Organizational Setting

The Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Sub-regional Office for the Pacific (SAP) supports the following 14 member Pacific Island Countries (PICs): 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 sub-regional agriculture, fisheries, food security, nutrition and rural development priorities and is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) which is based in Bangkok, Thailand.

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.

Technical Focus 

Contribute to the development and strengthening of internal communication, web publishing and media-relations activities of SAP and the Organization

Tasks and responsibilities

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.

•    Articulate communication needs and purposes per target audience and the communication mechanisms and products, embedded with Government, professional networks, the private sector or communities.
•    Focus communication activities on the outcomes and outputs achieved and forecasted of the FAO projects, targeting both general and specific audiences at national, provincial, district, and community levels, as well as within the Government and FAO’s sphere of influence.;
•    Prepare and implement annual & quarterly communication/visibility plans and products
•    Maintain constant awareness of FAO’s evolving interventions, partnerships, and approaches.
•    Prepare the annual highlight report and visibility products to illustrate FAO’s comparative advantage and results under the country program framework.
•    Generate content from technical programs, policies, project reports, team meetings, and news reports.
•    Support FAO SAP in its visibility, outreach, and advocacy for resource mobilization and partnership overall.;
•    Lead the development and implementation of FAO SAP communications strategy and action plan for 2024 in line with FAO global and regional corporate communications strategy.
•    Cooperate with MDT team and concerned colleagues to develop and implement the communications strategies, action plan, and activities of FAO SAP and its projects and programmes.

•    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.
•    Coordinate the development of communication products such as the publicity materials and projects 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;
•    Coordinate 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 (in line with OCC guidelines) 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.

FAO Standards and guidelines: 

All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including:
FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en   
FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia    
Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en
FAOSTYLE: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en  
FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm  
FAO Names Of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en  
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.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    Advanced university degree in communication, social science, journalism, political science or a related field
•    Five years of relevant experience in communication, web publishing and/or social media networks
•    Working Knowledge of English

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical /Functional Skills

•    Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team.
•    Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
•    Ability to translate complex and technical communications to a wide and varied audience, in a simple and concise manner,
•    Understanding of FAO policies and programmes is considered a strong asset
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the field of web publishing and social media networks as well as in developing and editing communication, promotional or technical materials,
•    Extent and relevance of experience in the preparation and dissemination of communication, promotional or technical materials