International Communication Consultant (Nairobi) at Food and Agriculture Organization

Reporting Lines

The Communication Consultant will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Somalia, direct supervision of the Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer and in regular consultation and coordination with the Regional Communication Officer and FAO’s Office of Communications (OCC).

Technical Focus

The Communication Consultant will provide strategic direction and communication support to enhance visibility of FAO’s programme. The incumbent shall ensure coherence with FAO’s corporate communication policy and operational guidelines for all communication and information outputs.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• In line with FAO corporate and regional communication strategies, develop and update a communication plan the calendar of events for FAO Somalia, in close consultation with Programme staff including project managers and other technical colleagues;
• Develop briefs and other material to showcase FAO’s work and results in Somalia, working closely with IM, programme staff, and technical teams;
• Develop key messages tailored to specific audiences (including donors, beneficiaries, partners and the general public) and a dissemination plan;
• Interact with press and pitch stories of interest; organize visits for media to the field and serve as focal point for media missions;
• Draft press releases and statements for FAO Somalia in coordination with FAO Communication offices (at HQ, regional and sub-regional levels as appropriate), support press conferences, and prepare responses to media queries;
• Develop materials for media events, such as seasonal FSNAU Technical Releases, World Food Day, project launches and dissemination of key findings of key studies, research, assessments and evaluations;
• Develop and maintain a contact list of strategic partnerships with media organizations and journalists;
• Coordinate, produce and disseminate communication and advocacy materials, including brochures, human interest stories, posters and other visibility items (e.g. caps, tee-shirts), in coordination with focal points in RAF and HQ and following corporate branding guidelines;
• In close coordination with OCC, support FAO’s global campaigns on the national level, including World Food Day, international years, days and UN decades led by FAO.
• Produce content for and maintain the FAO Somalia web site and @FAOSomalia Twitter account, including writing and editing web posts, and ensuring web applications are user friendly and visible, in line with the FAO web and social media policies and in close collaboration with OCC. Liaise with OCCI to showcase success stories from Somalia on global social media platforms;
• Train FAO Somalia spokespeople in how to deal with the media, make the most of a publicity opportunity as well as in basic photography;
• Participate in and represent FAO as a member of the Humanitarian Communication and the UN Information Groups in Somalia;
• Evaluate performance of the communication strategy/strategies and provide appropriate guidance on how to constantly extend the reach of FAO Somalia’s communications materials and to improve their effectiveness/quality;
• In line with OCC audio-visual guidelines, develop and maintain an audio-visual archive, footage including b-roll, completed videos, photos, captions and stories.

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in communication, social science, journalism, political science or a related field.
• Five years of relevant experience in communication, public information, journalism, international relations.
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills  

• Successful preparation and delivery of the Communication plan;
• Publishing communication products;
• Increase social media engagement and following on @FAOSomalia Twitter account;
• Establishing and sharing Communications archive;

Additional Information

FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing). To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org