Communications and Advocacy Consultant

Project:
STRENGTHENING LIVELIHOOD AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR LIGAWASAN MARSH COMMUNITIES IN MINDANAO (L-MARSH)

Activity**:** COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY COSULTANT FOR L-MARSH PROJECT

Rationale:
The holder of this position will be responsible for providing support in developing and implementing the overall communication and advocacy plans for the Strengthening Livelihood and Climate Resilience for Ligawasan Marsh Communities in Mindanao (L-MARSH) Project.

Objectives:

The objectives of the hiring of a Communications and Advocacy Coordinator are the following:

• Increase the visibility of the project to the community, the donors, and the public;
• Capture compelling stories from the field and case studies to demonstrate impact to donors and stakeholders;
• Document project activities and milestones;
• Translate field insights into donor-ready content such as stories and social media updates;
• Conduct workshops and focus group discussions with project rightsholders and facilitate the creation of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials from the workshop outputs; and
• Create IEC materials based on the goals and advocacies of the project.

SCOPE OF WORK
The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Provide support in designing and implementing communication plans in order to generate greater awareness, understanding and support for IRPH programs and campaigns;
• Provide support in the collection and promotion of content for media materials from case studies, photos, and videos of beneficiaries and stakeholders while ensuring compliance to organizational policies including safeguarding and data privacy;
• Provide support in the development of knowledge products and IEC materials;
• Contribute content for IRPH in multiple social media platforms;
• Prepare written materials such as press releases, feature articles, briefing notes, Questions and Answers (Q&A), and other materials for use in the media and distribution to the public, educational institutions, non-governmental agencies, and donors, following the branding guidelines of Islamic Relief;
• Provide support in the finalization of reports for donors, ensuring appropriate edits and packaging to coordinating timely and high-quality technical inputs, and institutional reporting requirements of IRPH and the donor, in close coordination with the Senior Project Officer;
• Implementation of project advocacy plans specific to project needs while mainstreaming IRW’s global campaigns on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), gender justice, climate action, disaster risk reduction, social cohesion, peace building, and child protection;
• Initiate the production of media materials to support the implementation of campaigns for both online and face-to-face advocacy activities;
• Identify and develop human-interest stories, photo essays, video snippets, and social media content that reflect program impact;
• Conduct field visits to collect stories, quotes, images, and footage;
• Conduct workshops and focus group discussions with project rightsholders and facilitate the creation of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials from the workshop outputs; and
• Abide by IRPH policies, especially Child Protection, Safeguarding Policy, and Data Protection Policy.

DELIVERABLES

• Information, education, and communication (IEC) materials
• Articles and social media posts
• Photographs and videos
• Case studies
• Conduct of four (4) workshops in Sultan sa Barongis (SSB) and General Salipada K. Pendatun (GSKP) with outputs from the rightsholder participants

TIMELINE
a. Start Date: 02 June 2025
b. End Date: 29 August 2025

C. Milestone;

• June 1-30, 2025 - Production of five stories with corresponding photos, video clips, and social media post (Maximum of 350 words each)
• July 1-15, 2025 - Submission of 10 case studies, following the Islamic Relief template
• July 15-30, 2025 - Conduct of advocacy workshops (four sessions) in SSB and GSKP
• August 1-15, 2025 - Creation of four (4) kinds of IEC materials or visibility materials on WASH, DRR, CCA, and peacebuilding.
• August 15-30, 2025 - Creation of after-activity report and IECs based on the outputs from the advocacy workshops (one each for WASH, DRR, CCA, and peacebuilding)

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCES

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Development Studies, Communication Development or a related field;
• At least three (3) years of experience in communications, public relations, or content creation—preferably in a humanitarian or development context.
• Strong writing, interviewing, photography, and basic video production skills.
• Graphic design experience (e.g., Canva, and Adobe tools) is a strong advantage.
• Ability to travel occasionally to project sites and work effectively across cultures and departments.
• Passion for storytelling with a deep commitment to humanitarian values.

REPORTING AND COMMUNICATIONS

1. The consultant will report to the Communications and Advocacy Coordinator with administrative support from the Senior Project Officer and technical support from the Programme Manager
2. Regular Communication and progress updates are expected.
3. Consultant will be travelling to the site of the project to gather materials and conduct the workshops