About the Organization

Since 1951, UNDP has been working and partnering with different public private sector organizations in India to Strengthen Systems and Institutions and promote Inclusive Growth and Livelihoods as well as Sustainable Energy, Environment and Resilience, with a focused agenda to leave no one behind.

UNDP India’s Communications department works closely with the verticals listed above, ensuring that the organizations’ communication reaches all its stakeholders – the government, private sector partners, implementation partners, beneficiaries and the general public. This is done by leveraging strategic communication tools, as well as by creating effective campaigns, community outreach, and media engagements.

Objective of the Assignment

With the rise of digital platforms, it is more important today than ever before to communicate through images. Photographs are one of the most effective, immediate and powerful ways through which UNDP can convey how our work improves people’s lives worldwide.

 In this context, UNDP India is looking to contract multiple photographers based in different parts of the country to deliver powerful images that demonstrate the impact of UNDP projects and initiatives in a range of areas where we work. These include inclusive growth, systems strengthening and institutions, energy and environment, and others related to UNDP core principles. A key ask of the photographer will be to deliver quality images for sharing through UNDP’s global communications channels and to supply images for use by the Indian media.

Under the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) photographers will be empanelled under three categories for:

• Category I: Photojournalists documenting results from projects and partnerships across the country.
• Category II: Multimedia documentation through photos, small clips and use of innovative communication/documentation tools.
• Category III: Photographing events, workshops and high-profile visits, initiatives and partnerships across the country.

Objective and Setup

The overall objective to set up these Long-Term Agreement (On Call) Contract is to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNDP will hire the services of photographers in one of the three categories above, once there are specific assignments in the next 3 years. The assignments will typically be to photograph key outreach events and photo document the impact of UNDP initiatives.

Under the supervision of the Programme Management and direct guidance of the Communications Specialists, the photographer provides high quality still photography services. The photographer demonstrates a client-oriented approach, tact and ability to work with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. The photographer ensures effective and efficient provision of services, full confidentiality in all aspects of assignment, management of information flow and follow-up on deadlines and commitments made. In all activities UNDP commissioned photographers are to ensure dignity of subjects, particularly in the context of people living or affected by HIV and children.

UNDP has over 40 projects across India which from time to time, require photo documentation. To give interested applicants a sense of volumes, in the last six months, the Country office has completed photo documentation of 15 projects and partnerships. This does not include workshops and conference which are a regular and key knowledge sharing component in annual work plans of each project. It is anticipated that the following number of assignments will take place per year in each of the categories:

• Category I: 40-50 assignments
• Category II: 25-35 assignments
• Category III: 100-130 assignments

Scope of Work

 For each assignment, the typical scope of work and deliverables would be as follows:

• Photograph projects, initiatives, and events; submit edited photos (based on category), as directed by the communications unit
• 80-100 high-resolution, high-quality image appropriately captioned and a suggested storyline per assignment (based on category)
• Photos (raw and edited) to be submitted along with a suggested script for the project documented (based on category II).
• Applicants will be required to interview people (beneficiaries, project managers, etc.) on their assignments and share the transcript in a word document
• Applicants will share select photographs (based on category) through e-mail/cloud storage/WhatsApp/or any other channel along with short captions for social media outreach
• Captions to be embedded in the images and shared separately as a word document as well (based on category)
• All selected images to be edited, subject to assignment and category
• All selected video files/raw footage, subject to assignment and category
• Final hard drive with all raw photos shot during the assignment to be provided to UNDP
• Ensure consent forms are submitted when the subjects of photographs/videos are children or people living with or affected by HIV or violence or any such circumstance
• UNDP retains copyright over all images shot during the course of an assignment.
• Copyright will appear as name of photographer/UNDP India.

Duration of the assignment

The assignment, under this Long-Term Agreement (On Call) Contract, is expected to have a duration of 3 years. The initial contract would be for one year with an option for renewal in subsequent years upon satisfactory performance evaluation.

Required skills and experience

CATEGORY I

• Education Qualifications: Degree in communications, arts, media or any relevant field will be preferred
• Minimum 2-5 years' experience (nationally and internationally) delivering on high profile projects
• Applicants with a background in photojournalism are preferred
• Contributes to national and international media outlets (for e.g.: National Geographic; Getty images; Granta; BBC; Reuters; etc). This is not mandatory
• Excellent communications skills, especially written for putting together captions, photo essays, etc.
• Ability to conduct short video/audio interviews
• Ability to shoot through innovative tools like drone, 360-degree and underwater photo/video would be preferred
• Contributes regularly to leading news agencies, bilateral and multilateral agencies, NGOs, etc.
• Preference to photographers with local language skills

CATEGORY II

• Education Qualifications: Degree in communications, arts, media or any relevant field would be preferred but not mandatory
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience, documenting multimedia projects and initiatives through innovative communication/documentation tools like drone, 360-degree and GoPro photo/video is necessary
• Good communications skills and ability to conduct short video/audio interviews
• Applicants with multimedia experience is mandatory
• Preference to photographers with local language skills
• Owning necessary equipment such as drones, 360-degree and GoPro, etc. to document projects and initiatives will be preferred (please list out such equipments in the proposal)

CATEGORY III

• Minimum 3 years’ experience in photography
• Significant experience in documenting events and workshops
• Good communications skills and ability to conduct short video/audio interviews
• PIB accreditation preferred
• Preference to photographers with local language skills

How to Apply 

Deadline 19-Jun-26 @ 08:00 AM (New York time)

For more information please check the Link