Writer/Editor

Result of Service

The consultant will deliver 40 impact stories and 20 human interest stories for the digital publication and content packages for the G20 GLI website. The stories aim to increase public interest in land restoration and sustainable land management, including through increased visits to the partners’ websites, by translating technical and policy jargon into authentic, simple and compelling digital stories and articles that show the relevance and impact of UNCCD/G20 GLI and its stakeholders. The digital publication will be launched at the GEF Assembly and UNCCD COP17. The web content will be published on the G20 GLI website on a rolling basis.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

90 days between April to October 2026.

Duties and Responsibilities

Background note: Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought (DLDD). (www.unccd.int) The G20(or Group of Twenty) is the annual international forum for the governments of 19 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU). The G20 Leaders' Declaration, issued on Sunday, 22 November 2020, launched a "Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats" (G20 GLI). Building on existing initiatives and on a voluntary basis, the G20 countries share the ambition to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the amount of degraded land by 2040. The G20 GLI with oversight from UNCCD, will focus on capacity building, engaging the private sector and civil society and showcasing success. The Director, under the oversight of the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, manages the Initiative Coordination Office (ICO). The G20 GLI is looking for a skilled writer with expertise in writing and editorial skills for both news and feature stories to support the communications teams in producing stories and content for the G20 GLI website and digital products. The specialist lead the publication of a digital story book with compelling and publishable feature and news stories of land restoration and sustainable development provided by inter alia, the Global Environment Facility, G20 Global Land Initiative, World Overview of Conservation Approaches, Technologies (WOCAT), UNCCD Parties and G20 Member countries. In addition, the Consultant will also support G20 GLI in drafting compelling content and articles for the Initiative’s redesigned website. Duties & Responsibilities: Under direct supervision of the Communications Officer the international consultant will work in cooperation with the rest of the Communications Team on the following; - Solicit and gather stories of land restoration as well as background information and visual materials from project beneficiaries through experts and partners; - Translate technical content from programme documentation, such as case studies, into accessible narratives for broad audiences; - Conceptualize and write feature stories highlighting the benefits and positive impacts of land restoration activities for people, communities, their landscapes and for climate resilience and biodiversity conservation; - Conduct fact‑checking and verify sources; - Prepare web‑ready content including headlines, summaries, captions and metadata; - Review the content submitted by the designer for accuracy. - In collaboration G20 GLI staff and communications team, prepare teasers of the stories for publication on UNCCD/G20 GLI website for wider audience accessibility and for optimal web searches; - Ensure content adheres to UNCCD/G20 GLI style guide; - Identify visual and/multimedia content to accompany texts; - Participate in required team meetings. Copyright Clause: The consultant has to ensure that they have obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by UNCCD/G20 GLI in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to UNCCD/G20 GLI. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the consultant shall request the prior written permission from UNCCD/G20 GLI

Qualifications/special skills

- Masters degree in Journalism, English language or related arts field is required. - Minimum of 7 years work experience in journalism is required; - Proven experience with web-related content production, including working within content management systems is desirable

Languages

- Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Only individuals who can act as independent, individual economical operators are qualified to apply. Individuals who can provide their services only on account of an institution or enterprise are not eligible under this procedure. Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations Secretariat and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultant and individual contractor is responsible for determining tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. For remote consultancies, the selected candidate will be required to have a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 11 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNCCD to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel. Further computer requirements: An antivirus application which receives regular updates; Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled; Regular Windows 11 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC. In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.