Event Planning Specialist

Overview

Provide specialized support for the 2026 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum.

You have:

• University degree in Event Management, International Relations, Development Studies, Communications, Public Administration, Project Management, or a related field.
• Five years of relevant experience in high-level international event planning, organizing large conferences, multistakeholder forums, or UN/Intergovernmental events, coordinating logistics, technical program design, communications/visibility, and VIP/ministerial participation.
• Working knowledge of English.

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. FAO SAP is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. FAO SAP develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok. FAO-SAP is organizing the 2026 Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Solutions Forum in the middle of 2026. The Form is a key activity of the FAO SIDS Solutions platform, created by the FAO Director-General in 2021 to enhance information and solutions exchange that can facilitate development by incubating, promoting and scaling-up home grown and imported solutions to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in SIDS. The objective of the 2026 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum promotes and optimize enablers that can catalyze better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life ensuring that no one in the Pacific is left behind. The Forum will be headlined by host country and FAO with more than 200 participants from and outside of the Pacific. Notable among the invited participants are Pacific Ministers and senior officials from Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Environment/Climate Change, Health, Education, ICT and Finance, civil society organizations, development partners and the private sector.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Subregional Coordinator, and direct supervision of the Forestry Officer, the International Specialist for Event Planning will provide specialized technical support over the design, preparation, coordination and execution of the 2026 Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum scheduled to take place in 2026.

Technical Focus

• High-level international event design and coordination, especially for UN or intergovernmental forums. • Programme development: agenda design, theme selection, preparation of concept notes and background papers. • Stakeholder coordination with ministers, UN agencies, technical experts, youth/women groups, private sector, and development partners. • Speaker and session management, including briefing notes, scripts, and scenario planning. • Technical quality assurance of all forum materials, country briefs, and uploaded solutions. • Cross-team coordination with technical, logistics, operations, and communications units to ensure seamless delivery of the Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum.

Tasks and responsibilities

Technical Preparations in Collaboration with the FAO Technical Team

• Design the detailed agenda, including division of labor over the specifics that will contribute to the successful delivery of the Forum. • Select specific subthemes and their sequence in the proceedings of the program, in a way that will allow deliberations of the subthemes to inform the overall objective of the Forum. • Ensure that all invitations are sent out, followed up with 98% success in terms of confirmations. • Liaise with selected relevant speakers and put in place the logistics to enable them to participate seamlessly. • Ensure that youth and women play active leadership roles in the design, preparation, and execution of the forum. • Select authors and ensure that concept notes and technical background papers are produced in time and with quality. • Prepare the forum agenda in detail (scenario plan) and in a quality format befitting the caliber of the participants. • Ensure that speakers, panelists, etc. are well briefed and prepared prior to the forum to ensure success. • Coordinate the preparation of speeches and speaking notes for each session, as required to ensure that speakers and panelists are well scripted to prepare them for the forum. • Support the preparation of country briefs to inform the forum relevant components. • Ensure that the profile of solutions is processed and uploaded to the FAO website. • Perform all other tasks that will ensure the success of the technical preparations.

Logistic Preparation in collaboration with the FAO Operations and Administration Team

• Organize the logistics for the forum, including the mechanism for showcasing innovative digital solutions. • Ensure that accommodation is perfectly arranged for all attendees. • Prepare a note for logistics that will clearly inform participants and guide them over how to get to the hotel, etc… • Ensure that arrangements with the hotel for feeding are perfectly in place. • Ensure that contractual arrangements between FAO and the host country are clearly defined and executed. • Ensure that on site seating and breakout room arrangements are perfectly in place and executed • Ensure that there is a clear protocol ushering high participants during the forum. • Ensure that flights, land transportation and allowances are perfectly arranged and executed. • Ensure that the hotel has in place excellent security measures for the success of the forum. • Ensure a clear registration process is established and implemented. • Perform all other tasks from the perspective of logistics that will ensure successful delivery of forum.

Communication Preparations in Collaboration with the FAO Communications Team

• Develop and execute a flawless communications, branding, marketing and visibility strategy that will result to maximum national, regional and global awareness about the Forum, but also the massive participation of all stakeholders, with emphasis on local communities, youth and women’s groups, in close coordination with subregional communications specialist • Ensure that the forum is successfully marketed at national, regional and global level to attract the relevant audience and numbers. • Ensure that press releases, op eds videos, banners, etc. are prepared and released in quality. • Ensure that the press is invited and covers the forum. • Ensure that the conclusions and outcome statements of the Forum are prepared via a communique.

FAO Standards and guidelines:

o Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes. o All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including: o FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en o FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia o Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en o FAOSTYLE https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en o FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm o FAO Names Of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en o Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff). Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section. o Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section. • Perform all other tasks from the perspective of logistics that will ensure successful delivery of forum.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Event Management, International Relations, Development Studies, Communications, Public Administration, Project Management, or a related field. • Five years of relevant experience in in high-level international event planning, organizing large conferences, multistakeholder forums, or UN/Intergovernmental events, coordinating logistics, technical program design, communications/visibility, and VIP/ministerial participation. • Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 6 months ago - Updated 3 months ago - Source: fao.org