About RSF

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – known internationally as Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) – is an international non-profit organisation that promotes press freedom, pluralism and independence. By fighting censorship and supporting journalists and media outlets persecuted for their activities, RSF defends an essential pillar of democracy.

With consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), RSF is an independent organisation based in Paris. Strong with 6 sections (Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland), 7 regional offices (London, Brussels, Tunis, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro, Dakar, Taipei), 4 representatives abroad and network of correspondents in 150 countries, RSF is able to mobilise and alert on issues related to the freedom of the press and the protection of journalists and media professionals.

For more information on RSF’s mandate and activities, please visit our website : https://rsf.org/fr/qui-sommes-nous .

Intervention context

RSF’s activities around the world aim to ensure greater safety for journalists and other media professionals, as well as their advocates, through a global and agile (360°) approach, so that they can continue to provide and produce reliable information to civil society.

In recent years, numerous crises have threatened the work of journalists and media professionals. These crises take different forms depending on the context, and have a variable but often direct impact on press freedom and journalism. To adapt to these new risks, RSF has adapted its operating procedures to respond more effectively and rapidly to serious attacks on press freedom and threats to journalists and the media.

In this context, RSF is seeking the support of a consultant to develop its internal procedures and limit the exposure of its staff to safety and security risks or to develop their preparedness.

Consultancy objectives

The general objective of the assignment is to support RSF in matters of security and crisis management. More specifically, RSF is looking for a service provider to 1) anticipate, mitigate and manage security threats and crises likely to expose its collaborators (employees, representatives, correspondents) and activities, and 2) train its teams in the basic principles of security and crisis management, and disseminate best practices through the implementation of a coherent training plan. This support will be divided into two batches:

Batch 1: Safety and crisis management guidance

Context

RSF’s collaborators, partners and activities are increasingly exposed to critical incidents and crises. Since 2023, RSF has been trying to respond to these new challenges by setting up a comprehensive crisis anticipation and management system (creation of a dedicated crisis unit, implementation of new procedures). The support of a service provider would enable RSF to disseminate procedures and good reflexes among its staff and standardize practices between headquarters and regional offices.

Expected deliverables

• Situation monitoring: sharing of security watches, risk assessments and security analyses based on information received from the field, partners or local and regional information networks.
• Travel security: security advice for mission planning in high-risk contexts, contextual briefings and monitoring of travelers during their trips (creation of a 24/7 Signal group, security alerts, etc.).    
• Reinforcement of security procedures: possible updating of RSF’s general security policy; assistance in drafting contingency plans and security plans for regional offices and for Press Freedom Centers opened by RSF.
• Crisis management: prepare, advise and support RSF management in the management of critical incidents and crises; accompany RSF if urgent evacuations and repatriations are necessary.
• Any other unforeseen activity in the field of security risk management, the urgency of which would require increased support for RSF (e.g. vulnerability analysis of an office or representative).

Batch 2 : Safety and crisis management trainings

Context

RSF would like to develop a training plan for security and crisis management in order to establish a common base of knowledge and skills among its teams, both at headquarters and in its regional offices. These training courses should take into account the security procedures recently implemented by RSF, and disseminate best practices among teams. Once completed, these training courses will be updated through “refreshers”.

Expected deliverables

To date, RSF has identified several areas for training to strengthen its internal skills in security and crisis management. The successful candidate will have to integrate the priorities proposed below and support RSF in setting up a coherent training plan:

• Mission trip personal safety for all employees likely to be deployed in the field, in Paris (around 40 people concerned) or in regional offices (around 30 people concerned). This training will include a theoretical and practical grounding in physical and digital safety (pre-departure logistics planning, safety during the mission, incident response, stress management, first-aid training, simulation exercises).
• Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) (5 people identified as of now) for staff who have to travel in high-risk environments or work on particularly sensitive issues (investigation desk, crisis desk). This will include the basics of personal safety training, with the addition of more comprehensive simulation exercises, and an awareness of threats in the most dangerous environments (Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, etc.).
• Crisis management training for members of the Executive Committee and middle managers in Paris (22 people) and in regional offices (10 people), to disseminate the new crisis management procedures developed by RSF.
• Safety training for focal points in Paris and in the offices (9 people) : basic principles of physical safety (staff, offices), understanding the working environment and regional risk analysis for each office (mapping of players, emergency procedures, diagnosis of past incidents), logistical and safety preparation of offices in the event of an emergency.

Depending on newly identified needs, other training courses may be offered by the service provider.

Duration of the consultancy

12 months starting from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026, with possible renewal by agreement of both parties.

Budget

RSF will give preference to proposals including a fixed monthly hourly rate, based on the volume of hours dedicated to RSF’s support by the service provider.

The maximum budgets, including any travel expenses, will be distributed as follows:

• For batch 1: € 30,000 all charges included
• For batch 2: € 35,000 all charges included

Application

Applications may be submitted in English or French. They must include :

• a technical proposal including: the candidate’s experience, the solutions envisaged to support RSF, the material and human resources mobilized for the service, the methodologies proposed for the service and a timetable indicating the major stages envisaged by the service provider to support RSF for the above-mentioned services.
• a financial proposal, including detailed budget headings and a global amount including all taxes;

RSF will give preference to applications offering support for both batches.  However, candidates may answer for only one batch, depending on their areas of expertise (RSF will take into account the expertise available for each of both lots in the selection process).

Submission

Applications should be sent to grichard@rsf.org and mention the tender reference (AO sécurité et crises 2025) in the email title.

Schedule

• Applications will be evaluated as they are received, with a deadline of midnight February 14, 2025 (UTC+1).
• Applicants may send RSF any questions they may have (grichard@rsf.org) throughout the application submission period. RSF’s response will be shared with all candidates who have previously expressed an interest in the tender.
• The decision will be announced to all candidates on February 27, 2025. The contract will be launched upon confirmation of the successful candidate.

Selection criteria

ITEMS	MAX POINTS
	100
Understanding of the terms of reference and conformity of the proposal with the requirements described in one or both batch	30
Understanding of the specificity of RSF’s mandate (press freedom NGO, including journalistic activities) and its working environment	10
Passed experience with journalists, media workers, press freedom defenders or human rights and/or humanitarian non-governmental organizations	10
Access to a network of local partners and up-to-date information for security analyses shared with RSF in all geographical areas of interest (Middle East, Asia, Africa, Americas).	15
Ability to be available in case of emergency (within -12h) and to mobilize teams to meet RSF’s last-minute needs (crisis and incident management, briefings when missions are decided on urgently, etc.).	10
Ability to join Paris HQ teams quickly and facilitate in-person exchanges	5
Fluency in French and/or English is essential; other languages are a plus (Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, etc.).	5
Financial proposal	15