Job Description

Context

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 183 national Member Parliaments and 15 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes peace, democracy and sustainable development. It helps parliaments become stronger, younger, greener and more gender-balanced. The IPU also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated and unique global mechanism: the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CHRP).


Respect for human rights lies at the heart of lasting peace, inclusive development and social stability. Parliaments play a central role in promoting these universal values. By defending the rights of their own members and ensuring that national legislation and oversight align with international human rights standards, parliaments act as safeguards against repression, arbitrariness and democratic backsliding.


Yet, in recent years, many countries have experienced a deterioration in respect for human rights, which has often coincided with the weakening of democratic norms and institutions. Human rights violations against parliamentarians -- arbitrary detention, politically motivated prosecutions, unfair trials, attacks, intimidation by State or non-State actors -- undermine the functioning of representative institutions and erode public trust. At the same time, insufficient parliamentary engagement with human rights issues at the national level limits the ability of parliaments to act as effective guardians of democratic governance.


The IPU works extensively to strengthen parliaments' capacity to promote and protect human rights. This includes the work of the CHRP, as well as providing MPs with information, training and guidance to better uphold the rights of the people they represent. We support parliaments in implementing recommendations from the UN Human Rights Council and the human rights treaty bodies, and in signing, adopting and applying key human rights conventions and related domestic laws.


Despite these efforts, the scale of today's human rights challenges requires renewed mobilization, stronger public awareness and more coordinated parliamentary action. Against this backdrop, the IPU has made human rights its priority theme for 2026. As part of this focus, we will launch in March 2026 a global campaign to mobilize MPs, drive meaningful institutional reforms, strengthen parliamentary solidarity with MPs at risk worldwide, and reinforce parliamentary engagement in upholding human rights. The campaign will be designed to remain active and deliver measurable impact until 2028.

Objectives of the campaign

The campaign will focus on two complementary, equally important and mutually reinforcing pillars:


1. Protecting the rights of parliamentarians (individual action)


Strengthening awareness, solidarity and mobilization to prevent and address human rights violations against MPs.


This pillar seeks to galvanize individual MPs and parliamentary actors to:

Take action in support of at-risk fellow MPs Engage with the IPU's CHRP and support its work

2. Parliamentary engagement in upholding human rights (institutional action)


Strengthening parliaments as institutions that protect and advance human rights.


This pillar encourages parliaments to:

Adopt laws that promote and protect human rights Establish or reinforce existing parliamentary human rights committees Build robust internal expertise and ensure proactive, sustained engagement with international human rights mechanisms Use the IPU human rights self-assessment toolkit to embed human rights approaches across parliamentary functions

Scope of work

The IPU invites proposals from experienced public relations/communications agencies to support the strategic orientation, design, branding, production and roll-out of the campaign, in line with the IPU's visual identity and global mandate.


The selected provider will work closely with the IPU Human Rights and Communications teams to develop a compelling, accessible and impactful campaign that resonates across diverse cultural, linguistic and political contexts.


It should be noted that the two pillars of the campaign present different opportunities and challenges. Giving special visibility to the work of the CHRP provides a great opportunity for the IPU to tell personal stories and seek individual support from MPs across the world to help their colleagues at risk. This work is, however, also very sensitive and the scope of what can be communicated publicly must be carefully defined to avoid increasing risk or worsening the situation of MPs with cases before the CHRP. As for the second pillar, the focus is more on the institution of parliament, although it could also include the identification and use of parliamentary champions. The advantage of this pillar is that it can help bring about change at the institutional level which should be more sustainable than individual actions. However, the type of actions we want parliaments to take in this area are complex and time-consuming.

Key deliverables

1. Discovery and strategic orientation

Conduct a discovery process to understand IPU audiences, priorities, and the two campaign pillars. Present the following elements: + Concept behind the campaign


- Strategic orientation and narrative
- Campaign title and tagline
- Visual identity and key graphic elements
- Key messages (for both campaign pillars)
- Production plan
- Roll-out strategy, including multilingual, multicultural and political considerations


2. Design, branding and production

Produce the approved visual identity, templates and campaign assets in English and French, and provide ready-to-use templates that can be adapted for other languages. Develop a promotional package for parliaments and for individual MPs, including tools adaptable to national contexts. Provide digital and web-ready materials (including web components for the IPU site).

3. Roll-out support

Advise on the campaign's launch strategy (including social media and website). Support the campaign's deployment and provide guidance for sustained engagement.

4. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL)

Develop an MEL framework with key performance indicators and tracking tools to be used and managed by the IPU: + Engagement of MPs


- Parliamentary institutional action (national activities, self-assessments, legislation, etc.)
- Public visibility and impact
- Measurable parliamentary solidarity outcomes
- Concrete and measurable improvements in the situations of MPs at risk (e.g. release from prison, conclusion of legal proceedings, return to parliament, etc.)


5. Handover

Provide all final files in editable formats. Submit recommendations for long-term sustainability.

Target audience

Primary audienceNational parliaments and members of parliament

Key influencers and political decision-makersIPU President IPU Secretary General Speakers of Parliament Heads of State and Government IPU office-holders CHRP members Chairs/members of parliamentary committees (e.g. human rights, legal and international affairs, justice, oversight) Parliamentary groups Political party leadership Government ministers with portfolios linked to human rights National human rights institutions Relevant international partners

SupportersAll MPs Civil society organizations working on human rights and democratic governance Academic experts and researchers Selected journalists specializing in governance and human rights Influencers and media actors

Timeline

The selected provider is expected to begin work in February 2026.

Indicative timeline (subject to adjustment):

Phase 1: 9 February - 6 March 2026 (four weeks)

Discovery and strategic proposal

Phase 2: 9 March - 27 March 2026 (three weeks)

Design, branding, production of first assets and testing

Phase 3: 30 March - 3 May 2026 (five weeks)

Campaign launch, including social media and website

Phase 4: 3 May - 31 May 2026 (four weeks)

Additional assets, webpage updates, final recommendations and handover

Remuneration

Payment will be made in instalments upon satisfactory completion of each phase:

20% - Completion of Phase 1 35% - Completion of Phase 2 30% - Completion of Phase 3 15% - Completion of Phase 4

The maximum budget is CHF 50,000.

Criteria for selection

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of:

Demonstrated experience in communication, public relations and international campaign design Technical capacity and ability to work within the proposed timeline Quality of previous work/portfolio Cost-effectiveness of the proposal Experience in working in multilingual and multicultural environments

Experience with international political, human rights or democracy-related campaigns is strongly preferred.


Applications without demonstrated professional experience in communications or marketing will not be considered.

Proposals

Proposals must include:

Company/consultant qualifications and team bios/CVs Brief narrative describing the proposed approach 2-3 case studies of relevant work Outline of proposed process and schedule Detailed cost proposal per phase Innovative ideas (which may or may not be taken on board subsequently*



How to apply
Interested applicants should submit their proposals to press@ipu.org by 24 January 2026 at 23:59 CET.


Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.



Deadline:
Saturday, 24 January 2026