EBRD SME F&D Armenia communication and visibility activities within SME FAF
Location: Armenia
Funding source: ECSF00 - EU Armenia SME
Contract type: Consultancy Services
Notice type: Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)
Project Description:
Support of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector ("SME") development is a priority for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD" or the "Bank"). The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Group ("SME F&D") supports transformation of local enterprises by providing access to best practices and valuable business knowledge, connecting them to a wide network of professional consultants and international advisers, helping them to increase competitiveness, innovate and go global. Additionally, a number of activities are implemented including a variety of professional trainings for local consultants especially focused on SME sector and special initiatives such as SME Finance development and Women in Business to increase the quality and capacity of local consultancy market.
In June 2017 a framework agreement was signed between the European Union, presented by the European Commission, and the EBRD on establishment of Financial Instrument "SME Finance and Advice Facility" (hereinafter "SME FAF") targeted to the SME sector development in Armenia. It is driven to improvement of business and investment climate for SMEs, increasing business opportunities and access to finance for local SMEs and aims to deepen and diversify access to finance for local SMEs by combining technical advisory services with the grant support for equity and other forms of capital investments.
The main objective of the Advice for Small Businesses component is to provide advisory services to SMEs to promote competitiveness and innovation and enable beneficiary SMEs to grow into sustainable and successful businesses. Particular focus will be on investment readiness to help targeted SMEs to access the financing they need to grow.
Assignment Description:
The overall objective of the assignment (the "Assignment") is to support the implementation of SME FAF including meeting set targets, informing the market about the support available for SMEs in Armenia, improving the effectiveness of the outreach to potential beneficiaries, raising awareness of the Private Equity Fund and equity investments and the delivery of advisory services.
The Assignment will include the following specific objectives:
- Increase understanding among SMEs in Armenia of the value of access to finance and external advice for business development by demonstrating the tangible impact generated under SME FAF;
- Improve outreach and accessibility to target groups within the SME sector, including regional businesses, women-led businesses, youth-led businesses and trade-oriented businesses.
- Ensure outreach and awareness-raising within the targeted advisory market and for main city and regional consultants.
- Highlight the EBRD and the European Union’s strong engagement in the area of SME support, including highlighting the role of SME FAF within the wider EBRD Small Business Initiative and the European Union’s EU4Business Initiative.
The Consultant shall carry out the following tasks, inter alia:
- Increase understanding and awareness on opportunities for SMEs provided by the Project among the SME target audience;
- Increase understanding and awareness on opportunities for SMEs provided by the Project, among relevant media in Armenia;
- Increase understanding and awareness of the importance of business advice for business development among SMEs and media;
- Increase understanding and awareness on opportunities for SMEs provided by the Project among the Consultants target audience;
- Ensure proper donor visibility under the programme;
- Ensure systematic approach in communication activities;
- Ensure high qualitative delivery of events conducted by the EBRD under the Project components;
- Provide production services to the EBRD upon request;
- Ensure consistent and systematic level of digital communication;
- Mitigate and manage reputational risks to the Programme;
- Source and agree high quality appropriate speakers for events;
- enhance EBRD official speakers’ delivery;
- Ensure high quality content aligned with EBRD key messages used in all official communications;
- Support EBRD special initiatives in terms of Marketing and Communications;
- Maintain relationships between EBRD Communications and offline and online media.
Status of Selection Process:
Interested firms or group of firms are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest (EoI).
Assignment Start Date and Duration:
The Assignment is expected to start before the end of Q1 2018 and has an estimated overall duration of 40 months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 60,000 (exclusive of VAT).
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source:
It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by the European Commission under the EU4Business Armenia Initiative within "SME Finance and Advice Facility". Please note selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.
Eligibility:
There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile:
Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm preferably with an established network and presence in Armenia and with previous experience related to the following:
- Design and implementation of marketing and communication strategies, outreach and dissemination activities for international institutions.
- Marketing and Communication support to several large projects simultaneously.
- Implementation of Marketing and Communication activities the country.
- Experience in working with the donor-funded programmes will be an asset.
- Fluency in written and spoken English and Armenian.
The Consultant is expected to possess sufficient capacity to complete the Assignment. This means that a dedicated team of specialists, hired full time, should be in place ready to conduct the tasks stated in the Assignment. The team of specialists should also be ready to carry out any other adhoc tasks simultaneously as requested by the EBRD local staff in the field of marketing and communication ie digital, production, design, media, marketing, event management, etc.
