International Specialist for Event Planning

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. FAO SAP is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. FAO SAP develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

FAO-SAP is organizing the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Solutions Forum in Nadi, Fiji, from 27 to 30 August 2024. The Form is a key activity of the FAO SIDS Solutions platform, created in 2021 to enhance information and solution exchange that can facilitate development by incubating, promoting and scaling-up home grown and imported solutions to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in SIDS.

The objective of the 2024 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum, which will be co-hosted by the Government of Fiji is to strengthen, promote and optimize enablers that can catalyze better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life ensuring that no one in the Pacific is left behind. The Forum will be headlined by the Prime Minister of Fiji and the FAO Director-General, with more than 300 participants from in and outside of the Pacific. Notable among the invited participants are Pacific Ministers and senior officials from Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Environment/Climate Change, Health, Education, ICT and Finance; civil society organizations and development partners.

This is a short-term opportunity, but it will be filled on a biennial basis. The plan for this call is therefore to retain qualified candidates who will be called upon to fill the post.

Reporting Lines

The International Specialist for Event Planning will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Subregional Coordinator, and direct supervision of the Food and Nutrition Officer for the Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands.

Technical Focus

Working with FAO interdisciplinary team, the international Specialist for Event Planning will coordinate the organization and implementation of the 2024 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum. The Specialist will lead the development of the Forum’s programme/agenda, identify and liaise with speakers, organize various planning meetings to be chaired by FAO, serve as the rapporteur during the meetings, plan and manage the Forum logistics, and support communications outreach.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Design, prepare, coordinate and execute successful high level leading edge biennial SIDS Solutions Forums with the participation of Prime Ministers/Heads of States, global heads of UN agencies, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), private sector groups, academia, youth, women, etc.
• Lead the selection of biennial forums’ themes, hosts, speakers, agendas, etc… to advance the overall objective of the SIDS Solutions Forum.
• Organize the logistics, marketing and communications for the Forum including the mechanism.
• Put in place the right conditions to allow youth and women to play active leadership roles in the design, preparation and execution of the Forum.
• Support the creation of the Forums’ Secretariat that will provide strategic sounding to the planning, execution and implementation of the Forums’ recommendations.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a field related to planning, business/public administration, communications, public relations, economics, political science, development studies or other field related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, climate change, Health, etc
• At least 10 years of relevant experience in planning high level events/conferences/forums. Knowledge of the cultural, economic and geopolitical context of the Pacific
• Working knowledge of English (for PSA), and another official UN Language such as French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabi (for Consultants).

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance\: https\://fao.service-now.com/csp

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