The IUCN Water and Wetlands Team is based at IUCN Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN’s Water and Wetlands Team brings together an extensive network of IUCN Members, experts, government and private sector partners to develop sustainable solutions to preserve water resources. The mission of the IUCN Water and Wetlands Team is to be a trusted partner for evidence-based and adaptive change in water resource management that benefits nature and people.
To support this mission, we are seeking a Young Professional eager to grow their skills in communications with an international context.

The team manages two key websites—waterandnature.org and iucn.org/water and LinkedIn pages: IUCN Water and Wetlands; S2S Platform. This position involves drafting, creating, managing, and optimizing content across these platforms while ensuring alignment with IUCN’s overall strategy and standards. Collaboration with headquarters, regional offices, and partners is essential to delivering high-quality, accessible, and engaging content.
The role also provides support in the planning and coordination of international and regional events. Key priorities include World Water Week (August 2026), the UN Water Conference (December 2026), and 11th World Water Forum (March 2027). Additionally, the role will contribute to drafting and implementing project communication plans, developing creative communications products (e.g., infographics, videos, articles), and ensuring the quality of project publications for initiatives such as BRIDGE and CREATES on transboundary water governance and SUSTAIN on integrated water and land management.

This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to IUCN's impactful work on water and wetlands, engaging with other communicators across IUCN, while enhancing visibility, engagement, and outreach across IUCNs diverse portfolio of programs and international initiatives.

A Young Professional is in place to provide a first professional experience in an international setting for young professionals (up to 35 years old) holding a Bachelor’s Degree. IUCN will ask for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 3 years of experience for this type of contract. IUCN is committed to providing all YPs with a quality experience that involves meaningful work and activities with the opportunity to learn and gain practical work experience in an international setting.

YPs will be provided with clearly defined Terms of Reference (TORs). They will be adequately supervised by a suitable identified Senior Unit/Programme/Group staff member, who will monitor their progress, ensure that they contribute effectively and resolve any concerns they may have throughout their assignment with IUCN.

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The role will focus on three core areas; digital communications, event support, as well as project-specific communications.

Digital communications (30%)
1. Coordinate the Water and Wetlands Team communications strategy and develop a content calendar, in collaboration with IUCN’s Global Communications Unit, ensuring alignment with global communications strategies.
2. Collaborate with colleagues across HQ and regional offices to create content; write, edit, and upload articles, blogs, and case studies. Update and publish content on the Water and Wetlands Team’s webpages, including the Water Knowledge Platform (waterandwetlands.org) and iucn.org/water. Ensure that all content: text, images, and multimedia, is current, accurate, and optimised for readability and accessibility.
3. Assist with creative media development, including visual storytelling features and social media content. Manage professional social media accounts such as IUCN Water and Wetlands LinkedIn and the S2S Platform LinkedIn, ensuring regular and timely updates.

Project communications (30%)
1. Assist in the drafting and implementation of project communication strategies and content calendars for key IUCN Water initiatives, including the BRIDGE Programme, the SUSTAIN Initiative, and others.
2. Support the development of communication products such as articles, infographics, and videos for the above-mentioned initiatives.
3. Support drafting, revision, and quality assurance of project publications, including brochures, case studies, policy briefings, and reports.

Conference and event support (20%)
1. Support the coordination and development of content, events, sessions, and pavilions for international conferences. Coordinate recurring planning meetings and track event submissions and responses.
2. Prepare and implement communication plans for events, including the development of flyers and promotional content on LinkedIn and other relevant media. Support the creation of professional PowerPoint presentations for events.
3. Assist with logistical and administrative tasks related to conference and event management.

The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them but which are not part of their regular job description. Where any task becomes a regular part of a staff member’s responsibilities, the job description will be changed in consultation with the manager, the staff member and the Human Resources Management Group. Anyone of the three may initiate the consultation.