IESC – the International Executive Service Corps – is a U.S.-based nonprofit that seeks private enterprise solutions to problems of poverty in developing countries and around the world. By providing a mix of technical assistance and volunteer expert support, IESC works with emerging industries, financial institutions, and governments to stabilize economic environments, increase opportunity, and promote growth. We have completed over 25,000 projects in more than 130 countries worldwide.
The USAID-funded Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project, which runs from September 2018 to September 2023, links Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through commercial transactions with lead firms. The goal is to integrate SMEs into a lead firm’s supply chain to accelerate domestic SME growth. The project is also working closely with government counterparts to create systemic changes in the commercial legal, regulatory, and administrative processes to improve the overall competitiveness of Vietnam’s SMEs. Additional focus on COVID-19 economic recovery is also expected in the near future.
IESC is seeking a part-time consultant to serve as the Communications Support/Editor Consultant for the project’s communication and events team. This individual would provide services remotely but may participate in some communication team meetings, event communication strategy sessions, and on occasion, provide English writing guidance/tips to staff members; therefore, we anticipate that the selected individual would reside in Vietnam.
The project requires English-language editing services for project reports including weekly bullets and events calendar, quarterly and annual reports, event press releases, and support for drafting event briefing checklist (BCL), brochures, quarterly newsletters, success stories and other technical reports. The Communications Support/Editor Consultant will work closely with the USAID LinkSME Communications Manager. The outputs are described by item and will range from varying levels of editing support, from light copy editing and formatting to more intensive content editing and layout/design to produce polished, accurate, consistent, and compelling products.
Objective:
To support the LinkSME communications and events team develop professional quality written products for submission to the client and other stakeholders.
Tasks:
The Communications Support/Editor Consultant will conduct quality reviews for English-language written submissions. The Consultant will receive all assignments directly from the project’s Communications Manager. In addition to working with the Communications Manager, these services will collaborate with the respective IESC Senior Management and Technical Leads as assigned. The services will provide overall quality control of product final content and editing within agreed to deadlines. The Consultant will undertake some or all the following specific tasks for editing support:
- Review USAID templates, USAID LinkSME Branding Implementation Plan and Marking Plan;
- Respond to internal requests related to agreed to output table in a timely fashion and work with project staff to create manageable timelines;
- Complete final edits all elements of communications product according to brand and marking requirements with minimal direction, guiding staff throughout the process to improve their capacity;
- Provide copy edits to ensure finest quality, this includes translated technical reports and documents;
- Re-write sections as necessary to ensure American English quality, cut, or tighten language to meet page number requirements/ limits as agreed to in advance;
- Provide feedback or recommendations on the design of graphics to ensure clarity and effective communication of proposed approaches and impact
- Support development as necessary and edit project reports including weekly bullets and event calendar, quarterly and annual reports, translated reports/surveys/studies/publications, brochures, quarterly newsletter, success stories and event briefers known as BCL for quality, clarity, consistency, and impact and in accordance with USAID requirements and IESC style guide consistency;
- Ensure communication product formats and layouts are visual impactful, readable, and consistent with USAID project branding requirements;
- Identify common errors or themes and provide guidance as requested to non-native speakers on ways to improve English written capacity; and,
- Other editing or document preparation tasks as assigned.
Deliverables and Expected Due Dates:
A release order will be issued for each requested task and will outline the specific deliverable and timetable.
Illustrative Deliverables. The Communications Support/Editor Consultant is generally expected to deliver the following products and share via the Google Drive platform due to USAID/Vietnam’s use of this file sharing platform. The costs for each will be negotiated with the selected consultant and included in the consulting agreement.
