Request for Proposals s63

TENDER FORM 2 – TERMS OF REFERENCE

Request for Proposals Assessment & Strategy for the External Communications function in the Lebanese Red Cross

This document contains the request for proposal for an external consultancy to assist the Lebanese Red Cross in assessing its current communications capacities, and to develop customized strategies, systems and a structure to strengthen its ability to communicate across different channels and in all sorts of situations that are commonly faced by the National Society. TERMS OF REFERENCE 2016-018

Table of Contents

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Section 1 - Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from consultants qualified to provide the LRC with comprehensive support on the communications component, including an in-depth assessment current state assessment and specific recommendations to enhance external communications with a clear implementation plan.

We will consider proposals from single or multiple suppliers. The ideal supplier will be an established local or international supplier with a recognized experience in supporting non-profit organizations in improving their external communications.

Section 2 - General Backgroundinformation about LRC

Brief Historical Overview The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) is a humanitarian organization established on July 9th, 1945 as an independent national society in Lebanon. In 1946, it was recognized by the state as a public non-profit organization and as an auxiliary team to the medical service of the Lebanese Army. In 1947, the Lebanese Red Cross joined the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - which includes 190national organizations worldwide - and became a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) ever since. Furthermore, it is a founding member of the Secretariat General of the Organization of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies. Over the last 70 years, the Lebanese Red Cross has had a strong presence and a good reputation in the society of Lebanon providing various services to the people in need. LRC’s reputation was mainly established during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) and its services, especially its ambulance service, scaled up dramatically during that period. From 1990 to 2005, LRC entered a period of general stagnation and was affected by the political compromises and fragile equilibrium established at the end of the Civil War. Two successive military generals were appointed to lead the LRC during that period, and the position of Secretary General was left vacant. A change in statutes in late 2005 and the LRC’s highly visible actions during the July 2006 War with Israel led to a sustained effort to modernize and reform the Emergency Medical Services Department (EMS, ambulance services). Although this change did not impact the rest of the LRC, the progress made in EMS demonstrated to the rest of the national society the benefits of a long-term approach of transparent collaboration with Movement and non-Movement partners. This laid the foundation of a deeper, organization-

of 14 TERMS OF REFERENCE 2016-018 wide change that started in 2013 after a second revision of the Statutes and the appointment of the first Secretary General in more than two decades.

Current situation In this section, a snapshot of the today’s LRC is offered: current statistics, main strengths and weaknesses as well as the main external components. In the last paragraph, an interpretation of those challenges is offered as a consolidated list of the main problems that LRC’s strategy should address.

Mission The mission and the goal of the Lebanese Red Cross is to disseminate peace, serve the society, and alleviate human suffering with neutrality and without any racial, sexual, social, religious or political distinction. In accordance of its mission statement the Lebanese Red Cross carries out the following: . The Lebanese Red Cross acts as an auxiliary to the medical services of the Lebanese Army during armed conflicts, in all fields mentioned in the Geneva Conventions, and provides help for all the victims of war whether military or civilian. The Lebanese Red Cross is also involved in disaster preparedness and response and acts as an auxiliary to the public health services in all the fields mentioned in the Geneva conventions during peacetime, . Participates in efforts aiming at improving health, preventing disease and alleviating the suffering of all people through rehabilitation and solidarity programs that meet the needs on both national and local (community) levels, . Provides ambulance services to the population in Lebanon, . Provides blood services to the population in Lebanon, . Encourages the participation of children and youth in the Lebanese Red Cross activities, and . Disseminates the Fundamental Principals of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the International Humanitarian Law in order to spread the spirit of peace, understanding and respect among the people, especially the youth and children.

