Context

Better Work is a unique partnership programme between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Launched in February 2007, it aims to improve labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains. Better Work involves the development of both global tools and country-level projects. The focus is on scalable and sustainable solutions which build cooperation between government, employer and worker organizations, and international buyers.

Improving labour standards in global supply chains is an important part of a pro-poor development strategy. Ensuring workers’ rights and entitlements are protected helps to distribute the benefits of trade. Better Work supports enterprises in implementing the ILO core international labour standards and national labour law. This helps enterprises compete in global markets where many buyers demand compliance with labour standards from their suppliers. Improved labour standards also assist enterprises to be more competitive through higher productivity and quality. These benefits help build the business case and supplier support for improved labour standards. For more information see www.betterwork.org

Better Work in Uzbekistan (BWU)

After conducting a feasibility study in 2022, the ILO and IFC Better Work programme launched its operations in Uzbekistan in mid-2023.

This is part of a larger ILO programme that focuses on the entire cotton and textile value chain. Uzbekistan is among the top ten cotton producers worldwide, and the textile and garment sector has been undergoing significant reforms over recent years.

This programme follows a request from the Uzbek tripartite constituents – government, employers and workers – who formally asked for the ILO’s consideration to implement the Better Work Programme to “further improve the working conditions of garment industry workers, enhance dialogue between employers and employees, implement international labour norms and standards, as well as increase the competitiveness of garment enterprises and promote economic growth.”

Objective

Management and implementation of communications/engagement strategy and production of outputs and activities

• Contribute to the update of a country-specific Communication Strategy of BWU Programme
• Responsible for ensuring the delivery of products and deliverables indicated in the BW communications and engagement strategy
• Drafting and editing of targeted short written materials: briefings, stakeholders’ stories, blogs, press releases, country news updates, and newsletters, according to the rules of the ILO Style Guide
• Working with BW Global communications team to plan and develop products relevant to the BWU communications strategy

Objectives of the assignment

Better Work Uzbekistan is working to improve and increase its communications activities and visual presence to highlight the progress and achievements produced by the programme. We would also like to highlight the stakeholders’ initiatives to improve working conditions and the changes that our work is bringing to the lives of the beneficiaries.

This assignment will help to produce written content and visual (multimedia) tools on key topics relevant to the BWU programme objectives. These tools will be shared with government authorities, development partners and the public. The communication consultant will be responsible for producing material which supports the activities of the Better Work Uzbekistan programme.

Scope of Services, Expected Outputs and Target Completion

The objective of this assignment is to document and produce communication tools, for example:

1. Five success stories and human-interest stories on key topics for publication and dissemination. The topics will be agreed upon with the BWU programme manager. This will include at least three visits to factories or attending events, as well as collecting quotes from stakeholders through interviews.
2. Produce social media posts related to the importance of compliance for decent work, showing how applying international labour standards and national labour laws contributes to sustainable development. Content is supposed to highlight project progress and achievements among the factories as well as at the sectorial level and the efforts for addressing non-compliance issues.
3. Take pictures of programme activities to produce a library of at least 200 photos that can be used for publications.
4. Produce infographics.

The overall objective of the assignment is to produce user-friendly visual communication tools to inform, educate and raise awareness about the programme and the industry. The materials must be produced in English, Uzbek and Russian.

Institutional Arrangements

• Expression of interests can be made by individuals and companies.
• The consultant/company will be monitored, overseen and supervised by the BWU Programme Manager and guided for technical input by the BW Global communications team.  
• The consultant/company is required to have his/her own equipment.
• Regular updates on the progress of the assignment should be submitted every week.
• The project will arrange for site visit travel and with the arrangements of meetings and interviews.
• After the completion of the site visits, the consultant/company will communicate with BWU (remotely or in person), provide a briefing to the project team, and discuss any issues that may have come up during the fieldwork.
• Apart from site visits, work will be done remotely with regular updates provided to the project office.

Duration of Work

The assignment will be for a duration of 30 days spread over a period of 6 months.  

Qualification Requirements and Experiences

• Bachelor or equivalent degree in media, communications and related fields.
• Must have a minimum work experience of 3-5 years in a related field
• Demonstrated interest in the field of development
• Experience working with NGOs or the UN Agencies
• High sense of journalistic ethics and in-depth understanding of labour rights issues;
• Knowledge of gender issues, the textile industry and labour regulations is highly desirable
• Consultant/company should possess fluent written and spoken English in addition to Uzbek; knowledge of Russian is an asset
• Excellent editing skills and ability to integrate human interest with statistics and technical reports to present credible content;
• Ability to deliver products on time against tight deadlines;
• Ability to work with people of varying backgrounds and cultures
• Respect for the principles of the United Nations
• Work experience in an international organization is desirable;

Scope of Proposal Price and Schedule of Payment

The proposal for the assignment should contain:

• Letter of interest and availability.
• CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees for individuals OR company profile for companies
• Examples of previous works – portfolio, online links or samples showing the typology and quality of previous works done by the applicant. If other people/entities collaborated in those examples, please indicate the specific contribution of the applicant (direction, production, post-production…)
• Financial Proposal – specifying a daily rate amount for the tasks specified in this announcement.

Confidentiality Statement

All data and information received from ILO-BW and IFC or other collaborators for this assignment will be treated confidentially. According to the grant agreement, all intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to ILO-BW and IFC.  The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the BW, ILO and IFC.

Call for Proposals

Interested individuals or companies are invited to submit their proposals for conducting the work covered by these terms of reference. Selection will be made by the Project Management Team.

Proposals should be sent to uzbekistan@betterwork.org by 11 August 2024.