CFS Digital Communications Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis and provides evidence-based support to national, regional and global policy processes and initiatives related to monitoring and analysing food and agricultural policies, agribusiness and value chain development, rural transformation and poverty, food security and nutrition information and analysis, resilience, bioeconomy and climate-smart agriculture. The Division also leads the production of two FAO flagship publications: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
ESA Division also hosts the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Secretariat, the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for a broad range of committed stakeholders to work together in a coordinated manner and in support of country-led processes towards the elimination of hunger and ensuring food security and nutrition for all. The CFS Secretariat comprises staff and resources from the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The CFS Secretariat provides technical and administrative support to the Committee, its Plenary Session, Bureau and Advisory Group Meetings and its intersessional working groups.
The assignment is carried out for the Secretariat of the Committee, which provides technical support to the Committee, its Bureau and Advisory Group (AG) and its subsidiary bodies and working groups.

Reporting Lines

The Specialist will report to and work under the day-to-day supervision of the CFS Secretary and in close collaboration with other members of the CFS Secretariat.

Technical Focus

Under the overall guidance of the Secretary of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), and in close coordination with the CFS Secretariat team, the incumbent will assist with the development and implementation of the CFS Communications and Outreach Strategy, support CFS’s day-to-day communications functions, and assist with the preparations for the CFS annual plenary session and its intersessional work.

Tasks and responsibilities

GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS: 

•    Contribute to the update and implementation of the CFS Communications Strategy as appropriate;
•    Contribute to the profiling of the Committee’s past/present work to promote the Strategy’s implementation among key target audiences in the global food security policy sector;
•    Support planning for CFS intersessional activities, including utilizing communication opportunities; and
•    Contribute to maintaining and broadening CFS’s visual identity.

CFS WEBSITE:

•    Contribute to the redesign and migration of the CFS website to the new content management system (Sitefinity); and
•    Day-to-day management of the CFS public website in FAO’s official languages, ensuring it is harmonized and kept up to date with relevant, timely and easy to access/use information.

CONTENT PRODUCTION:

•    In close collaboration with the CFS Secretariat, produce strategic outreach, communication and storytelling written materials on the Committee’s work for widespread dissemination on digital platforms and social media;
•    Produce engaging audiovisual content to support CFS outreach, including videos, infographics, etc., and guide their targeted dissemination through the issuance of a quarterly newsletter;
•    Support the development of communications tools and meeting documents for use by the CFS Chairperson, Secretariat, Bureau, Advisory Group, Open Ended Working Groups, and other key stakeholders; and
•    Ensure Digital Communications are of high drafting quality. 

SOCIAL MEDIA/NEWSLETTER:

•    Manage and develop the Committee’s social media accounts to drive outreach and engagement;
•    Track the impact of the CFS social media presence and produce a periodic reports;
•    Support the production of newsletters to spotlight CFS’s priority workstreams, results and partnerships.

CFS PLENARY PREPARATION:

•    Support overall preparation of communications work for CFS Plenary and other key moments for CFS, including through media outreach;
•    Support the production and rollout of the visuals for the CFS Plenary, including the coordination of all communications-related preparations and the annual CFS exhibit; and
•    Support the launch of the call for side events to the CFS Plenary and other events.

LIASON:

Liaise with FAO’s Office of Communication (OCC), either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC and other relevant 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; 
•    FAO Names Of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en;   
•    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.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree in communication, journalism, advertising, political sciences, social sciences or a related field;
•    One year of relevant experience in communication, outreach, media relations, publications, digital, preferably within the UN system or relevant non-government or non-profit organization;
•    Working knowledge (Level C) of English and limited knowledge (Level B) of one of the other UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French or Spanish. For PSA only working knowledge of English is required.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Experience in producing various content and communications materials;
•    Knowledge of content production tools and software, e.g.  Canva. HTML and CSS and content management systems including TYPO3 and SITEFINITY;
•    Experience in producing high quality content for communications purposes with the Adobe Creative Cloud, including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects is strongly desirable.
•    Ability to work as part of a multicultural team and support building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, including media and journalists in food security and nutrition is desirable;
•    Experience in working in international organizations and multicultural settings and audiences is an asset;
•    Experience within the field of food security and nutrition and/or food systems on an international level is an asset.