Organizational Setting

Governing Bodies Servicing (CSG) provides the Secretariat of the Conference and the Council and supports all Governing and Statutory Bodies of FAO. It houses the Multilingualism expertise of the Organization, delivering corporate language goods and services. CSG also provides Protocol and Meetings services to the Organization.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant/PSA will report to the Conference Officer of the Meeting Services branch (CSGM) or to the Senior Interpreter of the Language Services branch (CSGL).

Technical Focus

The Meeting Specialist plays a supporting role in the coordination and planning of meetings with secretariats and external organizers. They coordinate CSG support to meetings organized at headquarters and in regional offices, supervising divisional inputs and monitoring requests for meetings organized by external entities.
The Specialist performs a broad range of programme planning and budgeting activities requiring sound knowledge and interpretation of meetings-related policies, procedures and practices.
They also prepare and monitor online and hybrid meetings to ensure proper conditions for interpretation.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Support operations for meetings and conferences at Headquarters;
•    Liaise with meeting organizers to guarantee effective delivery of meetings;
•    Ensure adequate sharing of information with critical in-house corporate services for events (e.g. infrastructure, maintenance, interpretation services, IT, security);
•    Liaise with internal units such as Protocol Unit and with Embassies and Permanent Representations to ensure smooth organization of high-level events;
•    Liaise with external entities requesting to host non-FAO meetings on FAO premises and coordinate internal activities for the provision of services;
•    Liaise with meeting organizers, remote speakers and interpreters in preparation for virtual meetings with interpretation;
•    Monitor virtual and hybrid meetings to ensure the sound conditions required for interpretation;
•    Perform other functions as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in international relations, interpretation/translation, humanities, STEM subject etc
•    Two years of relevant experience in similar or relevant environment (international relations, interpretation/translation, humanities, STEM subject etc)
•    Working knowledge (level C) of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian. Working knowledge (Level C) of English, French or Spanish for PSA.

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.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in office administration.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in conference management and services.
•    Familiarity with Microsoft systems and online meeting platforms.

Selection Criteria

•    Extent of language skills.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in supporting high-level events.
•    Service orientation is a strong requirement.
•    Ability to work in a high-pressure environment.
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the UN Common System is considered a strong asset.