Structure The Lebanese Red Cross, as a volunteering organization, is based on 32 branches in the entire territory of Lebanon. It has more than 5,000 active volunteers, around 2000 inactive members and about 300 staff. The Lebanese Red Cross is the largest national humanitarian organization in Lebanon. The organization accomplishes its mission through 46 Emergency Medical Services centers, 4 Dispatch centers operating the national medical emergency hotline “140”, 38 medical

of 14 TERMS OF REFERENCE 2016-018 social centers, 7 mobile medical units, 35 youth clubs, 12 blood transfusion centers, 6 nursing institutes and 12 Disaster Management units. The Lebanese Red Cross consists of: . 32 local branches . 14 departments and units . The General Assembly with 132 members, . The Central Committee with 42 members, . The Executive Committee with 14 members, including the president and vice-president, and . The Secretary General who is the head of the management structure In addition to the president and vice-president, the Executive Committee consists of the elected heads of each department. The 32 branches, each with its individual services and structures, and its volunteers are represented and supported by a national headquarters located in Beirut. The headquarters consists of: . 4 Operational Departments: Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Medical & Social Services, Disaster Management, Blood Transfusion Banks, and . 10 Support Services Departments: Planning & Development, Human Resources, Volunteer Management, Finances & Management, Supply & Logistics, Public Relations & Communications, Internal Affairs, IT Services, Education (Nursing), Youth The Lebanese Red Cross has traditionally been severely underfunded since the end of the Civil War with less than 5.5 million USD of domestic budget. It relies mainly on the following financial resources: . Volunteers membership subscriptions, . Symbolic fees collected for medical services, blood transfusion, and preventive instructions and teaching programs, . Annual fundraising campaigns (contributions of the Lebanese community), . Donations, legacies and aids from individuals, firms and institutions, . Contracts with the public sector (particularly the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of the Displaced), and

Programs financed by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Partner National Societies, or other international institutions Since 2013, the LRC has been receiving external support from its Movement and other partners to scale up its activities in response to the Syria crisis. Consequently, its annual operating budget for 2015 was approximately 25 million USD.

Main departments/programmes Department/Programme Current status (2015) Emergency Medical Services Flagship department of LRC. (Ambulance services) The LRC is the main provider of ambulance services in Lebanon. 46 ambulance centers staffed by 2700 plus well trained volunteers use 260 ambulances to respond to fulfill more than 250,000 calls yearly at no cost to the beneficiary. EMS started evolving in 2008 with its first 5-year strategy and with the support of ICRC and several other Movement and non-Movement partners. In mid 2008, EMS established a training unit that took over first-aid training in LRC and is now providing courses to more than 15,000 persons yearly for the general public, EMS and the other departments in LRC. Blood Transfusion Centers Traditionally the 2nd most known and requested service of LRC. Started undergoing major reforms from 2014 with the support of the Swiss Red Cross. 12 blood transfusion centers covering the entire territory. Service is provided at no cost to the beneficiary. Medico-Social A once leading service of LRC that suffered from long year of neglect resulting in more than half of the 36 medico-social centers reaching very few beneficiaries. Support from several Movement partners since 2014 has resulted in significant improvements in the scope, scale and quality of work and in the creation of 7 mobile medical units which account today for most of the relevant services provided by that department. Disaster Management Unit present since 2006 as a concept but became activated in 2013 as a result of the Syria Crisis. 12 units covering the highest risk areas, 3 new units being established. Currently focuses on relief (in-kind and cash transfer), WASH (Water and sanitation) and DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction). Youth 35 centers and around 1400 volunteers. The Youth department represents the second large pool of volunteers in LRC and has traditionally offered social activities and activities linked to humanitarian values and principles as well as peace building. It was not integrated into the recent LRC renewal but the integration process will has been initiated in August 2016. Organizational Development Programme established following the OCAC result that was published in April 2014. Effectively started in January 2015 and aims at reforming the LRC’s support functions and providing the LRC and its operational departments with the required capacities in financial management, HR, Volunteering, Logistics, Fundraising, Communications, ICT, Training, PMER and quality improvement Newly launched Branch Development project is a component of the OD Programme

Psychosocial Support New cross-cutting programme launched in late 2014. Currently jointly managed by LRC and DRC with focal persons in each of EMS, MS and DM. The ambition of LRC is to integrate PSS components such as self-care, psychological first-aid and peer support into the entire organization, and to build a capacity to provide structure PSS to the population. Response Preparedness New cross-cutting programme launched in 2014 aiming at improving the ability of LRC to plan for and respond to crisis (major incidents or disasters). Mainly managed by EMS and targeted primarily at EMS and DM.