The Consultant’s expert team should include at least the following Key Experts:
KEY EXPERT No I (Marketing and Communications Expert - Team Leader) with preferably 8 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting Marketing and Communications function (experience in in financial, investment sphere or in organisation that provides support to SME sector will be preferable) with a proven ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously and with a strong understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements, as well as SME infrastructure in Armenia.
KEY EXPERT No II (Marketing Expert - Project Manager) with preferably 8 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting Marketing, Digital Marketing, Production and Event Management function (experience of working within the financial, investment sector or in organisation that provides support to SME sector will be considered an advantage) with a proven ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, anda strong understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements, as well as the SME infrastructure in Armenia.
KEY EXPERT No III (PR/Communications Expert(s)) with preferably 8 years or more previous project experience in supporting Public and Media Relations, Digital Communications, preferably in financial, investment sphere, international organization, in organisation that provides support to SME sector or in PR agency, with a proven ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously. Experience in providing support in the editorial/copywriting function for international organisation and communication with a target audience will be considered an advantage. A proven track record of publish materials and their outcomes, an understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements, as well as SME infrastructure in Ukraine.
All key experts shall be fluent in written and spoken English. It is essential that the Consultant has access to members (eg an interpreter or a Key Expert) which can assist in communicating in Armenian.
The Marketing and Communications Expert shall coordinate the Project Team of the following Key Experts:
Key Expert No 1 (Marketing Specialist) with preferably 5 years or more experience in supporting the marketing function (experience in the financial, investment sphere or in organisations that provides support to the SME sector will be considered an advantage) with proved ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously. Fluency in written and spoken English is essential as well as fluency in Armenian and a strong understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements.
Key Expert(s) No 2 (Visual Content Specialist) – ( 2 or more experts) responsible for video, digital, presentations, etc., in line with the requirements in the ToR to this assignment with preferably 5 years or more professional experience in supporting the production function in international organizations and in conducting large scale projects with a proven . ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously and a proven. track record in the successful organisation of large-scale production projects and an understanding of donor organizations’ operations and requirements Fluency in written spoken English as well as fluency in Armenian is essential.
Key Expert(s) No 3 (Digital Marketing Specialist) – (2 or more experts) with preferably 5 years previous professional experience in supporting Digital Marketing functions (experience in the financial, investment sphere or working with organisations that provide support to the SME sector will be considered an advantage) with a proven ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, and with a . strong understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements. Fluency in written and spoken English as well as fluency in Armenian is essential.
Key Expert(s) No 4 (Design Specialist) – (2 or more experts) with preferably at least 5 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting the Design function, (experience in international organisation would be considered an advantage). A proven ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, proven. track record of successful works and a. strong understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements. Fluency in written and spoken English as well as Armenian is essential
Key Expert(s) No 5 (Event Management Specialist) –2 or more experts with preferably5 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting the Event Management function and business-to-business activities (experience working in international organisations would be considered an advantage). A proven track record of successful organisation of large-scale events and B2B activities, proven . ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, .and an understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements. Fluency in written and spoken English as well as Armenian is essential.
Key Expert No 6 (Content Management/Copywriting Specialist) with preferably 5 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting the Content Management/Copywriting function in the financial, investment sector or business media or marketing agencies (experience in an international organisation would be considered an advantage). A demonstrated track record of effective working results, proven ability to coordinate multiple tasks/projects simultaneously and ,an understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements, as well as the SME infrastructure in Armenia. Fluency in written and spoken English and Russian as well as Armenian is essential.
Key Expert No 7 (Editorial/Copywriting Specialist) with preferably 8 years or more of previous professional experience in supporting the Editorial/Copywriting function in the financial, investment sphere, business media or PR agencies (experience working with international organisations would be considered an advantage). A proven track record of published materials and their outcomes, proven. ability to produce multiple texts within a tight deadline and . an understanding of donor organisations’ operations and requirements, as well as the SME infrastructure in Armenia. Fluency in written and spoken English and Russian as well as Armenian is essential.
Submission Requirements:
In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultant seeking to be selected for this Assignment, the information submitted should include the following:
- Company’ profile, organization and staffing (max. 2-4 pages).
- Details of previous project experience or similar assignments particularly undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives, KPIs delivered, main outcomes.
- CVs of key experts who could carry out the Assignment detailing qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided, assignment budget, main activities, objectives.
- Completed attached Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet.
- Attached Financial proposal in the format provided.
The above information should not exceed 20 pages excluding CVs and Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet.
The complete expression of interest (including CVs, Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet) should be submitted, in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The expression of interest shall be one file (pdf), not exceeding 4MB. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file.
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