Organizational Setting

FAO’s approach to development assistance in Mindanao focuses on supporting the rehabilitation of agriculture and fisheries-based livelihoods, accelerating agriculture-based enterprises and increasing access to sustainable energy, and resilience to risk in municipalities affected by natural disasters and conflict.

Communications and visibility are important for the Australian Government, FAO, and UNFPA in delivering their respective mandates through the project “Resilient Livelihoods Development for Women and Youth IDPs in Maguindanao.” Through a communications and visibility strategy public trust and community ownership are promoted and awareness of the Australian Government, FAO, and UNFPA’s support to peace and development in the BARMM is strengthened.

In this light, a Communications Specialist is crucial to attain the desired outcome related to communications and visibility for the project and its implementors

Reporting Lines

The Communications Specialist will report to the Assistant FAOR Programme.

Technical Focus

The Communications Specialist will provide guidance and leadership in implementation of communication efforts to strengthen awareness of stakeholders and the general public on project activities and achievements thereby raising the profile and visibility of the project Resilient Livelihoods Development for Women and Youth IDPs in Maguindanao.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Communications Specialist will report to the Assistant FAOR Programme, in close collaboration with OCC branches and focal points. He/She will perform the following tasks:
•    Develop and submit an inception report specifying the communication activities and approaches that will be conducted parallel to project implementation and in line with OCC, FAO, and DFAT communications guidelines and protocol;
•    Generate and collate information for communication packages for the project highlighting the attainment of objectives, outputs, and/or outcomes. Provide maximum visibility to the Australian Government support to the project and FAO’s strategy and interventions. In addition, communication packages should highlight stories incorporating lenses of peacebuilding, conflict prevention and social cohesion;
•    Ensure coherent designing of project communication and visibility collaterals such as press releases, photo stories, online articles, social media posts, and audio-visual documentation containing human interest stories of the women and youth in the communities as they participate in the agricultural livelihood activities of the project; and
•    Carry-out any other relevant duties within his/her technical competence as may be requested by FAO.
•    Liaise with the Office of Communication (OCC) will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, appropriate review and clearance processes.
•    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;
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.

Specifically, the Communications Specialist will undertake the following tasks:

•    Design the plan specifying the activities related to carrying-out the assignment and highlighting the deliverables for the project period (from 15 February to 14 August 2024)
•    Conduct field visit activities to document (i.e. stills and video) project activities, organize and record interviews, draft, submit and post social media stories and release feature stories (with OCC and DFAT clearance) on a frequency mutually agreed upon between the specialist and FAO project team. Stories should pay attention to sensitive aspects such as peacebuilding, conflict prevention and social cohesion.
•    Prepare the Project communication and visibility collaterals highlighting the activities, milestones, and good practices of the project such as press releases, photo stories, social media posts/stories and online articles featuring women and youth.
•    Product Multi-media documentaries of project beneficiaries, particularly women and youth, in the communities as they participate in the agricultural livelihood activities of the project.
•    End of assignment report

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  

•    University Degree in one or more of the following: Development Communications, Social Science, and Journalism or related fields;
•    Minimum of 5 years progressive experience on development communications experience or any engagement related to public information, journalism and internal relations;
•    Working knowledge of English and Filipino
•    National of the Philippines or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

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
•    Previous engagement with the women and youth groups in the BARMM is essential
•    Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Filipino

 
Selection Criteria

•    Working knowledge of Filipino and/or any dialect in Maguindanao is an advantage