Communications Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers 14 member countries in the Pacific. These countries are Cook Islands, Micronesia (the Federated States), Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. FAO SAP is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing strategies with the member countries for addressing subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

Reporting Lines

The Communication Specialist will be under the direct supervision of the Sub-regional Coordinator (SRC) and will also be in regular consultation and coordination with the Regional Communication Officer in FAORAP, the Assistant FAO Representatives (AFAOR) and Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) under FAOSAP. The incumbent shall take lead responsibility technically for improving FAO’s visibility and showcase FAO’s deliveries on the ground in the SAP member countries, in coherence with FAO’s corporate communication policy and operational guidelines for all communication and information outputs.

Technical Focus

• Articulate communication needs and purposes per target audience and the communication mechanisms and products, embedded with Government, professional networks, the private sector or communities; • Communication activities would focus on the outcome and outputs achieved and forecasted of the FAO projects, targeting general and specific audiences at national, provincial, district and community levels, as well as in the Government and FAO’s sphere of influence; • Capacity to prepare and implement annual & quarterly communication/visibility plans and products • Capacity to become constantly aware of FAO’s evolving interventions, partnerships and approaches. • Preparation of annual highlight report and visibility products to illustrate FAO’s comparative advantage and results under county program framework • Generation of contents from technical programmes, policies and program/projects reports, team meetings and news reports. • To support FAO SAP in its visibility, outreach, and advocacy for resource mobilization and partnership in overall;

Tasks and responsibilities

• Develop/update and implement FAO SAP communications strategy in line with FAO global corporate communications strategy and supervise development and implementation of similar plans at FAO Project offices across the Pacific. • Introduce new and creative approaches to improve the internal and external communication at FAO Representation, Field Offices, and Projects; including improving communications between different sections/ departments and projects for synergizing objectives and goals; lead the FAOSAP communication team. • Recommend and carry out communication campaigns to mark international days significant to the work of FAO in the Pacific such as the World Food Day and others, and contribute to UN joint communication products and general partners (including UNIC) to improve public awareness of FAO presence. • Draft and assist in the preparation of talking points and speeches for SAP SRC, including exclusive media engagements such as op-eds and TV, radio and newspaper interviews. Explore the use of social media at regional/country levels within the policy of FAO. • Develop and maintain good media contacts, as well as, for other relevant partners, for example, civil society, development partners, private sector, academia, etc…. Develop and distribute press releases, success stories, newsletters, brochures, documentaries, social media posts, publications and prominently engage in outreach and advocacy campaigns, including with local and international media. • Contribute to the development of communication products such as the publicity materials and products in close association with the multimedia artist/graphic designers and consultants (e.g. briefs, talking points, brochures, posters, power- point presentations etc), to enhance the quality and outreach of FAO programme visibility and messaging to a diverse range of stakeholders, including general public, government of Samoa, media, FAO headquarter and Regional office; • Contribute to the development and regular updating of the FAO in the Pacific web pages; including the generation of contents and uploading a range of public domain publications (e.g. assessment reports, agriculture guidelines) and multimedia products reflecting FAO Programme activities, priorities and areas of expertise; • Advise and check the design of communication inputs like logos, photographic content, banner texts, and ensure one visual branding for FAO through promoting use of FAO branded items. Liaise with vendors and printers for various communication related services • Proactively liaise with technical officers to ensure good marketability of projects during and implementation. • Prepare quarterly communications work plans in consultation with SAP MDT team • Perform other related duties, as assigned by the supervisor

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor degree and Advance degree is desirable in Communication, Journalism or Media Studies • At least five years of progressively responsible work experience at the national /international levels in a related field. • Working knowledge of English language.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent of experience in Communications and media relations; • Extend of experience in UN or similar settings would be considered an asset; • Extent of experience in digital strategy and storytelling • Excellent writing, editing, and speaking skills in English. • Extent of experience in creating content for various communication products • Extent of experience in communication, diffusion strategies and techniques, reporting and documentation, and media. • Strong writing & communications skills.