Communications Specialist (Multimedia)

Organizational Setting

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are collaborating on a 5-year project: Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate: a focus on West Africa. The project contributes to the implementation of the ECOWAS Convergence Plan for the Sustainable Management and Use of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa, which aims to mobilize political, institutional, financial, and technical support to address transboundary forest issues across ECOWAS’s 15 member states. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen decision-making on forests and land management across West Africa by improving knowledge of forest dynamics, supporting legal reform, and demonstrating and sharing the best community-based forest practices across the region and globally. The three focus areas of the project are 1) Sub-regional knowledge of the state of forest ecosystems and dynamics, 2) Forest and land-related laws, policies and strategies at the sub-regional level, and 3) Demonstrating community-based sustainable forest and land use practices and encouraging South –South cooperation.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent works under the direct supervision of the Programme manager of the Sida-funded project, and in close collaboration with the NFO-REDD Outreach Team

Technical Focus

Development of outreach and multimedia materials, particularly video and photo production, digital content, articles, assets management, and activities in line with the Project workplan.

Tasks and responsibilities

In close collaboration with the Project manager, REDD Outreach Team and focal points, the incumbent will perform the following: Photo and video production • Produce and edit high-resolution action photos and videos on pertinent events, activities, and work topics of the project from different angles and locations of the project, and make them ready for dissemination • Discuss and agree with the Project Coordinator and REDD Outreach team on the aims, approaches, audiences and needs for the videos and photos and agree the pre-production brief, including the storyboard, outlining the narrative structure, visual style, tone, and messaging of the production, preparation of interview questions, selection of project beneficiaries and stakeholders, and identifying critical scenes to be collected for the videos • Ensure that the creative brief and storyboard align with the project’s overall objectives and themes, and that they communicate a clear and compelling message to the target audience • Undertake high quality professional interviews with project participants as well as all identified relevant stakeholders • Edit video sequences in a creative and dynamic way and in line with pre-agreed pre-production briefs for each video • Obtain permissions (if mandatory) prior to the mission to use cameras, drones or any equipment • Set up, organize, and maintain an archive of images and video content • Assist in providing advisory and training support and guidance on production including standards, formats and storytelling • Provide basic photography/photo handling tips/skills to the staff • Ensure that all aspects of the production process are carried out in an ethical, and responsible manner, and that the short movies and reels comply with FAO and the donors’ guidelines • Perform other related duties as required Outreach activities • Research and produce outreach materials (in high-quality English and French) including news/press releases, human interest stories, newsletter content, case studies, lesson learned reports, brochures, opinion articles, talking points, donor reports, and social media content Support in production of outreach materials (in English, French and Portuguese) including articles, newsletter content, presentations, talking points, donor reports, and social media content etc. • Regularly update the Communications Project Tracker to keep track of all communications products and media coverage • Ensure that all communication products (brochure, newsletter, banners, publications, etc.) follow the FAO style guidelines

• All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including:

• FAOSTYLE (English: https://www.fao.org/3/cb8081en/cb8081en.pdf; French: https://www.fao.org/3/AC339FR/ac339fr.pdf; Spanish: • https://www.fao.org/3/ac339s/ac339s.pdf; Arabic: https://www.fao.org/3/ac339a/ac339a.pdf; Chinese: • https://www.fao.org/3/ac339c/ac339c.pdf); • FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm; • FAO Names Of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en; • Story guidelines http://intranet.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/occ/Quick_Guides/UPDATED-Digital-Storytelling-Guide-EN-FINAL.pdf; • Story template http://intranet.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/occ/Quick_Guides/FAO-Stories-Template-UPDATED.pdf; • UN map standards (available to staff); • FAO Brand and policy book (available to staff). Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in communication, social science, journalism, political science, management, or a related field • A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in creative digital video production and post-production. Experience in a news environment and aid development highly desirable. Experience in the production/post-production of advertising spots / public service announcements highly desirable • Working knowledge (level C) of English and French is required.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work • Excellent oral and written communication skills • Extent and relevance of experience in editing and producing video using Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, Davinci Resolve • Extent and relevance of experience in motion graphics, sound design, photo editing using Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Audition, Light Room • Familiarity with Hardware and Software Support

Selection Criteria

• Level, extent and relevance of experience with video production and post-production, both creative and technical. • Ability to work collaboratively in a team under tight deadlines and manage multiple work streams to achieve communications objectives. • Demonstrated experience in technical and creative problem-solving in complex environments. • Excellent knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, LightRoom, Audition is required. • Strong written and oral communication skills in English and French. Knowledge of Portuguese is an added advantage.