Communications and Advocacy Specialist

Organizational Setting

FAO Mongolia works with the vision "to be a leading, credible and responsive partner in ensuring food and nutrition security of the population". The office has been coordinating projects and programmes in research, capacity building, natural resources management, technology transfer, food and agriculture policy, livestock production systems management, emergency and post crisis management, forestry information, statistics, food security and nutrition, emergency response operations, crop production system management, and food quality and safety.

The project “Strengthening capacity in the agricultural and land-use sectors for enhanced transparency in implementation and monitoring of Mongolia’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)” is funded by Global Environmental Facility’s Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT). CBIT aims to support developing countries to build institutional and technical capacity to meet enhanced transparency framework (ETF) requirements in the Paris Agreement. In Mongolia the CBIT project will strengthen Mongolia’s capacities for measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) in the agricultural and land-use sub-sector in order to help Mongolia meet its commitments associated with the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and direct supervision of the National Project Manager (NPM), and in close liaison with the Climate Change Specialist (CCS) and the Technical Specialist (TS), the Communications and Advocacy Specialist will facilitate and ensure successful implementation of the communication and advocacy plan.

Tasks and responsibilities

The specialist will be responsible for the following tasks:

• The incumbent shall familiarize him/herself with FAO’s corporate communication policy and operational guidelines to ensure mandatory coherence of all communication and information outputs.
• The incumbent shall demonstrate a strong understanding of FAO Style in drafting documentation, without the need for continuous correction or oversight.
• In close consultation and collaboration with the FAO Mongolia and GEF Communication Coordinators and with relevant stakeholders, prepare a detailed communication strategy and work plan to raise government and public awareness of project interventions;
• Ensure that the work plan has a realistic timeline and budget to implement;
• Implement the communication work plan in collaboration with public and private partners;
• Collaborate with media organizations with the purpose of dissemination of projectand Transparancy related information to the public;
• Prepare, develop and update concepts, graphics and layouts for briefs, speeches, talking points, presentations, brochures, infographics, reports, training, advocacy, and public information materials;
• To be engaged in complementing the FAO website, develop and disseminate information to the public through social networks, and organize online advocacy activities to improve public understanding;
• Undertake field visits to document project field activities, gather stakeholder perceptions and capture knowledge attitudes and practices, and specifically how the project has helped in changing attitudes and building capacities;
• Proactively seek out good practice and success story possibilities for TV, newspaper and journals;
• Identify training requirements in communications, and develop and implement a training programme for the project staff and related stakeholders;
• Coordinate with regional and global CBIT teams in the organization of advocacy and knowledge sharing events;
• Act as a project translator and translate a variety of materials including speeches, press releases, brochures and reports produced by the project and national consultants, into English or Mongolian as required;
• Assist the team to conduct training/workshop related activities;
• Perform other duties requested by the project managers;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree and/or university degree in graphic design, journalism, communication, public relations, business administration, or other relevant disciplines,
• At least 3 years of experience in the relevant fields.
• Nationality of Mongolia or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• An excellent command of English is required as are proven writing and reporting skills,
• Strong writing, composition, and editing skills in both English and Mongolian,
• Strong knowledge and skills of design techniques, tools, and principles (such as InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop),
• Experience in video production software is an advantage,
• Communication management. Knowledge of theories and practices in communication research planning and strategy,
• Fundamentals for working in various media formats – print, audio, video, web etc,
• Excellent communication and presentation skills,
• The ability to operate under pressure and good interpersonal skills,
• Proactive approach to improve the visibility of the FAO Mongolia and the project activities,
• Knowledge of United Nations or other international organizations is preferable,
• Previous experience in Climate Change related media campaigns is highly prefered.