Department Total # of services provided during 2015

Emergency Medical Services 255,995 Medico-Social Services 299,629 Blood Transfusion Services 23,050 Disaster Management 122,105 Total 700,779

Supporting Functions Under the LRC statutes, a number of departments exist that are considered to be “support” departments. These departments, similarly to the operational departments have an elected “head” sitting in the Executive Committee and a director managing the department. Several of these departments are now undergoing major changes as part of LRC’s OD programme.

Finance Major changes and restructuring in 2015 under the OD project. Currently undergoing handover from the external company that was brought in to manage the department following major challenges in 2014 and early 2015, to a renewed LRC team. Human Resources Currently basic and insufficient personnel administration only. Comprehensive assessment carried out by Deloitte under the OD programme and a team from Deloitte has been contracted to establish a well-functioning HR department starting 18th of April 2016 and hand it over to a new LRC team by April 2017. Logistics In charge of warehousing, fleet and procurement. In effect, fleet management mainly done by EMS. Warehousing by each relevant department (EMS, DM, MS, Youth). Procurement function subject to major reforms under the OD programme with the support of the British Red Cross. Procurement function currently managed by an expert hired by the British Red Cross. Communications One director and two assistants. Under-staffed and under- resourced. Information & Communication Under-staffed and under-resourced department Technologies Internal Affairs (Legal) One director and one secretary. Organizes elections, reviews regulations and provides advice on all legal matters. Education / Nursing Originally in charge of First-Aid training, became in effect the Nursing department following the transition of First-Aid Training to EMS in 2015 Planning Inactive department / Function assumed by SG’s office Volunteering Inactive department / Function assumed by Volunteering Project team

LRC Priorities 1. Strengthen the traditional core services of LRC:

a. Emergency Medical Services

b. Blood Transfusion Services

c. Primary Health Services

2. Strengthen the organizational capacities of the National Society – including Youth and Local Branches - to ensure its ability to sustainably provide its core services and to respond to this and future crisis

3. Scale up disaster management services to prevent, prepare and respond effectively to the risks and needs of refugees and vulnerable host communities

4. Leverage the access, volunteers and geographical presence of LRC to respond rapidly and effectively to crisis and disasters

Section 3- Communications Project Background

Organizational Development Programme Since the appointment of a Secretary General for the first time in 2 decades in 2013, LRC has started a series of initiatives to modernize and improve the effectiveness of all its operational departments andprogrammes, in addition to launching a cross-cutting organizational development programme in late 2014 based on the results of an organizational capacities assessment exercise conducted in January 2014 with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Over the past year and a half, LRC has worked with its partners and external consultants to reform the initiatives that were considered as the top priorities, namely the Finance, Procurement and HR functions. Considerable progress has been achieved for all of these 3 components and although the changes processes are not completed, LRC is now ready to start addressing the second tier of organizational priorities, chief among which is the External Communications Reform project.

Current situation of Communications function in LRC The current communications department has very limited resources and capacities and no clear objectives or strategy for the future.

Current scope of work is limited to:

 Assisting with the communications aspect of national events

 Supporting the leadership in preparing speeches to promote the message of LRC

 Approving/rejecting requests from branches and volunteer centers to print out posters or organize advertising campaigns for fundraising and/or recruitment as part of the control over the use of the emblem and LRC logo

 Providing the Movement Dissemination courses via a small network of “disseminators”.

 Producing an internal newsletter twice or three times a year

 Managing the LRC website

 Preparing and issuing press releases on regular events and during emergencies and publishing them in different media outlets

 Promoting the image and messages of the LRC through media appearances and events

 Maintaining contact with the key media players in favor of the National Society

 Monitoring media for mentions of the LRC and taking relevant action if and when necessary

Social media is managed pro bono by an LRC volunteer who is also an expert in social media and has expanded from 2013 to 2015 from 30,000 followers to more than 240,000 followers. As part of this initiative, all informal and non-authorized social media pages with the name or logo of LRC have been closed.

The lack of strong external communications is negatively affecting in terms of recruitment of staff, volunteers and members, for fundraising and also for operational performance.

