Communications Specialist (Coordination)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has reinforced its presence in Ukraine by signing an agreement with the Government to set up a Project Office that will facilitate and expand the provision of technical and humanitarian assistance to the country’s most vulnerable communities, especially in rural areas.

Ukraine joined FAO in 2003 and since 2015 the Organization has been operating in two strategic directions: emergency humanitarian response in conflict-affected oblasts and agricultural development across the whole country. Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, FAO has scaled up its activities in the country to support agricultural production and food systems with the aim of protecting the food security of vulnerable households and communities across Ukraine.

This role is based full-time in office, with duty station in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office and under the direct supervision of the Communications Coordinator, technical guidance of the Regional Office Communication Officer for Europe and Central Asia, and in close coordination with relevant administrative, programme, and operations colleagues in all FAO Ukraine offices.

Technical Focus

The assignment supports the strategic coordination and day-to-day operational management of the communications function in FAO Ukraine. The role contributes to communications planning, workflow coordination, quality control, media relations, content production and donor visibility, ensuring alignment with FAO corporate standards, approved internal SOPs and the strategic direction of the Communications Unit.

Tasks and responsibilities

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

Strategic communications planning and governance

• Support / co-lead the development, implementation and annual revision of the FAO Ukraine Communications Strategy and annual communications workplan.
• Ensure alignment of FAO Ukraine communications with FAO corporate guidance, OCC standards, country-level priorities and donor visibility requirements.
• Coordinate the development, rollout and regular updating of internal SOPs for communications workflows, including planning, media, publications, social media, events, visibility materials, translation, correspondence and crisis communications.

Delegated authority and Officer-in-Charge function

• Exercise delegated authority in communication-related decisions in Kyiv.
• Act as communication focal point for SMT in the absence of the Communications Coordinator, when formally delegated.
• Validate routine communication outputs prior to submission for formal clearance, in line with approved SOPs.
• Prioritize incoming communication requests against the approved annual workplan, strategic priorities and available capacity.
• Act as Officer-in-Charge of the Communications Unit in the absence of the Communications Coordinator.

Day-to-day coordination of the Communications Unit

• Coordinate day-to-day implementation of communication activities across projects, ensuring timelines, quality and deliv-erables are met.
• Track communication outputs across programmes, including publications, events, social media, visibility materials, me-dia products and donor visibility deliverables.
• Provide day-to-day guidance and task allocation to communications affiliate personnel across Kyiv, Dnipro and Lviv.
• Contribute to performance planning and monitoring of communication affiliate personnel, where delegated.

Internal workflow control and service standards

• Establish and maintain service-level standards for communication requests, including submission formats, timelines, prioritization criteria and clearance steps.
• Screen incoming requests against the communications mandate, strategic priorities and annual workplan.
• Redirect or decline requests that fall outside the Communications Unit mandate, in line with approved SOPs.
• Monitor compliance of project teams with communication planning requirements and agreed workflows.
• Support internal orientation sessions for programme and operations colleagues on communication workflows, templates and responsibilities.

Content production, quality control and messaging

• Draft and review communication materials, including press releases, news stories, briefs, talking points, web content, social media posts and visibility materials.
• Ensure consistency of messaging across communication products and alignment with FAO corporate language, donor visibility requirements and sensitive-context guidance.
• Support the development of message boxes, key messages and strategic briefs for priority thematic areas.
• Support drafting and management of communication-related contracts (TORs, deliverables tracking, invoice verification);
• Coordinate production of publications and visual materials, including liaison with designers, editors, translators and copy editors.
• Validate routine materials for branding, visibility, institutional positioning and sensitivity before clearance.

Media relations and digital communication

• Develop and implement an annual media outreach plan aligned with FAO Ukraine strategic priorities.
• Maintain strategic relationships with key national and international media outlets.
• Identify proactive media opportunities based on programme milestones, field results, reports, missions and public events.
• Prepare spokesperson materials, including key messages, talking points, briefing notes and interview guidance.
• Support management of FAO Ukraine’s social media platforms and website updates, ensuring timely, accurate and engaging content.

Donor visibility and project communication planning

• Ensure systematic compliance with donor visibility requirements across FAO Ukraine projects.
• Review communication and visibility inputs at project formulation and inception stages.
• Validate communication and visibility components before major public events, donor visits and official ceremonies be-fore clearance.
• Support preparation of communication packages for donor visits, high-level missions and project launches.
• Provide communication inputs for donor reports and project documentation.

Crisis and sensitive communication

• Support the development and maintenance of crisis communication protocols.
• Coordinate sensitive messaging with the Communications Coordinator, Head of Office and SMT.
• Provide rapid-response communication support in emergency or reputationally sensitive situations.
• Ensure consistency of messaging in politically, operationally or reputationally sensitive contexts.

Events, missions and visibility support

• Provide strategic communication support for public events, field visits and high-level missions, including media engage-ment, visibility planning, key messages and communication materials.
• Coordinate communication readiness for high-level events, including media kits, talking points, social media coverage and photo/video planning.
• Ensure communication inputs are aligned with event objectives, donor visibility requirements and FAO positioning.
• Provide guidance to programme teams on visibility and messaging, while logistics, procurement, participant manage-ment and event delivery remain under the responsibility of the relevant programme, operations or administrative units.

Collaboration

• Work collaboratively with staff at all levels across the Organization to ensure efficiency and synergy and to create accu-rate and consistent communications;
• Perform other related duties as required.

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

• University degree in journalism, mass communications, development communications, international relations, public relations, social or political sciences, or any other field relevant to the work of the Organization.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in strategic communications, media relations, or public relations.
• Working knowledge of English (Level C) and Ukrainian (Level C).
• National of Ukraine

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Proven experience in coordinating communication workflows, managing teams, and ensuring donor visibility compliance, preferably within an international organization, NGO, or the United Nations system in a complex emergency or development context.
• Experience in developing and implementing strategic communication plans, annual workplans, and internal SOPs within an international development or emergency context.
• Proven ability to lead and coordinate multidisciplinary communication teams across multiple field locations, including exercising delegated authority and managing day-to-day workflows.
• Expertise in drafting and validating high-level communication products, ensuring strict alignment with corporate messag-ing, donor visibility requirements, and sensitive-context guidelines.
• Demonstrated success in managing media relations, preparing spokesperson materials, and overseeing digital plat-forms to enhance institutional positioning.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.