Strategic Communications and Digital Engagement Consultant

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Sudan remains one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises, with high levels of food insecurity, displacement, operational constraints, access challenges and a highly sensitive information environment. In this context, WFP Sudan requires strategic, timely and audience-sensitive communications that support operational acceptance, donor confidence, public trust and advocacy for sustained humanitarian action. The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen WFP Sudan’s strategic communications, digital engagement, donor visibility and multimedia storytelling. The consultant will help position WFP Sudan as a trusted, credible and compelling voice across digital, media, donor and internal platforms, while ensuring that communications are field-informed, community-sensitive, donor-aligned and responsive to misinformation risks. The consultant will also support the continued institutionalization of communications systems, workflows and planning tools to improve coordination, quality control, content production, and visibility tracking. ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Lead strategic digital communications for WFP Sudan - Develop and implement a Sudan-specific digital communications strategy across X, Facebook and other relevant platforms. - Maintain strong audience segmentation, ensuring that X serves media, donors, policymakers and humanitarian stakeholders, while Facebook provides localized, Arabic-language and community-facing communication. - Lead weekly social media planning, approvals, scheduling, performance monitoring and platform-specific content packaging. - Strengthen Arabic-language engagement and ensure content is adapted naturally and sensitively for Sudanese audiences. - Use digital channels to support operational acceptance, counter misinformation, clarify WFP’s role and strengthen trust with affected communities.

2. Strengthen community-facing communications and counter-misinformation - Develop and maintain evergreen content packages addressing fraud prevention, beneficiary information, assistance processes, WFP’s role and common misinformation narratives. - Lead systems for identifying, reporting and following up on fraudulent pages and impersonation accounts. - Work with Sudanese colleagues, CFM colleagues, field focal points and UNVs to ensure content reflects community concerns, language nuance and audience needs. - Develop guidance and SOPs for colleagues on digital risk, misinformation response and fraud reporting workflows.

3. Lead donor visibility planning and content delivery - Oversee a centralized donor visibility tracker linked to grants, reporting deadlines, donor.

requirements, field opportunities and visibility outputs. - Plan and coordinate visibility content for major donors, including videos, photo packages, human-interest stories, social media posts, factsheets, event materials and field branding. - Ensure donor visibility outputs are timely, accurate, compliant with donor guidelines and aligned with WFP Sudan’s wider communications priorities. - Translate technical programme achievements into compelling, human-centred narratives for donor, advocacy and public audiences. - Support donor moments such as launches, closeouts, field visits, high-level events, annual meetings and global advocacy opportunities.

4. Guide multimedia content strategy and production - Develop monthly and quarterly content plans aligned with advocacy moments, donor priorities, operational developments, seasonal milestones and field access. - Draft shot lists, interview questions, story briefs and narrative guidance for field missions and external production companies. - Provide creative direction to photographers, videographers, editors and content creators on storytelling, visual framing, subtitles, captions, donor visibility and platform-specific packaging. - Coordinate with area offices, programme teams and field focal points to ensure content missions are well planned, interviewees are prepared, permits are secured and field access is used strategically. - Build a bank of high-quality, reusable content that can serve social media, media, donor visibility, internal updates and advocacy. 5. Shape campaigns and advocacy moments - Plan and coordinate Sudan-specific campaigns around major humanitarian, donor and operational moments. - Develop campaign boards, content packages, messaging, captions, visual guidance and amplification plans for internal, regional and global use. - Ensure WFP Sudan is strongly positioned in UN-wide and inter-agency advocacy moments. - Track campaign performance and use insights to improve future planning and share of voice.

6. Strengthen communications systems, workflows and knowledge management - Maintain a live editorial calendar and annual moments planner. - Develop and update SOPs, templates, trackers and workflows for social media, donor visibility, approvals, content missions and campaign planning. - Support more efficient internal coordination by managing incoming content requests and clarifying timelines, owners and approval processes. - Prepare handover tools and institutional memory products to support continuity, onboarding and long-term team efficiency. - Produce periodic analytics and performance updates to inform decision-making and improve content quality.

7. Support leadership, coordination and capacity strengthening - Provide guidance, feedback and coaching to junior communications colleagues, content creators, UNVs and consultants. - Support a respectful, inclusive and high-performing team culture by encouraging clear communication, accountability and constructive feedback. - Work collaboratively with programme, partnerships, donor relations, field offices, regional bureau and HQ colleagues to ensure communications are accurate, strategic and aligned.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

1. Updated Sudan-specific digital communications strategy, including platform roles, audience segmentation, content pillars and key moments.

2. Maintained editorial calendar and annual moments planner.

3. Weekly social media plans and approved content packages for X and Facebook.

4. Quarterly digital performance reports with actionable recommendations

5. Growth and engagement targets for WFP Sudan’s digital platforms, including Arabic-language engagement benchmarks.

6. Centralized donor visibility tracker updated and linked to key grants, deadlines and visibility requirements.

7. Donor visibility content packages for priority donors, including social media, video, photo, human interest and event materials.

8. Multimedia content plans, shot lists, interview guides and story briefs for field missions and production companies.

9. Flagship multimedia products for priority donor, advocacy or operational moments.

10. Evergreen misinformation and fraud-prevention content package in Arabic.

11. Campaign packages for major Sudan advocacy moments, including assets, captions, messaging and amplification guidance.

12. Updated archive/Trello system for reusable content, evergreen posts, campaign assets and donor visibility materials.

13. Handover toolkit including workflows, templates, trackers, SOPs and key contacts.

14. Capacity support and regular feedback provided to junior colleagues, UNVs and content creators as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education: Advanced university degree in communications, journalism, media studies, international relations, development studies, political science, humanitarian affairs or a related field, or first university degree with additional relevant professional experience.

Experience: At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in communications, advocacy, journalism, multimedia storytelling, digital engagement, or humanitarian communications.

Knowledge & Skills: - Strong strategic communications, digital engagement and audience analysis skills. - Proven ability to manage social media channels, grow audiences and use analytics to inform content decisions. - Excellent writing, editing and storytelling skills for different platforms and audiences. - Strong understanding of donor visibility, grant-linked communications and partner requirements. - Experience producing or guiding multimedia content, including videos, photography, interviews, reels and human-interest stories. - Ability to translate technical programme information into clear, compelling public facing narratives. - Strong understanding of misinformation risks, digital trust, community-facing communication and reputational risk. - Excellent coordination skills and ability to work across field offices, programme teams, donors, production companies, regional bureau and HQ.

- Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality outputs in a fast-moving emergency context. - Strong cultural sensitivity and ability to support inclusive, locally grounded communications.

Languages: Fluency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is highly desirable/required.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.