Consultant - Strategic Communications

Purpose of consultancy

This consultancy will support the WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support (DPS) with strategic communications and advocacy for the updated Healthy Islands vision 2050 in relation to Pacific Health Ministers Meetings.

Background

The Pacific health ministers endorsed the Healthy Islands Vision 2050 on 25 October 2025 at the special event of Pacific Health Ministers on Yanuca Island, Fiji. To build on the momentum of this new vision, there is now a body of work required for its successful operationalization. This includes strategic communications to support upcoming Pacific health governance meetings such as an agenda paper on monitoring and implementing the new vision to be considered at the 17th Pacific Heads of Health Meeting (PHOH) in 2026 – an annual meeting that supports strategy and planning ahead of the biennial Pacific Health Ministers Meetings (PHMM).
Following the PHOH in 2026, further support will be required in the lead up to the proceeding PHMM. PHOH and PHMM are part of the Pacific health governance structure established for collective action and commitment towards a healthier Pacific, in line with the Healthy Islands Vision 2050, Pacific Islands WHO Multi-country Cooperation Strategy 2024-2029 (MCCS) and the WHO’s Regional vision: Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025−2029).
Moreover, within WHO’s Regional vision, “Effective communication for public health” is one of the three core strands for WHO’s support to Member States. In response, WHO is scaling up the Communications for Health (C4H) approach, which can be harnessed to increase awareness on the PHMM agenda topics among the public and policymakers for urgent action.
In contributing to the MCCS and WHO’s Regional vision, this consultancy supports work towards the General Programme of Work (GPW14), the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, as well as the newly endorsed Healthy Islands vision 2050.

Deliverables

Output 1: Development and implementation of strategic communications in the lead up to the 17th Pacific Heads of Health Meeting and the 16th Pacific Health Ministers Meeting by 30 June 2026:
Deliverable 1.1: Development of phased strategic communications plan for these two key Pacific governance meetings by 28 February 2026.
Deliverable 1.2: Develop creative / communications products in line with the communications plan by 31 March 2026.
Deliverable 1.3: Distribute communications to a range of channels in line with the communications plan by 15 June 2026.
Deliverable 1.4: Draft and review key messages, agenda papers, presentations, remarks, briefing notes, and other communications as required by 31 May 2026.
Deliverable 1.5: Develop and implement the measurement, evaluation and learning plan for the suite of corporate communications by 30 June 2026.

Output 2: Support strategic communications and advocacy for the Healthy Islands vision 2050 by 30 June 2026:
Deliverable 2.1: Develop a phased strategic communications plan for promoting the Healthy Islands vision 2050 by 15 January 2026.
Deliverable 2.2: Develop creative / communications products in line with the communications plan to build awareness and promote action on the Healthy Islands vision 2050 by 31 May 2026.
Deliverable 2.3: Coordinate and implement photography and videography storytelling projects 30 June 2026.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential: Relevant first university degree in communications, journalism, media, marketing, health promotion, international relations or related fields from a recognized university.
Desirable: A master's degree in a relevant discipline

Experience

Essential: Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience at a national and international level in communications, media, social media, journalism, public relations, health promotion or related fields. Demonstrated experience with strategic communications designed to lead to policy or behaviour change.
Desirable: Previous experience supporting international meetings and/or events is desirable, as is previous experience working with WHO and/or in Pacific Island countries.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential: Excellent writing, project management, proficiency in standard MS Office software applications.
Desirable: Photography and videography, basic editing skills for videos/reels and in graphic design e.g. using Canva

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English

Location

Off site: Home-based

Travel

The consultant may be expected to travel for photography and videography projects.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded)

1. Remuneration: Payband level B (USD7,000 - USD9980)

Expected duration of contract:

Full-time, 6 months (1 January – 30 June 2026)

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
  Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int.
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
• WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
  • Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
  • In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.