Consultant - Publications Coordinator/Editor

Consultants are not considered staff of IFAD. This consultancy assignment does not carry any expectation of employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

The External Relations Department (ERD) leads IFAD's external engagement through public and political advocacy, global policy engagement, partnership building, resource mobilization and strategic communications. ERD also leads IFAD's Replenishment, which is the process through which IFAD mobilizes core funding from Member States and agrees on priorities and targets for the Fund's work during each three-year replenishment period. ERD is led by an Associate Vice President and is comprised of two divisions: Global Engagement Partnership and Resource Mobilization Division (GPR) and the Communications Division (COM) and one initiative: The Food Systems Coordination (FSC).

The Communications Division (COM) leads IFAD's global communications and public advocacy, growing the Fund's visibility and reputation, and promoting the IFAD brand. It expands IFAD's media presence and digital footprint, connecting audiences with stories of IFAD's work and impact. COM also leads on internal communications, keeping IFAD's staff informed and involved.

COM is led by a Divisional Director supported by the Chief, Communications Strategy and Operations, and is comprised of four (4) teams: External Engagement, Partner and Field Engagement, Production, and Strategic Planning and Internal Communication.

Expected activities:

• Support the coordinate production of technical publications, thematic briefs, toolkits and other written products: support communication with external editors, sending laid out documents for galley proofing, revising, editing and rewriting as needed
• Manage finalization of IFAD Annual Report 2025: coordinating workstreams with external editors, designers and Language Services
• Coordinate development of other outreach products, including for IFAD14 as needed, such as country-focused brochures and fact sheets highlighting partnership and impact
• Advise IFAD staff on style matters and provide guidance throughout the publication production process. Liaise with photography/visual workstreams in line with IFAD narrative and positioning
• Maintain relationships with current external suppliers, and editorial companies, matching content that comes into COM for editing with appropriate providers with the requisite expertise; monitor/revise the incoming work of external suppliers and provide feedback
• Manage and update the work-in-progress table for IFAD publications that are in the production process
• Submit and coordinate publication requests for translation, editing and galley proofing through Scriptoria
• Assign/provide ISBN codes for publications, as appropriate
• Update or edit the IFAD generic boilerplate text as requested
• Any other duties as required.

Consultants are strongly encouraged to be in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday and during their teams' anchor day.

Expected outputs:

• Quality control, production coordination, editorial guidance, review and editing of various publications and other written materials

Education:

• First university degree in English or Humanities related topic

Experience:

• Minimum eight (8) years experience in editing, writing and English language related training.
• Experience coordinating publication of corporate documents.

Languages:

• Required: English (mother tongue)
• Desirable: French, Spanish or Arabic

Skills:

• Specialized communication skills, Technical know-how relevant to the specific communication role considered (e.g. communication planning, building and maintaining media relations, video production, publishing, web and other digital media, graphic design, visual identity, brand management, internal communication and events management);
• Project coordination, Identification of key-priorities, ability to work with others, coordinate and structure work to meet deadlines and adjustment of workplan/resource allocation when needed, identification and management of project-related risks;
• IFAD governance & mandate, in depth knowledge of IFAD's governance structure, mandate, strategic priorities and technical work;
• Written communication, Ability to use written communication as a main tool in profession, clear, succinct and convincing written communication; highly professional, balanced and diplomatic language;
• Risk management (e.g. reputational), Identification and assessment of potential liabilities and risks in IFAD's activities, particularly vis-à-vis third parties; ability to handle risks via contingency and mitigation strategies;

Consultants are not considered staff of IFAD. This consultancy assignment does not carry any expectation of employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org.

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.