skilled people that have demonstrated their expertise across 161 community project sites (or clusters) in the districts of Abim, Amudat, and Nakapiripirit. This expertise includes as follows:
1. Project diversification including animal management, irrigation, water storage, and community/market gardens;
2. Proven polyculture-oriented methods that are profitable by providing food for families and surplus food for local trade;
3. Capacity to produce bio-trade products integrated into a sustainable agriculture model that emphasises the full spectrum of food security, from staple crops to meat;
4. Extensive public awareness of our work has been assured through the outdoor cinema events;
5. Strong partnerships with civil society; and
6. Recognition of national and local government reinforced by field-level interaction;
7. The development of a trained workforce of motivated Green Warriors causing change at the local level.
IOM is especially buoyed by the fact that motivation levels amongst communities, local civil society partners, and local/national government counterparts have consistently trended upwards throughout 2010. The possibility now exists for 500-plus communities that IOM works in for people to farm their way out of dependency on outside aid and the inter-tribal conflict over resources and wealth, both dynamics of which have reached viral proportions across Karamoja during the past 40 years. Commencing January 2011 and ongoing until December 2011, IOM in partnership with the World Food Programme, designated civil society organizations, and local government interlocutors in the districts of Abim, Amudat, and Nakapiripirit will focus on community facilitation, responding to environmental degradation, exploring energy-saving practices, improving water usage and conservation, and causing participating communities to become more self-reliant and self-sufficient.
In cooperation with district governments and local authorities throughout May-October (2010), IOM organised and held 102 outdoor cinema screenings across communities in all five districts of Karamoja. The objective of these cinema events was to change the mindset and stimulate a can-do-spirit towards self-sufficiency amongst a 900,000-strong population that is profoundly dependent on outside food aid. These cinema screenings brought together over 234,000 people of which nearly 65% were adults over the age of 18. Furthermore, as part of this process, some 231 formal governmental officials and 160 informal community leaders were consulted in the development and dissemination of these films. IOM now has over three hours of content showing that progress in Karamoja is not only possible, but that it is already happening.
IOM has developed several short films on Karamoja, as follows:
1. Sustainable agriculture and self reliance tool kit (two-volume DVD set);
2. Six short five-minute films on progress in Karamoja; and
3. Video montage highlighting local community members' and local governmental officials' perspectives on change, challenges, and a vision of a self sufficient, self reliant Karamoja.
As with all films on the Karamoja sub-region, the intention is to produce a believable depiction of Karimojong and Labwor peoples, essentially to 'demystify and disarm' the notion that the sub-region is primitive and backward. IOM has achieved this by capturing unique stories that dramatically shows the self-sufficiency, diversity, and humanity of people in this beautiful part of Uganda.
Background Information: Acholi sub-region
In 2009-2010, through it's Community-Based Reintegration Programme in Northern Uganda, IOM and the United Nations Development Programme provided assistance to 481 vulnerable youth of which 111 or 23% were women. Yet, female-headed, IDP, returnee, and ex-combatants households in the Acholi sub-region face specific hardships in relation to their social and economic (re)integration. Thirty percent (30%) of households in the Acholi sub-region are estimated to be female-headed. Furthermore, female ex-combatants in particular (e.g. gun-carrying combatants, cooks, logisticians, spies, abductees, sex partners, porters, etc.) and female-headed IDP and returnee households have experienced extraordinary levels of trauma. When one considers that 85% households in the Acholi sub-region rely on agriculture as the primary means of livelihood, the potential for marginalization of women's livelihoods and means of subsistence is manifest.
IOM was recently informed of funding made available through the Peacebuilding Fund as part of a joint submission amongst participating UN agencies. Mindful of the limited resources available for socio-economic reintegration assistance in theAcholi sub-region, IOM decided to focus on female-headed, IDP, returnee, and ex-combatants households. Unless this sub-set of the population are assisted, there is a very real risk that these families continue to fall into patterns of behaviour and practices that lead to social disintegration that threatens the nascent stability in Northern Uganda.
The core element of IOM's approach to socio-economic reintegration assistance has been to work with existing structures (e.g. businesses, communities, civil society groups, and local government agencies) to provide skills and jobs to vulnerable female-headed households youth who may otherwise backslide into various forms of vulnerability (viz. prostitution, petty crime, self-harm, substance abuse). These vulnerable female-headed households - or “clients” as IOM likes to call them - are referred to jobs and/or organized into self supporting beneficiary groups through local civil society partners; these self-help groups are led by the women themselves and represent the starting point for the reduction of tensions in parishes with high densities of ex-combatants, former abductees, displaced families and other vulnerable persons. Not only does an existing business or self-help group offer a job, but the workplace or self help group structure and underlying principles of decent work encourages and reinforces behaviours such as working together and helping oneself by helping others.
Sustainability in terms of livelihood and/or viable job opportunities is the nexus of economic reintegration. Enabling women and girls to access primary and secondary income sources in a way that is socially acceptable within communities. The predominant focus of IOM's approach will be sustainable agriculture, broad-based community engagement, and empowering women to take a leading role in the design, implementation, and improvement of their economic activities.
Social reintegration is about how women and girls participate within post-conflict society; crucially, social reintegration refers to how communities and civil society engage women and girls affected by conflict and equitably respond to their needs, demands for access, and attempts at constructive participation in socio-cultural and political pursuits. The marginalization of women's rights, especially amongst the key sub-groups already mentioned, in relation to land and thereby a means to prosper stands in the way of their full participation in the nascent processes of reintegration and recovery in the North. International actors and the Government of Uganda have a special duty and standard of care in relation to this group because they are vulnerable now and are at risk of backsliding into deeper patterns of vulnerability. Looking to the purpose of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the emphasis is on equal participation of women and girls in the negotiation and decision-making processes, determination of benefits and eligibility, programme design, project implementation, and the staffing of such programmes.
The social and economic dimensions of reintegration are mutually reinforcing; it is only by working with women and girls in both spaces that sustainable outcomes can be achieved.
The PBF supported programme, tentatively entitled “Community-Based Reintegration Programme” is a sub-component under the "Livelihoods and Local Economic Recovery" component of the Peacebuilding Fund Joint Programme for Uganda.
The use of public information, information and awareness/communication campaigns, and thereby managing perceptions, is a critical element of both programmes' strategy. This extends beyond communicating “the Programme” in a conventional sense, and anticipates innovative, time-bound interventions that highlight Programme- and context-specific themes, findings/analysis, and progress. Critically, content of these interventions should be dynamic and evolve in symmetry with the changing perceptions and behaviours of individuals, households and communities throughout the implementation cycle of the Programme. Capturing and showing change is very difficult to do in a short timeframe, and for this reason the production of public information and its communication should be carefully planned. The Consultant is expected to work closely with IOM staff and local partners, including community based organizations (CBOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and local/national government interlocutors to develop an information campaign tailored for each programme. Each plan will be broken down into various media, which may include print media, interactive radio programming, etc: the aim is to reinforce and discuss key ideas and messages of both programmes in an interactive and participative manner. The overarching objective is to use information to show change in a captivating and believable manner.
Reporting & Deliverables
Under the direct supervision of the Programme Coordinator, and the overall guidance of the Chief of Mission, the successful candidate will be responsible for designing, coordinating, and implementing public information, public relations, media/communications, and self-reliance strategies in support of the NUSAF2 Programme and Community-Based Reintegration Programme. In particular s/he will:
1. Complete discrete assignments in relation to the NUSAF2 Programme including but not limited to the following:

