Communications Assistant

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background, and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations, and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates, therefore, will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

Organizational Setting

The Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers 14 member countries in the Pacific. These countries are 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 subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the Subregional Coordinator, SAP, the Communication Assistant will be under the technical guidance of the Nutrition and Food Systems Officer, SAP, in daily coordination with and instructions of the international communications consultant, and will receive technical guidance as required by the Regional Communication Office (RAPCOM) Officer in Bangkok. The incumbent shall take responsibility technically for improving FAO’s visibility and showcase FAO’s deliverables 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.

Technical Focus

 Support advocacy for FAO SAP;
 Provide support to the implementation FAO SAP communications strategy in line with FAO global corporate communications strategy;
 Provide support to the development of annual & quarterly communication/visibility plans and products;
 Provide support to the implementation of SAP's visibility, outreach, and advocacy activities for resource mobilization and partnership;
 Assist SAP technical officers with their publications and videos, with emphases on the SIDS Solutions Platform needs including guidance in the Publications Workflow System (PWS);
 Provide a quarterly report to RAP on technical officers' SOMI contributions;
 Provide daily administrative and logistical tasks related to communication work/team.
 Assist in implementing social media strategy and campaign, including content development, dialogue monitoring as well as feedback collection;
 Assist in rolling out media events such as press conferences/media briefings, interviews, and campaigns. etc.;
 Collect the media coverage related with FAO's work in the Pacific;
 Distribute communication products and assist to organize communication/media related activities, before and during the events;
 Provide administrative support to the nutrition and SIDS Solutions Platform Portfolios.
 Any other duties;

Tasks and responsibilities

 Assist SAP technical officers with their publications and videos, with emphases on the SIDS Solutions Platform needs including guidance in the Publications Workflow System (PWS);
 Assist in rolling out media events such as press conferences/media briefings, interviews, and campaigns. etc.;
 Collect the media coverage related with FAO’s work in the Pacific;
 Distribute communication products and assist to organize communication/media related activities, before and during the events;
 Maintain database of contacts based on the SIDS Solutions Platform’s is updated;
 Enquiries from stakeholders about the SIDS Solutions Platform, and Nutrition and portfolios are addressed in consultation with technical lead.
 Logistics and administrative arrangements for meetings, workshops, etc are organized.
 Support to communication/media related activities provided;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

 University degree/technical diploma/high school diploma. Desirable University degree in communication, food security and nutrition, agriculture, development and partnership, administration and management, or other related field with at least 2 years of relevant experience at the national or international level,
 High proficiency in English Oral and written,
 Familiarity with graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop, in design, Illustrator and Dreamweaver advanced skills in formatting and programmes of graphics, visual and presentation, video production would be an advantage,
 Experience of working with local and international media would be an advantage.
 Nationality of Samoa or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.