Section 4 - Scope of consultancy services The LRC is seeking to implement a comprehensive overhaul of its communications function at all levels of the organization. To achieve that, the consultancy should start with an in-depth current state assessment to clearly identify the challenges and the opportunities for improvement. The results should then be used to propose a new vision for LRC external communications, specific and measurable long term objectives, a long-term strategy to achieve those objectives and the corresponding detailed plans and systems.

1. Perform a desk review of relevant existing documents and practices

 Review of existing Red Cross and Red Crescent guidelines for external communications

 Review external communication practices of top 3 nonprofit organizations in Lebanon

 Review of LRC website effectiveness

 Review of performance of LRC social media channels

 Review of LRC publications and their distribution/promotion mechanisms

 Review of relevant LRC documents (overall strategy, fundraising policy and strategy, recruitment policy and strategy, employer branding, social media policy, 2013 market study…) in order to identify linkages with Communications (for avoidance of doubt, this does not mean that the consultant will be expected to provide recommendations about strategies beyond the communications strategy)

2. Assess the current capacities and practices of the Communications department

 Interview key stakeholders

 Map out and document existing external communication processes

 Review job descriptions of existing staff and perform assessment of ability of existing staff to fulfill job requirements

 Assess organizational positioning of communications department in LRC

 Organize interviews, focus groups and surveys of “internal customers” of the communication department. This includes headquarters, sample branches and service centers.

3. Produce an “as-is” report of the external communications function in LRC and present to LRC stakeholders

4. Develop a long term visionfor external communications and an implementation roadmap

 Propose vision and mission statements for LRC external communications

 Develop specific, measurable long-term objectives for external communications

 Develop a 3 to 5 year strategy with clear priorities and associated plan of action to reach objectives

 Propose an implementation plan for years 1 and 2

 Develop options for organizational positioning of Communications in LRC

 Propose organizational structure for communication department based on developed plan, including staffing requirements with matching job descriptions, and performance indicators for communications department and its individual staff functions.

 Propose an outline budget for implementation years 1 and 2

 Recommendations for alternate implementation methods, such as outsourcing

5. Facilitate workshops with relevant LRC stakeholders to communicate and discuss the objectives, strategy and plan of action

6. Provide specific and detailed recommendations for:

 LRC’s website, including terms of reference for a modernization of the website

 LRC’s social media channels

 LRC´s digital communication strategy, with a focus on its website and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).

 LRC media relations

 LRC reputational crisis response mechanisms

 Communication Department’s role in facilitating community engagement and accountability (beneficiary communications)

 Procedures and guidelines for communicating in emergencies

Section 5 - Deliverables  Detailed work plan for the consultancy subject to the approval of LRC Management, to be submitted a maximum of 2 weeks after start of engagement.

 Complete As-is report including all components mentioned in Section 4  Summary As-is report for presentation to stakeholders in PPT format.  Recommendations document on implementation road-map  Summary report on recommendations for presentation to stakeholders in PPT format.  Organisation of one workshop with relevant LRC stakeholder to present findings and recommendations  Document(s) containing specific recommendations for the elements listed in Section 4, paragraph 6.

All deliverables should be tailor made to the LRC and should take into consideration the context and constraints of LRC and the particularities of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.

Timeline The consultant is expected to provide the above-mentioned deliverables within a period not exceeding 4 months from the date the contract is signed.

Key stakeholders:  LRC leadership: President, Secretary General, Executive Committee  Under-Secretary General for Support and Development  Director of communications  Volunteer social media manager  Directors of Operational Departments  Representative branches and volunteer centers  IFRC, ICRC and Partner National Societies (Norwegian Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross…)  Relevant external stakeholders

The main interlocutor of the consultant on the LRC side will be the Under-Secretary General for Supportservices.

Methodology The methodology of this review should be proposed by the consultant who will be responsible for using the methodology that best delivers or extracts the desired results. Nevertheless, it is expected that some of the methods used include:  Desk review of relevant documentation provided by LRC  One on one Meetings with internal and external key stakeholders  Focus groups  Field visits  Survey  Meeting with LRC decision makers (President, Secretary General, Under-Secretary General, Elected head of communications department, Director of Communications …)