Consultancy on Social Media trends analysis

CONSULTANCY NOTICE – EXTENSION
(Open to international and national candidates)

1. Background

As one of the fastest growing illicit industries, trafficking in persons is a global concern and has increasingly been recognized as a pressing issue in Viet Nam with women, men, girls, and boys being trafficked and exploited in a wide range of situations. While Vietnamese are predominantly trafficked to neighbouring countries according to government statistics, transnational criminal networks are also known to take Vietnamese people to Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) through a complex journey involving varied actors for forced labour or sexual exploitation. Vulnerabilities exacerbated by COVID-19 socio-economic impacts coupled with post-pandemic uncertainties that are being increasingly exploited by smugglers and traffickers will put more people and community at risk of irregular migration and human trafficking.

To address this issues, IOM Viet Nam has been implementing a coordinated series of interventions under the project “Tackling Modern Slavery from Viet Nam” (TMSV) funded by the UK Home Office since 2018. As the project is now entering its third phase (2022 - 2025), there is a need to adopt a stronger data-driven approach to build a robust evidence base that not only benefits the project but also other counter-trafficking efforts in the long run.

According to surveys conducted with the project’s target populations in the hotspot source provinces[1], most aspirant migrants and their family members (91.4%) own smartphones and a significant proportion (44.6%) have looked for migration related information on social media. Notably, aspirant migrants and those aged 18-25 listed social media as their second most preferred source of information on international migration. According to anecdotal data from the project as well as different organizations and CSOs in the field, these groups also use social media and online messaging platforms highly frequently for communicating and disseminating migration related information.

On the other hand, recent trends show that smugglers and traffickers have adapted to the new normal by permeating online spaces. They increasingly rely on social media as the primary recruitment tool, luring vulnerable individuals with fraudulent employment opportunities and then exploiting them in forced labour or sex trafficking. They capitalize on post-COVID uncertainties and heightened desire to migrate, fishing for victims by spreading mis- and dis-information on overseas job opportunities as well as travel and immigration requirements.

This has necessitated an urgent need to regularly implement a real-time social media trend analysis and understanding of online conversations as they relate to migration behaviours and decision-making. This would inform the development and improvement of behaviour change communication strategies of the project for better promoting safe migration and preventing human trafficking. 

2. Objective of the consultancy

Under the TMSV project, IOM has been implementing the communication campaign “Think Before You Go” in hotspot communities and on social media platforms using innovative approaches to induce behavioural and attitudinal change towards irregular, unsafe migration. In the new phase, the campaign is expected to build on strong (social) media monitoring and analysis and campaign monitoring.

The purpose of the consultancy is thus to support IOM with monitoring Vietnamese migrants’ online behaviour, especially how they search, communicate and secure services for migration information and opportunities on popular SNS and other tailored messenger services/applications. It is also expected that the consultancy will help IOM to better track where and/or how misinformation about migration opportunities gets developed and spread on various social media and other online platforms. The monitoring results and analyses are to provide information and insight for IOM to better design its interventions in preventing and protecting Vietnamese people from risks of people smuggling and human trafficking.

3. Scope of work

IOM is seeking proposals from consultancy teams/firms to conduct social media monitoring and analysis, misinformation tracking and management, and development of quarterly reports with insights emerging from social media on migration trends and human trafficking. Under guidance and support of IOM and close collaboration with the Project Officer and Communication Assistant, the consultant will:

(a) Conduct a review/assessment (mapping) of social media platforms and conversations of Vietnamese (aspirant) migrants/internet users around international labour migration. The review (mapping) will identify:

• How are the conversations being organized and run; what are the most popular pages/platforms and what is their reach, level of engagements, etc.?
• Who are the opinion leaders and facilitators of conversations and what engagement approaches do they use?
• What is the profile of visitors of these sites, pages, and platforms and of people engaged in conversations? The profiling will reflect the age, gender, location, online behaviour, level, and ways of engagement, etc. The profiling will be conducted around both sharers and seekers of information.
• Key topics and narratives around international labour migration, especially irregular migration; irregular migration related information tone.
• General myths, misconceptions and false information, and the key populations exposed to or engaged in these.

