Advocacy & Communications Officer

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

For more than 60 years, WFP has been the leading organization in supporting countries with their school meals programmes, which are widely prevalent throughout the world.

In 2020, WFP launched a 10-year strategy for school meals. WFP advocates for the universal adoption of school meals programmes as a safety net that helps increase children’s access to education and learning opportunities and strengthens their health and nutrition. WFP focuses increasingly on helping countries to establish and maintain nationally owned programmes. In countries still requiring WFP’s operational support, it implements school meals programmes with clear hand over strategies.

In 2021, these were taken to the next level with the launch of the School Meals Coalition at the Food Systems Summit to urgently re-establish, improve and scale-up school meals programmes in countries all over the world. WFP, which hosts the Secretariat of the School Meals Coalition, supports the Coalition’s objectives by driving forward the collective vision, ensuring effective coordination and implementation, connecting governments, partners and the Coalition Initiatives. It supports governments in advancing their national school meals programmes, also working alongside UN agencies and other stakeholders. The Coalition brings together over 110 member governments, 6 regional bodies and more than 150 partners.

The Secretariat of the School Meals Coalition, which sits at WFP’s Nutrition, School Meals and Social Protection Service, is looking for a qualified and experienced individual to serve as Advocacy & Communications Officer.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the overall management of the Head of Advocacy and Communications of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat and under the direct supervision of the Communications & External Engagement Officer of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, and working closely with WFP colleagues at headquarters, regional and national level, the consultant will be responsible for contributing to developing and executing advocacy and communications plans.

1. Advocacy and Communications Strategizing and Planning

• Contribute to designing and executing the 2026 Advocacy and Communications Plan of the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, including a strategic digital engagement plan.
• Monitor policy trends across sectors, including education, nutrition, health and emergencies, to identify emerging opportunities for advocacy.
• Identify relevant advocacy platforms and support events (in person and online) to position school meals and the School Meals Coalition at global level across all relevant sectors. This includes gathering intelligence to identify key entry points and champions across governments and partners. Key global platforms include the G20, G7, Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, UN climate talks and the UN General Assembly.
• Help assess and respond to external requests for engagement around events based on agreed criteria with the team.
• Provide strategic advocacy and communications inputs to regular meetings organized by the School Meals Coalition Secretariat Team with members and partners.
• Keep calendar of key moments up to date, capturing all elements required to effectively implement advocacy and communications plans.

2, Drafting of advocacy and communications materials

• Support the organization of webinars and events, including drafting concept notes, agendas, slide decks, and notes for the record.
• Refine and submit content for the monthly Coalition newsletter, including scanning the Coalition environment for relevant news, announcements, research, and publications.
• Contribute to the Coalition’s digital channels, including strategic planning and technical support on digital engagement execution.
• Lead the creation of multimedia content especially for advocacy purposes, including video scripts, animations, still imagery, and other formats optimized for digital platforms, coordinating with relevant vendors.
• Support regional adaptation of global advocacy messages, ensuring cultural and linguistic relevance in collaboration with regional offices.
• Draft other advocacy materials which may include evidence-based messaging sheets, advocacy toolkits, global platform briefs, talking points, meeting notes and reporting, and internal briefing documents,
• Draft other communications materials which may include website content, interview briefs, case studies, poster and stand material, fact sheets and infographics, press releases, op-eds and articles.   
• Support the development of internal guidance on messaging alignment and communications engagement.

3. Engagement with key School Meals Coalition and WFP Stakeholders

• Contribute to stakeholder mapping and power analysis to inform strategic engagement.
• Effectively engage with Coalition member governments around key advocacy opportunities, in collaboration with relevant WFP colleagues. This includes drafting talking points and background materials highlighting government achievements and opportunities to continue advancing the school meals agenda.
• Effectively engage with key Coalition partners, particularly the Coalition Initiatives, around key advocacy opportunities.
• Effectively collaborate with relevant WFP colleagues at global, regional and national level, across functions. This includes drafting event briefs and talking points for WFP leadership’s engagement at global and regional fora.

4. Leverage IT and AI tools

• Post content on relevant CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal).
• Build Coalition newsletter on related systems (Salesforce Pardot).
• Deliver monthly technical reports of Pardot effectiveness.
• Contribute to the Coalition’s Secretariat’s Advocacy & Communications Team database. Offer ideas for better systems integration into the School Meals  Secretariat contacts ecosystem. 

5. Results reporting and improvement

• Contribute to defining advocacy and communications metrics.
• Documenting advocacy and communications engagement outcomes and lessons learned.
• Coordinate after-action reviews of major campaigns or events to capture lessons learned.
• Contribute to progress reports to donors and Coalition members.

6. Perform any other duties in support of the school Meals Coalition Secretariat’s Advocacy and Communications Team

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Social Science, Political Science, International Relations, Journalism, Public Relations, Communications or relevant field or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses.

Experience:

Minimum of 3-5 years of relevant experience in policy, advocacy, communications and/or partnerships, in international development and humanitarian sectors. This includes developing and executing action-oriented high-level advocacy strategies at the global, regional or national levels and multi-stakeholder engagement.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Strong understanding of humanitarian and development sectors.
• Good understanding of the power of school meals across sectors, including key actors.  
• Basic understanding of UN processes and global platforms, notably the G20, G7, UN climate talks, UN General Assembly, and the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, including existing network of contacts.
• Excellent writing, conceptual and analytical skills, including the ability to present complex processes and issues clearly to a diverse audience and in an actionable manner.
• Proficient in using Microsoft Office, in particular Excel, Teams systems, Word.
•  Ability to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to optimize results.
• Familiar with Salesforce similar systems is a plus.
• Proven track record of executing successful events in collaboration with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong time management skills with an ability to plan ahead, anticipate requirements, problems and obstacles, and an ability to juggle competing priorities successfully, and to work to tight deadlines.
• Proactive can-do attitude, with ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Mature judgment with strong interpersonal skills. Collaborative spirit able to liaise with a wide range of people at all levels and across different cultures and to act with credibility and diplomacy.

Languages:

Fluency (level C) in English. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (a WFP working language).

Working arrangements:

This position is expected to be based in Rome, Italy

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.