Terms of Reference : PELUM Association Communications Support Consultancy

**Terms of Reference**

**PELUM Association Communications Support Consultancy**

*Communication Strategy, Content Development and Website Refresh*

## About Trócaire

[Trócaire](http://www.trocaire.org/) is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The international non-governmental organisation was established to express the concern of the Irish Catholic Church for all forms of human need, particularly the needs and challenges faced by communities in the Global South. Trócaire works with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities, and with people in Ireland, to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together, we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world.

## Background and Context

[PELUM Association](https://pelumassociationrs.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) is a regional network of over 280 civil society organisations operating across East, Central and Southern Africa. Established in 1995, the Association works through country chapters and member organisations to promote participatory ecological land use management, agroecology, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods and community-led development among smallholder farming communities.

PELUM Association plays an important role in advancing farmer-centred, ecologically sustainable and locally led approaches to food systems transformation through regional convening, knowledge sharing, policy engagement, advocacy, capacity strengthening and learning exchanges. This role is increasingly relevant in a context marked by climate change, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and growing interest in agroecology and sustainable food systems. At the same time, the development and funding environment is becoming more competitive. Donors, policymakers and strategic partners increasingly require organisations to communicate their value, impact, niche, reach and partnership offer clearly and consistently. Effective communication is therefore central to PELUM Association’s strategic positioning, resource mobilisation, advocacy, partnership engagement and visibility.

PELUM Association has existing communication assets, including an organisational profile, annual reports, policy briefs, position papers, documented experiences, story materials, social media platforms, a website, and a communication strategy developed in 2015. While these provide an important foundation, the strategy and related communication approaches require updating to reflect the current digital communication environment, PELUM Association’s evolving priorities, and the need for stronger alignment between communication, advocacy and resource mobilisation.

As part of Trócaire’s network strengthening initiative, consultancy support is being sought to strengthen PELUM Association’s communications in a focused and practical way. The support will include a light website refresh, communication strategy revamp, practical coaching on digital content creation, packaging of selected impact stories, and review of selected donor-facing communication materials.

This consultancy will be delivered through one Terms of Reference with two linked lots. Lot 1 will focus on the website refresh, while Lot 2 will focus on the communication strategy, content development, impact story packaging, staff coaching and selected communication materials. The two lots are expected to remain closely coordinated so that website improvements are informed by clear messaging, relevant content, impact stories, and PELUM Association’s resource mobilisation and advocacy priorities.

## Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen PELUM Association’s communication, digital visibility, impact storytelling and positioning with donors, partners and advocacy audiences.

Specifically, the consultancy will support PELUM Association to:

- Update its communication strategy to reflect the current digital, advocacy, partnership and resource mobilisation context.
- Improve the clarity, structure, navigation and content of its website through a focused light refresh.
- Strengthen the capacity of communications focal persons to create, adapt and share digital content.
- Package selected impact stories for use on the website, social media, donor engagement and resource mobilisation materials.
- Review and strengthen the organisational profile and one selected donor-facing communication product.

## Guiding Principles

The consultancy should be guided by the following principles:

- **PELUM Association-led:** PELUM Association will define priorities, provide direction and approve final products.
- **Co-created and practical:** Consultants will work participatively with PELUM, with Trócaire providing technical accompaniment where useful.
- **Sustainable:** Outputs should be realistic for PELUM’s staffing, systems and resources, and usable beyond the consultancy period.
- **Strategically aligned:** Communication outputs should strengthen PELUM’s resource mobilisation, advocacy, partnership engagement and visibility.
- **Ethical and safe:** Stories, images and examples should respect dignity, consent, accuracy, safeguarding and contextual sensitivity.

## Consultancy Lots

The assignment is divided into two linked consultancy lots:

**Lot**

**Consultancy package**

**Scope**

Lot 1

Website Consultant

Focused website refresh, including structure, navigation, priority pages, links to stories and handover guidance.

Lot 2

Communications Strategy and Content Consultant

Communication strategy revamp, staff coaching, content templates, impact story packaging, organisational profile review and one selected donor-facing communication product.

Consultants may apply for one lot or both lots, provided they demonstrate the required expertise for each lot. Applicants applying for both lots must provide a clear technical approach showing how the website and communications/content components will be delivered as one coherent support process.

## Scope of Work

### Lot 1: Website Consultant

- The Website Consultant will:
- Review PELUM Association’s current website structure, navigation, page organisation, visual presentation and user experience.
- Work with PELUM Association, Trócaire and the Communications Strategy and Content Consultant to agree a practical website refresh plan.
- Refresh key website pages so that PELUM Association’s identity, mandate, five thematic areas, network reach, impact and value proposition are clearer.
- Improve website navigation and links to priority content, including impact stories, story materials, publications, policy materials and donor or partner-facing content.
- Support the upload or reorganisation of priority content provided and approved by PELUM Association.
- Ensure the website is mobile responsive, accessible and easy for PELUM staff to update.
- Provide basic handover guidance to PELUM staff on updating content, uploading stories and maintaining key pages.

The website support will be a light refresh. It will not include full website redesign, development of a new website, advanced custom software development, hosting costs, paid plug-ins, major branding work, or long-term website maintenance.

### Lot 2: Communications Strategy and Content Consultant

- The Communications Strategy and Content Consultant will:
- Review PELUM Association’s existing communication strategy and selected communication materials, including the organisational profile, annual report, story materials, website content, social media platforms and relevant donor-facing documents.
- Facilitate a participatory process with PELUM Association to clarify communication priorities, audiences, key messages, channels, content needs, available capacity and workflows.
- Update PELUM Association’s communication strategy to reflect the current digital, advocacy, partnership and resource mobilisation context.
- Develop a practical