National Media, Communication and Partnership Consultant

Beijing

Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Location: Beijing
Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Communication and Public Information
- External Relations, Partnerships and Resource mobilization
- Public, Private Partnership
- FACPR
Closing Date: Closed

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

Qualified female applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

Organizational Setting

FAO is a dynamic and renewed organization that is recognized as the lead UN technical organization in the fight to eradicate hunger, eliminate rural poverty, and in the promotion of sustainable agriculture, fisheries and livestock development while promoting sustainable management of the environment and natural resources for the benefit of communities and rural people in need.

One of the FAO’s corporate goals is to increase visibility of the organization’s good work being done at country, regional and international levels. While the Headquarters and Regional Offices have dedicated staff to help achieve this goal, dedicated specialists in media outreach at country-level (National Media, Communication and Partnerhsip Consultants) are required to increase visibility in national vernacular media (and beyond).

Reporting Lines

The National Media, Communication and Partnership Consultant (MCC) will be under the direct supervision of, and report directly to the FAO Representative, and will be under the technical guidance and supervision of the FAO Regional Communication Officer in Bangkok, Thailand.

Technical Focus

The overall objective of the MCC is to coordinate and lead the implementation of the FAO Representation’s Communication strategy, in compliance with OCC Communications strategy, and to support the implementation of the FAO’ representation’s Resource Mobilization Strategy. By contributing to the positioning and improved visibility of FAO’s work, through mass media and other outreach channels, and with a target audience of constituents such as policy makers, technical experts, students, academia, research institutions, NGOs, CSOs, donors and the general public; the incumbent will promote a corporate image of the FAO as an open/accessible, multidisciplinary institution capable of rapid responses and actions in support of its constituents and donors.

Tasks and responsibilities

Lead and coordinate the implementation of the FAO-China Communication Strategy in support of the agreed Country Programming Framework (CPF), Regional Initiatives, FAO corporate Strategic Objectives and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) by designing and implementing a Communication Work Plan for the Representation;
Support and mobilize resources to implement public communication activities of the Representation in compliance with the Resource Mobilization Strategy of the Representation\: by preparing talking points, arranging photo coverage, drafting press releases and disseminating news through press contacts, management of interviews and/or press conferences;
Proactively seek out good beneficiary feature story possibilities for TV and Print journalists, based upon the good practices of FAO Technical Cooperation work in-country;
In regular consultation and coordination with the Regional Communication Officer, FAORAP, the incumbent shall ensure coherence with FAO’s corporate communication policy and operational guidelines for all communication and information outputs, and maintain regular consultation on outreach activities with the Regional Communication Officer;
Prepare and submit articles about FAO projects in the country for publication in the “IN ACTION” section of the FAO website, and for distribution to the development partners and general public and translation into Chinese if necessary;
Support the strengthening of FAO media relations and public visibility, as well as FAO relations with other multilateral, national development partners, institutions, donors, governments, non-government organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), academia and the general public;
Create or improve a national media database;
Increase the number of good photos from the work of the Representation and submit them to OCC for inclusion in Mediabase and/or upload to Flickr;
Update the website of the Representation with press releases and other relevant information such as events, projects, etc. generated by the Representation and/or submitted by the Regional Office and manage other online campaigns through social media platforms;
Track and log all media reports involving the FAO at country level and send report to both FAO Representative and RAP Communication Officer for SOMI notification;
Identify training requirements in communications, and develop and implement a training programme for the staff of the Representation to support the sustainability of the communications initiatives;
Assist in the communication work of FAO DPRK, including updating the website, supporting the production of various communication materials, e.g. brochures, fact sheets, etc.;
Other required activities in order to fulfill the visibility objectives as requested by the Representative.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

University degree in journalism, communications, public relations or other relevant post-secondary qualification
A minimum five years of experience in working with media in-country
An excellent command of English and Chinese
Proficiency knowledge/skill of maintain various on-line social platform, i.e. weibo, wechat.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

Considerable work experience in general news field reporting, newsgathering and/or writing for a major national or international news outlet
Established efficient contact/network with media
Work experience of organizing international events, interviews, and maintenance of various social media platforms, i.e. website, weibo, wechat, twitter, etc.
Professional writing and reporting skills
Work experience in both international and national environment could be as asset
Ability to operate under pressure and good interpersonal skill