UNFPA hereby solicits a quotation for the following service:
“Podcast series on gender responsive family policies”
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is issuing this Request for Quotation (RFQ) to solicit proposals from qualified agencies for the production and dissemination of a compelling podcast series. This series will be aired across social media platforms and other appropriate channels, with the aim of promoting positive gender norms and family friendly policies.
The podcast series should specifically focus on the equitable distribution of responsibilities between partners and underscore the critical importance of fostering a "family-friendly" atmosphere within companies. It should delve into groundbreaking initiatives in Serbia that are advancing gender-responsive family policies (GRFP) and work-life balance within the private sector. The series should also feature insights from celebrities/influencers, authentic personal stories, expert perspectives, best practices from private companies and other stakeholders. Furthermore, the podcast series will comprehensively cover themes such as gender equality, fatherhood, family-friendly policies, the activities of relevant domestic and international organizations, and the latest research data, trends, and initiatives in this field.
About UNFPA:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency for ensuring rights and choices of all. The strategic goal of UNFPA is to achieve the three transformative results: ending unmet need for family planning, ending maternal death, and ending violence and harmful practices against women and girls. In pursuing its goal, UNFPA has been guided by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (1994), the Millennium Development Goals (2000) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015).
UNFPA regional project “Expanding Choices: Gender-Responsive Family Policies for the Private Sector in the Western Balkans - Phase 2” aims to have a substantial impact by enabling women to fully participate in the labour market and make informed decisions on their family and work life, leading to more gender-responsive and sustainable development. The desired outcome of the project is to promote gender-responsive family policies in the private sector through legislative and normative frameworks, creating inclusive labour conditions and opportunities. Furthermore, the project supports governance and the rule of law by engaging with duty bearers and advocating for business-friendly public services and equal opportunities. The intervention will pursue three key outputs: 1) enhancing the capacity of governments to design and monitor GRFP, 2) encouraging private sector actors to implement such policies, 3) fostering regional collaboration and knowledge sharing on GRFP and their connection to gender equality and economic development. This initiative is carried out by the United Nations Population Fund in Serbia in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the private sector, with financial support from the Austrian Development Agency.
Background information:
When the time comes for having children, too many women still face a difficult decision: career or family. Combining both priorities is challenging when childcare is unavailable, parental leave is limited and flexible work arrangements are rare. The result is that many women either end up with fewer children than they want, or are unable to fulfil their career potential.
Both outcomes have negative repercussions, not only for individual women who are left with fewer choices and opportunities, but also for society as a whole. When millions of women are in effect forced to give up their careers to take care of children and the household, their talents and other contributions remain untapped in the economy and public life. And when millions of women can’t have the number of children they want because that would in effect end their careers, the resulting low birth rates add further pressure on population numbers already in decline.
This is why UNFPA, with support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), is partnering with the private sector and governments to champion gender-responsive family policies in the Western Balkans. Evidence shows that such policies – both at the national level and those implemented by the private sector – are powerful tools to shift discriminatory gender norms and redistribute unpaid care work so that both men and women can realize their career aspirations and their fertility intentions.
Within the project, UNFPA is initiating a podcasts series of up to 15 episodes that will promote gender-responsive family policies and redistribution of unpaid care. The main objective of the proposed podcast would be to explore and showcase groundbreaking initiatives within Serbia focused on advancing gender-responsive family policies and achieving better work-life balance, particularly within the private sector. The series will highlight celebrities/influencers, real stories, expert insights, and best practices from “Champion Companies” supported by the project and other stakeholders in Serbia.
Objective(s)/Task(s):
The selected entity is expected to execute the following tasks:
Task 1. Workplan Development: Prepare a comprehensive workplan detailing proposed activities, a list of professional technical equipment for filming and editing (adhering to podcast standards), timeframes, and assigned team members responsible for each activity.
Task 2. Episode Scenario Development: Develop scenarios for podcast episodes, inclusive of the shorter video segments captured in the field. Scenarios for podcast episodes should include breakdown of the episode's segments (e.g., introduction, key interview questions, storytelling segments), list of celebrities/influencers, company representatives, experts, or individuals with lived experiences that will be interviewed, complementary short video content to be integrated, including their purpose and visual elements.
