Anunțuri de Angajare

Type of requisition:

Consultant/PSA

Duty Station:

Chisinau, Moldova

Duration:

28 working days until 15 December 2021

 Organizational Setting

Covid-19 lockdown measures adopted in 2020 in countries of destination pushed many Moldovan migrant workers (particularly seasonal/temporary ones) to return to their homeland, with some 55,000 of the approximately 350,000 managing to do so before the declaration of national emergency in Moldova in March 2020. According to the same reference IOM report, 32% of respondents planned to remain in Moldova for a longer period of time, with the intention to get employed and/or to launch own business. From those, 26% said they would need financial and consultancy support to open or relaunch their own business at home, including in the agricultural sector.

The returned migrant workers and those who couldn’t make the journey abroad, as well as their households could consider the agricultural sector as an alternative medium or even long-term livelihood solution, taking into account that 43.4% of migrant workers were previously employed in agriculture before migrating for work abroad. Among the multitude of reintegration solutions proposed by the surveyed Moldovan migrants in 2020, were support to small entrepreneurs, promotion of local agriculture and support for the development of local markets for agri-food products. The Governmental Program Pare 1+1 supports business development at home through valuing remittances. It supported 1360 beneficiaries during 2010-2018, out of which 85,4% outside Chisinau or Balti and the largest share of business investments were in agriculture - 55% of beneficiaries. The efforts already in place need to be complemented by additional support to small agri-food producers, such as improvement in access to markets.

Covid-19 highly affected the agricultural sector, the sale of agri-food produce in local markets being tremendously impacted by the containment measures that called for the shutdown of open-space retail and whole-sale agri-food markets and application of export restrictions. Digital solutions can be applied to mitigate and eliminate disruptions linked to smallholders’ access to markets, such as the disruption caused by the pandemic related restrictions, ensure constant supply-demand flow of agri-food produce and efficiently contribute to building back efforts and the economic recovery of vulnerable rural households’ livelihoods. The recent FAO Moldova study “Digital Agriculture in Republic of Moldova: Context Assessment, Mapping of the Existing Infrastructure and Needs Assessment” highlighted the importance of increasing the level of digital literacy among smallholder farmers, who continue practicing old agricultural methods and are little aware of the existence of innovative digital farming solutions, nor of the potential benefits thereof.

In the abovementioned context, FAO Moldova is looking for the possibility to support local smallholder farmers to enhance their access to markets and increase their sales through the adoption of digital tools and technologies. For this purpose, the Multi-Disciplinary Fund (MDF) initiative in Moldova will support the development of several research studies and delivery of trainings to the target group. One study will be focused on assessing the feasibility of developing and deploying an online platform to support farmers (including returned migrant workers and/or their dependents involved in agri-business) to market their products, increase their presence and visibility at home and abroad. Another study will assess the digital skills of the target group and their needs in terms of digital tools applied for online marketing. The training component will aim at increasing the digital literacy of the target group, as well as the knowledge of innovative practices applied in the agriculture sector.

To ensure the outreach, communication and visibility under current initiative, FAO Moldova is looking to hire a National Communication Consultant to work on a part time basis.

Objectives

The Communication Consultant is expected to ensure communication-related efforts within the framework of the MDF initiative in Moldova on supporting reintegration of returning migrants in rural areas, through planning, development, implementation, and monitoring of communication, visibility and outreach activities.

The communication related objectives, reflected in the draft communication plan, are the following:

-        Create visibility for the research products;

-        Facilitate learning and information sharing to target groups for the training components; support with sustaining the learning efforts;

-        Facilitate stakeholders’ engagement in the project activities/events;

-        Build and explore partnerships with various media channels for visibility and educational purposes;

-        Explore the existent networks of returning migrants and remittances-dependent families engaged in agri-business.

The communication, outreach and visibility efforts are to be ensured through, but not limited to, the following instruments: events (presentation events, TV program participation, webinars/trainings, etc.), digital communication products (infographics, web banners, etc), articles, interviews, media relations/partnerships

Tasks and responsibilities 

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Technical Focal Point for Migration (ESP), the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR for Moldova, the technical guidance of the National Project Coordinator and the Rural Migration Consultant (ESP), in coordination with FAO Moldova Office Communication Specialist, the National Communication Consultant, under the present Terms of Reference, will undertake and complete the tasks described below.

The major responsibility is to provide support in the development, implementation and monitoring of the communication plan for the whole initiative. A draft communication plan is in place.

The communication effort will ensure presence on top national media channels, increasing visibility around the project activities and outputs. Specific responsibilities of the Communication Consultant, to ensure media presence, are as follow:

-        For the research component: ensure visibility and facilitate public discussions around the findings of the performed studies, including through advising on the public messages to be shared, developing and sharing articles, interviews, press releases, coordinating the development of infographics, managing media posts, and facilitating FAO participation in TV program discussions.

-        For the training component: ensure visibility and outreach to facilitate attendance of the target group, showcase the training experience and training insights. This will be done through invitations, articles, photo/video content with participants and media posts through media partners.

-        Identify educative media entry points in the area of e-commerce for agri-food producers and support with the implementation of at least one initiative;

-        Perform media coverage monitoring for the communication efforts.

-        Coordinate communication efforts with the country team, FAO HQ, and with the envisaged project partners as needed.

-        Observe FAO standards and practices related to communication and visibility efforts.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements:

-        Master Degree in journalism, public relations, social sciences, economics or related areas. In case the Master Degree is in another area than journalism or public relations, additional training and certification in communication/journalism is mandatory.

-        At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience is required at the national or regional levels in communication area;

-        Experience in writing articles, blog posts, human stories, in developing communication materials (announcements, invitations, press releases), and in developing media/communications strategies and plans;

-        Operational knowledge in graphic design application/s (Canva, InDesign), video production, social media analytics (AdSence, AdWords), online promotion tools, is an asset;

-        Knowledge of one or more of the following domains is a strong advantage: Moldova’s migration and development nexus, in particular the return and reintegration component, agri-business development, e-commerce and digital skills for online marketing;

-        Ability to present information logically, clearly, concisely, and effective;

-        Experience in working with international organizations and UN agencies in particular is a strong advantage;

-        Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

-        Fluency in both oral and written Romanian, Russian and English.

FAO Core Competencies

·       Results Focus

·       Teamwork

·       Communication

·       Building Effective Relationships

·       Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

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.

·       For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please send your CV, financial offer and cover letter explaining your interest and eligibility, to FAO-Moldova@fao.org by 8 August 2021 inclusive, also include in the subject line: “National Communication Consultant”. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Vacancies will be removed from the recruitment portal at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org