Communications and Outreach Specialist – Anticipatory Action

Multiple locations

Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Location: Multiple locations
Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Communication and Public Information
- OER
Closing Date: Closed

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

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FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

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Organizational Setting

The Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) is responsible for ensuring FAO's efforts to support countries and partners in preparing for and effectively responding to food and agricultural threats and crises. It is responsible for coordinating the development and maintenance of corporate tools and standards to enable Decentralized Offices to assist Members to prepare for, and respond to emergencies. OER ensures humanitarian policy coordination and knowledge, liaison with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee as well as with humanitarian resource partners, co-leadership with World Food Programme of the global Food Security Cluster, organizational preparedness, surge capacity and response to large-scale emergencies. OER supports food and nutrition security assessment and early warning activities related to emergency and humanitarian analysis and responses. OER plays a major role in the development and leadership of the Organization's programme to increase the resilience of livelihoods to food and agriculture threats and crises.

FAO’s Anticipatory Action system translates warnings at country level into concrete actions to reduce the impact of disasters on vulnerable and food insecure communities. Acting early, before a disaster has actually happened, or reached its peak is critical: it can save lives and protect livelihoods from the immediate shocks while increasing the resilience of local communities over time.

FAO’s Anticipatory Action programme is part of a growing number of approaches to prevent or mitigate food crises and is being implemented by various organizations worldwide. In FAO, this initiative is supported by a number of resource partners including the EU, Germany, Belgium and Sweden.

Reporting Lines

The Communications and Outreach Specialist reports to the OER Evidence for Programming Team Leader and works in close collaboration with the OER Reporting and Outreach Team and FAO’s Office of Corporate Communication (OCC).

Technical Focus

Support and guide the development and implementation of the FAO’s Anticipatory Action communication and visibility strategies at global, regional, sub regional and/or country level.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Communications and Outreach Specialist will:

Coordinate the implementation of the Anticipatory Action communication and visibility strategy ;
Monitor and analyze the performance of FAO’s anticipatory action products and milestones reached ;
Lead the writing and editing of Anticipatory Action products including talking points, infographics, press releases, brochures, leaflets, situation reports, presentations, human interest stories etc.;
Research, edit and produce content for various digital mediums including for websites and social media, ;
Oversee the production of multi-media products and provide technical feedback when required ;
Coordinate the collection of communication materials from decentralized offices ;
Manage the inclusion of multi-media collection from decentralized offices into project documents and budgets ;
Coordinate partner and donor visibility efforts including report writing, presentations and ad-hoc updates ;
Engage with the OCC media relations team to support and facilitate OCCM media outreach aimed at winning earned coverage that documents FAO’s successes with anticipatory action ;
With key partners, support the production of joint reports, publications, events, stories or news-articles, particularly those which will be showcased on the Anticipation Hub ;
For all public facing communication outputs via all channels/platforms, ensure alignment and compliance with house style and relevant corporate communication guidelines, seeking OCC final clearance as appropriate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Advanced university degree in Advocacy, Communications, Media Studies, Journalism or in a related field ;
At least five years of relevant experience in communication, public information, media production or journalism ;
Working knowledge of English (sufficient for PSA.SBS) and at least limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) for COF.REG.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

Knowledge of and experience with video production, digital design or photography would be an asset ;
Extent and relevance of experience working in English to edit and write high-quality materials for a wide range of audiences;
Extent and relevance of experience in contributing to outreach and visibility efforts, particularly related to humanitarian contexts ;
Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable ;
Depth of knowledge of agricultural threats and crises ;
Ability to operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to team operations and working relationships.
Experience in developing countries, especially in countries that are vulnerable to disaster or other emergency risks would be an asset ;