Task 3. Podcast Production: Produce up to 15 podcast episodes, each with a maximum duration of 60 minutes, inclusive of short video segments captured in the field
Task 4. Communications Plan: Develop a comprehensive communications plan that includes promotion through UNFPA social media channels, as well through traditional media.
Task 5. Digital Content Production and Campaign Execution: Produce content for digital promotion across social media platforms and execute the associated social media campaign. Prepare materials (press releases, targeted interviews) for further promotion of the podcast in traditional media.
Task 6. Final Report Submission: Submission of a comprehensive final report that includes a detailed analysis of the overall results of the podcast series and its supporting communication campaign, including key performance indicators for social and traditional media
Outputs/Deliverables:
Deliverable 1: A detailed workplan outlining proposed activities, timeframes, and assigned team members responsible for each activity.
Deliverable 2: Developed scenarios for all podcast episodes, including a list of proposed speakers and concepts for short video segments to be produced
Deliverable 3: Production of up to 15 podcast episodes, each with a maximum duration of 60 minutes, inclusive of integrated short video segments captured in the field
Deliverable 4: A comprehensive campaign plan for social and traditional media developed.
Deliverable 5: Production of content and assets for digital promotion across social media platforms and traditional media, along with the execution of the associated campaign.
Deliverable 6: Submission of a comprehensive final report.
Timing/Schedule:
Production of the podcast series should be concluded by December 2025 (Deliverables 1,2 and 3), while promotional campaign should be concluded by March 2026.
A detailed working schedule will be agreed upon at the start of the assignment in consultation with the UNFPA Country Office.
Work will be done under the supervision and guidance of the Communications Analyst. Overall supervision of all processes related to the UNFPA Country Office is performed by the UNFPA CO Serbia Head of Office.
For delays in the completion of the tasks, if any, the contractor should notify the Communications Analyst and the UNFPA Serbia Head of Office, stating the reasons for the delay and proposing alternative actions or dates for completion of the deliverable.
Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:
Qualifications of the Contractor:
The Contractor is requested to include in the proposal the organizational CV.
Requirements:
Officially registered as a legal entity,
At least 2 years of experience in TV and podcast production
Demonstrable experience in developing media products and podcasts, preferably in the area of gender equality, parenthood, fatherhood and social issues
Qualifications of the Team
The company is requested to include in the proposal the team composition with recent CVs. At the minimum, the team should include a team leader with demonstrated experience in managing TV content and/or podcasts and one team member.
Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner , if applicable:
UNFPA will provide advisory support as needed, especially in terms of overall messaging, scenario development, and identification of stakeholders.
Note: Final social media campaign will be executed from UNFPA Serbia's official social media channels (Instagram, X, Facebook). All public materials produced for social and traditional media must clearly acknowledge UNFPA and project support, and adhere to all relevant branding guidelines.
Instructions for submission
Proposals should be prepared based on the guidelines set forth in Section III above, along with a properly filled out and signed price quotation form, and are to be sent by email to the contact person indicated below no later than: 13 July 2025, 23:59 Belgrade Time.
Email address of contact person: serbia.office@unfpa.org
Please note the following guidelines for electronic submissions:
The following reference must be included by the Bidder in the email subject line:
RFQ Nº UNFPA/SRB/RFQ/25/001 – [Podcast series on gender responsive family policies]
- It is the Bidder’s responsibility to assure compliance with the submission process. If the envelopes or emails are not marked / submitted per the instructions, UNFPA will neither assume responsibility for the bid’s misplacement or premature opening nor guarantee the confidentiality of the Bid process. Incorrect submissions might result in your Bid being declared invalid.
- The total email size may not exceed 20 MB (including email body, encoded attachments and headers). Where the technical details are in large electronic files, it is recommended that these be sent separately before the deadline.
- Any quotation submitted will be regarded as an offer by the bidder and does not constitute or imply the acceptance of any quotation by UNFPA. UNFPA is under no obligation to award a contract to any bidder as a result of this RFQ.
For more information and how to apply, please download the full RFQ Nº UNFPA_SRB_RFQ_25_001 and General Conditions of Contract from the Documents section in the upper left corner.