• Develop 5-10 simple black and white menu options, incl. layout, content-development, and organizing printing by 5 January 2011;
  
  

• Finalise the production of sustainable agriculture and self reliance tool kit (two-volume DVD set);
  
  

• Finalise the content and design layout for a 2011 KFSCS year planner focusing on self-reliance and the diverse socio-cultural profiles of the Karamoja sub-region;
  
  

• Encourage mainstream journalists to take trips to Karamoja to do 'stories of change' and/or 'human interest stories' and/or 'photo journalism';
  
  

• Design and promote a series of one-hour screenings for March 2011 launching the Programme, tentatively entitled, 'Towards a Self Sufficient, Self Reliant Karamoja”; and
  
  

• Design a platform for tertiary student internships to Karamoja, encouraging Ugandan students from outside Karamoja to better understand the region.
  
  

2. Complete discrete assignments in relation to the Community-Based Reintegration Programme including but not limited to the following:

• Develop a one-week empowerment training curricula for training 2-3 groups of 20-30 women in the Acholi sub-region during February 2011;
  
  

• Develop information tools ranging from posters, training aids, short manuals, and brochures incl. layout, content-development, and organizing printing; and
  
  

• Develop a common work identity with staff, local partners, and clients that communicates the objectives and local ownership of activities.
  
  

3. Re-brand all twelve short five-minute films and liaise with local networks for free-to-air broadcast on Ugandan Broadcasting Corporation.
4. Proactively ensure that the information and awareness campaigns respond to monitoring and evaluative findings in the field, in addition to research conducted by IOM.
5. Perform such other duties and responsibilities as instructed.
Desired Skills & Competencies

• Holds degree, preferably in applied sciences (eg. agricultural science, rural development, etc) and/or relevant field experience.
  
  

• Extensive background in media and public communication/relations in International aid and development.
  
  

• Experience with food security and community stabilization programming and other public information programming in the Karamoja and Acholi sub-regions reinforced by a sound understanding of the political context.
  
  

• Solid field experience working within international development and local NGO sector in conflict and/or post-conflict contexts.
  
  

• Extensive experience with community-based CSO partners essential.
  
  

• Strong understanding and experience in media and communications from a technical standpoint (evidenced by editing table technical skills with Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).
  
  

• Must be able to work independently, preparedness to work under pressure and cope with deadlines, flexibility and willingness to work in rapidly changing conditions is necessary.
  
  

• Knowledge, skills and ability to extract, interpret, analyze and process disorganized and complex project information essential.
  
  

• Professional-level familiarity with MSWord/MS Excel/MS Powerpoint applications.
  
  

• Experience in working with print and broadcast media in Northern Uganda an asset.
  
  

Language Requirements
Fluency in written and spoken English.
Consultancy Fees
Consultancy rate to be negotiated with short-listed candidates.
Method of Application
Direct hire.
Closing Date
Friday 31 December 2010.
How to apply
Send email directly to ICRSUganda@iom.int stating the position title in the subject heading
Reference Code: RW_8CJMZG-25