Communication Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the
FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems,
for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

FAO is a specialized agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all
and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries
and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved the Government of India’s GEF6 Green Ag. Project titled, “Green-Ag: Transforming Indian agriculture for global environmental benefits and the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes”.

Therefore, the project objective is to catalyse transformative change for India’s agricultural sector to support achievement of national and global environmental benefits and conserve critical biodiversity and forest landscapes. The project will be organized around two components. The first component will strengthen the enabling framework and institutional structures to mainstream biodiversity (BD), sustainable land management (SLM), climate change mitigation (CCM) and sustainable forest management (SFM) policies, priorities and practices into India’s agricultural sector. The second component will demonstrate replicable “Improved agricultural and conservation practices” for sustainable production, resilient livelihood advancements, habitat improvements, and delivery of tangible BD, LD, CCM, and SFM benefits.

The project works at the national, state and pilot site levels. The project’s five demonstration states are: i) Madhya Pradesh, ii) Mizoram, iii) Odisha, iv) Rajasthan and v) Uttarakhand. Site level project effort will focus upon high conservation priority landscapes (e.g. protected areas) within each of these states.

This position will be based in New Delhi FAO India, office.

Reporting Lines

Under the Overall supervision of the FAO Representative in India, Assistant FAO Representatives, technical guidance from OCBD and day to day guidance of the National Technical Coordinator, the communication specialist will undertake the following duties.

Technical Focus

Expertise in development and visual communication.

Tasks and responsibilities:

In close collaboration with Office of Communications (OCC) branches and appropriate Communication focal points, the incumbent will:

•     Develop and maintain communication materials for FAO projects, ensuring brand consistency and visibility.
•     Design and produce visibility materials for the GEF 6 project, including digital and print content.
•     Support content development by drafting, editing, and reviewing reports, case studies, and policy papers.
•     Support and mentor NPMU, SPMU, GLIU, and partner staff in the development of communication products, visibility materials, knowledge products, and advocacy events
•     Facilitate knowledge sharing among project states and stakeholders through government portals, events, and multimedia materials.
•     Ensure all communication outputs comply with FAO’s corporate policies, guidelines, and FAOSTYLE standards.
•     Manage the approval process for communication products, including logo and copyright coordination.
•     Develop and promote project-specific updates on FAO India’s website and social media platforms.
•     Collaborate on video production, motion graphics, and design coordination with external agencies as needed
•     Support project communication, knowledge management, and documentation of case studies, success stories, and field-level learning emerging from project implementation.
•     Develop communication content relating to sensitive project activities and field interventions, ensuring necessary OCBD clearance and compliance with FAO communication protocols and branding guidelines.
•     Undertaking tasks assigned by FAOR/AFAOR

FAO Standards and guidelines:

•     Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes. 
•     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 Social Science, Journalism, communications, public relations or related fields
•     At least three years of relevant experience in interdisciplinary research and in developing media and communication material, especially relevant for web publishing, information management and hypermedia applications in relevant development sector with responsibilities as described above
•     Working knowledge of English
•     National of India

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•     Experience in preparing press releases, op-eds, news articles, interviews and advocacy messages for relevant media houses and outlets, including publishing, newspaper, online news, radio and television mediums.
•     Excellent communication, reporting and presentation skills in English (both written and spoken). 
•     Experience in Web content management, Photoshop software and tools related to web and desktop publishing. 
•     Experience with photography and photo editing; and knowledge of photo editing software is an advantage.
•     Experience and skill in managing social media accounts, will be an asset.
•     Ability to work efficiently with minimal direct supervision and to coordinate and supervise the communication and information outputs of the State Project Offices. 
•     Ability to produce high quality reports and publications. 
•     Ability to handle stress and meet deadlines.
•     Experience of working with UN agencies and familiarity with UN rules and regulations is an asset. 
•     Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams is essential.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION