Careers & Calls

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) marshals the science and expertise of the global CGIAR partnership to catalyze positive change towards a climate-smart future in agriculture and food systems. It scales up the practices, technologies and institutions that enable agriculture to meet triple goals of food security, adaptation and mitigation.

CCAFS’ Program Management Unit (PMU) is seeking a candidate for a six-month consultancy (June–December 2021) focused on our global communications and campaigns. The consultant will be hired under a standard consultancy contract, operating independently for CCAFS. 

The Global Communications Consultant will report to the Global Communications and Knowledge Manager, and support the PMU in two primary ways: (i) Coordinating the work of the Regional and Flagship Communications Officers, ensuring high-quality and timely outputs; and (ii) Support the Global Communications and Knowledge Manager, the Global Events Manager and Head of Partnerships and Outreach on events and advocacy primarily for the UN Food Systems Summit and the UN COP26 climate negotiations.

The Global Communications Consultant will work remotely—ideally close to Central European Time—but once COVID-19 restrictions ease, they will be welcome to travel to work at the PMU office on the Wageningen campus in the Netherlands, on occasions to be agreed. Depending on COVID-19 restrictions in late 2021, the consultant is expected to travel to meetings and events internationally.

The CCAFS communications team is comprised of ten Communications Officers covering four flagships, five regions and one cross-cutting theme. Their global work is coordinated by a Global Communications and Knowledge Manager based in the PMU, which is hosted by Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

From June 2021, the Global Communications and Knowledge Manager and Global Communications Consultant will be supported by one student research assistant that works on a part-time basis.

The role

The consultant will work full-time (approximately 40 hours a week) delivering the following duties:

• Draft content for the CCAFS website (news, blogs, research highlights, in the news).
• Edit, proof and approve blogs by the communications team, providing feedback and ensuring the blogs meet website and publishing guidelines.
• Support content management on the website and the intranet.
• Create and post engaging social media content (utilizing programs like Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud) that effectively disseminate our research findings to key audiences or support CCAFS events.
• Edit/approve social media posts submitted by CCAFS Communications Officers.
• Coordinate online campaigns around international days and other key events, supporting or delegating to CCAFS Communications Officers where necessary.  
• Coordinate entries from CCAFS Communications Officers into the quarterly newsletter, proof-reading content and checking links. 
• Note-taking at the monthly CCAFS Communications Meeting, ensuring action points are disseminated to the team in a timely manner.
• Track key performance indicators for CCAFS communications every quarter and submit them to the CGIAR System Organization.
• Manage the CCAFS web support team through an online ticketing system and Zoom calls once every two weeks, ensuring that issues raised are addressed in a timely manner.
• Coordinate contributions to the CCAFS Communications Annual Report for 2021 in the final quarter of the year.
• Write scripts, record, produce, edit and publish videos and/or podcasts.
• Draft and edit presentations that align to the CCAFS brand.
• Assist in the planning and implementation of CCAFS events.
• Other tasks as required.
• Provide ad-hoc communications support to a new project being launched by CCAFS this year: Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA). Exact duties and responsibilities to be confirmed.

About you

• The consultant must be fluent in English, and able to write and edit English language content to a high standard.  
• The consultant should have a proven interest in strategic communications, innovative campaigns and social media engagement that can inform and influence audiences and key stakeholders.
• While knowledge of climate change, agriculture and food security are of course advantageous, we are more concerned with finding someone with an analytical mind who can look afresh at CCAFS research to find creative ways to communicate our ideas, constructively challenging our assumptions and ways of working. 
• They must be able to write creatively and create content that speaks to different audiences.
• They must be highly organized—being able to manage competing demands—with good attention to detail.
• Consultants with video editing skills (especially those adept at storyboarding and editing for social media platforms) are highly sought after. Likewise, those familiar with web-based platforms that help us create digital content for social media—e.g. Canva and Headliner—will be preferred.  

How to apply

To apply, please email a letter of interest, a resume, two writing samples, contact information for two references to Rhys Bucknall-Williams, CCAFS Global Communications & Knowledge Manager at r.bucknall@cgiar.org no later than Sunday 20 June 2021.

CCAFS strives for diversity in gender and nationality among its consultants and staff.

Other details

CCAFS will pay the amount the consultant invoices, based on agreed quotes. CCAFS will pay a proportion of the agreed invoice amount in three installments, upon satisfactory delivery of agreed responsibilities.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted about this consultancy.  

We reserve the right to appoint a candidate before the advertised deadline.