PR & Communication Expert will provide communication support to activities of the team, ensuring appropriate media coverage and public advocacy of the market surveillance reform, PR and Communication support of the Ministry.

Reform Initiative

A new system responsible for product safety gives more freedom to producers to innovate, easier and faster access to markets with less transactional costs. But this system cannot be complete and properly working without well-developed market surveillance.

Market surveillance is an essential tool for enforcement of legislation on safety of goods placed on the market following a supplier’s self-declaration of conformity. Market surveillance involves monitoring products to ensure they comply with legislation and taking remedial action when products do not comply. It also includes penalties for false or misleading declarations. To help ensure the fulfillment of legitimate public policy objectives, the less involvement by a third party during the conformity assessment before the product is placed on the market, the greater the need for efficient market surveillance.

In a last year the system of the state market surveillance in Ukraine made good steps in becoming functional after long stagnation. Still, there is a big gap between current state and the one which can be recognized as a European minimum. The main obstacle on the way is lack of institutional capacities and resources.

The main objective of proposed reform initiative is to increase institutional capacities of market surveillance system with advanced tools, new methodologies, and creation of a product safety ecosystem by engaging other stakeholders - business and consumers in making the market clean, safe, and complied with the EU standards.                                                                                                                                               

Position Summary

PR & Communication Expert will provide communication support to activities of the team, ensuring appropriate media coverage and public advocacy of the market surveillance reform, PR and Communication support of the Ministry.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills:

• Degree in Communications, PR, Marketing or other education with relevant practical experience;
• Experience in communications, public relations, media, consulting - at least 2 year of practical work;
• Experience in government communications;
• Practical experience in CEO, SMM, story-telling, concept promotion, “guerilla marketing”;
• Experience in international organizations, reform projects at the governmental level will be an advantage;
• Experience in media crisis management will be an advantage;
• Understanding of essence of technical regulation system and the role of state market surveillance in it;
• Ability to create visual content or to coordinate its development in efficient prompt way;
• Ability to structure information and to present complex concept into simple forms;
• Excellent knowledge of Ukrainian and English with highest standard written literacy;
• Good organizational skills;
• Independent, initiative and creative.

Indicative duties and responsibilities:

• Providing proper communication support to the market surveillance reform and the project team;
• Development of awareness-raising materials and campaigns on e-tools dedicated to market surveillance, product safety, and consumer protection;
• Identifying ways to engage stakeholders, support in communication with business associations and NGOs;
• Writing press releases, editing and proofreading informational materials (in Ukrainian and English), coordination of media coverage for events through various available and prospective channels (website, pages in social networks, email newsletters);
• Preparation of visual materials (presentations, infographics, images, coordination of production of video and other media content);
• Organization of communication with journalists;
• Support to the team on preparation for participation in seminars, forums and conferences, support in preparation and conducting project trainings and seminars.

Expected Deliverables:

• Developed PR and communication materials, organized their publishing;
• Realized media campaigns in social media with collection of audience feedback and fast response to such feedback;
• Developed and published project articles, organized interviews on TV or radio;
• Developed concepts, mock-ups, recommendations for structuring and preparing content for web-sites of market surveillance bodies;
• Developed scope of information materials, media publications, and organized events dedicated for awareness-raising on e-tools dedicated to market surveillance, product safety, and consumer protection;
• Developed materials for press-service of the Ministry (on demand);
• Provided support in preparation of presentations materials and hand-outs for project experts to participate in forums, conferences, training and seminars.                                                                               

Contract Duration and Timing

Full time position based in Kyiv (MEDT, Antonovycha street). The total duration of the consultancy is expected to be 9 months. For contracting, a candidate should be able to register Private Entrepreneur of the 3d group.

To apply

Submissions must be prepared in English and delivered electronically by 17:00 Kyiv time on January 4, 2019 [email protected]. We do not welcome unsolicited phone calls.

All submissions must include:

1)   Applicant’s CV;

2)   Applicant’s brief letter of interest indicated related experience and achievements.