(b) Based on the mapping, develop working methodology notes best suited for social media monitoring including (tentatively):

• Social media monitoring: Define and periodically update the search terms for social monitoring, set up the dashboards, analyze data and generate quarterly reports which will reflect key conversations topics of interests, concerns, sentiments, rumours, and misinformation.
• Misinformation management: Set up and maintain a misinformation log which will track prominent rumours and misinformation. This will be used to track their origins and spread/reach, assess potential impact, and formulate a misinformation management strategy and mitigation measures for each identified rumour/misinformation.
• Surveying: make contact and negotiate with owners of social media pages/accounts that are popular among youth and potential migrants, especially those in hotspot provinces for overseas migration such as Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Binh Thuan, to conduct online surveys (content of polls and surveys to be developed by IOM in consultation with the consultant) via selected social media pages/accounts, run online campaigns to promote the posts and report on the results, including a brief demographic analysis of reached respondents.
• Outreaching: Publish sponsored posts (content to be developed by IOM in consultation with the consultant) via selected social media pages/accounts, run online campaigns to promote the posts and report on the results, including a brief demographic analysis of reached respondents.

(c) Based on daily and monthly information collected, prepare quarterly social media trends analysis reports that include the evidence generated from social media trend analysis and misinformation management mechanism. The reports will also reflect on who is leading the conversation, where these are happening, what is their reach and engagement, etc. The reports will contain evidence-informed and actionable recommendations for offline and online response, including aspects related to audience targeting and will be used by the project to support decision making and activity design.

4. Deliverables and timeline

The consultancy period is from Oct 2022 - March 2023, with possibility of extension until 2025, subject to funding availability and satisfactory completion of deliverables.

Payment of this consultancy will be made on monthly basis upon satisfactory delivery of the assigned tasks and monthly meetings with IOM.

5. Qualifications

Education

Academic background in Statistics, Data Science, Communications, Digital Marketing or technical competencies in Social Media Management, Digital Monitoring, Business Analytics.

Functional competencies

• At least five years of proven experience in social media monitoring and analysis
• Possession of or access to a social media trends analysis tool that includes at least the following functions: keyword analysis; trend analysis/trend reports; audience analysis; engagement tracking and analysis; sentiment analysis; influencer identifying, tracking and analysis; monitoring social media, websites, and forums; and historical data
• Expertise in understanding and working with social media platforms
• Excellent English writing and analytical skills
• Experience in developing analyses and executive summaries based on multiple types of social data with recommendations for program and policy action
• Cultural agility and/or knowledge of international (labour) migration from Viet Nam

Behavioural competencies

• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure
• Ability to be flexible and respond to changes to text/layout as part of the review and feedback process
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to communicate and work with diverse people
• Participate effectively in team-based, information-sharing environment, collaborating and cooperating with others
• Focus on impact and results for the client

6. Proposal submission

Qualified consultant teams/firms are requested to submit the following proposal package in English:

• Cover Letter – Please highlight relevant experience and skills related to the assignment in no more than two pages.
• Technical proposal, which clearly provides:
  
  • Design of service in accordance with the required scope of work and deliverables
  • Team leader’s CV which includes relevant experience, skills, and qualifications
  • Team members’ CVs which include relevant experience, skills, and qualifications
  • Background on the firm/team, including professional expertise, knowledge and experience with similar projects, contracts, clients, and consulting assignments
• Financial proposal – Please provide the number of and rate per working day required to undertake this assignment.

How to apply:

Completed applications, including cover letter, CV and copies of diplomas and certificates and proposal may submitted electronically to [email protected] referring to this Consultancy Notice’s Position Title.

Applications are non-returnable and only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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[1]Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh