Communication Officer

  • Full-time
  • Grade: GA6

Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.  Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) provides comparative statistics, analysis and capacity building. It helps local and national actors work together to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), promote inclusive and sustainable regions and cities, boost local job creation, and implement sound tourism policies. It includes the Secretariats serving the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC) and its three Working Parties on Urban Policy, Rural Policy and Territorial Indicators, the Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (CSMEE), the Tourism Committee and its Working Party on Tourism Statistics, and the Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Directing Committee.

In CFE, the Division for Regional Development and Multilevel Governance (RDG) advises governments on policies to enhance regional and competitiveness, improve well-being of residents, address regional and rural inequality, and tackle environmental challenges. It produces evidence, analysis and standards on a range of regional and rural policies and carries out reviews and thematic policy dialogues at as subnational level across regions and countries. RDG focuses extensively on multi-level governance arrangements for effective regional development policy, regional and local governance, subnational capacity building and local finance. RDG serves the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC), its Working Party on Rural Policy (WPURB) and its expert group on Multi-level Governance and Multi-level Governance and Public Investment for Regional Development. RDG also coordinates the World Observatory on Subnational Finance and Investment, covering 135+ countries.

Job Description

The RDG Division is recruiting a Communications Officer to support the work on regional development and multi-level governance. This role includes responsibilities such as: content development; website and social media management; engagement strategy; and monitoring. The Communications Officer will play a key role in the preparation of high-level events such as the May 2025 RDPC Ministerial meeting and will contribute to the strategic outreach of the RDPC. The selected candidate will report to the Head of Division and CFE’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager and will also work with the Directorate for Communications (COM) as appropriate.

Main Responsibilities

Communications management and co-ordination

  • Support the Head of Division in the strategic development of Regional Development Policy Committee meetings and other regional development initiatives as needed.
  • Co-ordinate a 360° communications strategy of high-level events (including the 2025 RDPC Ministerial meeting) that covers the run-up, event itself, and dissemination of key deliverables afterwards, leveraging various communications formats and channels.
  • Serve as the contact point on communications and media outreach for delegations, ensuring seemless co-ordination.
  • Ensure that all communications strategies and outputs follow corporate rules and best practices as defined by COM and that they are aligned with CFE communications planning for the directorate as a whole.
  • Develop and implement timelines for internal review of public deliverables, ensuring buy-in from DO and the CFE Communications Team, and involve them in all stages.
  • Improve team prioritisation and planning by: setting clear deadlines and monitoring mechanisms for strategic outputs; using the CFE Comms Planner; and co-ordinating within RSG and CFE and with COM.
  • Co-ordinate web and social media outputs with corporate communications undertaken by COM and by the CFE Communications Team.
  • Co-ordinate the implementation of the Regional Development Policy Toolkit in collaboration with the Digital, Knowledge and Information Service (DKI) and external partners.
  • Help identify staffing needs to support communications efforts (interns, external consultants, etc.).

Drafting, strategic communications and impact monitoring

  • Ensure that all content follows OECD style rules and editorial guidelines as set by COM.
  • Draft and edit clear content, distilling technical topics into compelling narratives – articles, blogs, issues notes, policy notes, notes to journalists and other promotional materials – in order to disseminate RDG work internally and externally.
  • Prepare strategic content and inputs for the background documentation, articles and social media posts for high level/Ministerial events.
  • Develop and collaborate on communication and visibility strategies for regional development and multi-level governance initiatives, considering unique stakeholder communications needs in collaboration with the CFE Comms Manager and the Comms Team.
  • Participate in inception meetings and offer strategic guidance to the team on effective messaging and storytelling for publications.
  • Identify optimal channels for specific communications strategies, tailored to substance and audience, ensuring efficiency, streamlining processes, and use of digital tools whenever possible.
  • Monitor web and social media metrics to generate data-driven insights for impact reporting and strategy refinement (Brandwatch, Google Analytics).

Digital communication enhancement and content management

  • Improve the use of CFE data and visual products in digital spaces (social media, newsletters, digital spaces, pdf products, blog articles, videos, podcasts, carousel products), in order to promote the visibility and impact of our statistical work with external audiences.
  • Create compelling content for social media and the web, including multimedia storytelling and campaigns.

Dissemination, liaison and outreach

  • Support internal and external outreach efforts by the Division, providing input for briefings, speeches, as well as other corporate documents.
  • Working closely with COM, build contacts and engagement with journalists, media outlets, online forums to enhance the visibility of OECD work on regional development and multilevel governance.
  • Collaborate effectively on horizontal and multidisciplinary projects within the CFE and the OECD.

Qualifications

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

  • An advanced university degree in a relevant field such as communications, journalism, marketing, or related field.

Professional Background

  • A minimum of five years of professional experience in a communications role with similar responsibilities, preferably in an international organisation.
  • Experience in designing communication plans, turning technical content into snackable formats.
  • Experience in organising international events, including at Ministerial level, with attention to diplomatic, logistical, and substantive details, is an advantage.
  • Experience in producing visual content for social media to meet high standard, working with a team of videographers, graphic designers, and organising workflows to meet tight deadlines.
  • Applied work experience in web technologies (AEM).
  • A good understanding of the role of monitoring and listening as an essential part of social media.
  • Ability to provide competitive insights, follow upcoming trends, drive results, and inform future content strategy.
  • Experience with OECD policy, procedures and software is an advantage.
  • Excellent drafting skills, including the ability to organise complex material clearly and simply for specialised and non-specialised audiences. 
  • Proven ability to deliver outputs within strict deadlines and budget with a minimum level of supervision.
  • Thriving in an environment that requires constant learning and innovation.

Tools

  • Knowledge of social media monitoring analytics tools.
  • Excellent IT skills, including web tools and collaborative platforms (e.g., AEM, SharePoint, Teams).
  • Familiarity with social media dashboard, Google Analytics, Adobe CS Suite, Photoshop, Canva and/or video editing tools.
  • Knowledge of event management platforms such as Inwink.
  • Familiarity with social media platforms, such as X (ex-Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.
  • Knowledge of and applied work experience in web technologies.

Core Competencies

  • OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring processes: Vision and Strategy (Level 1); Enable People (Level 2); Ethics and Integrity (Level 2); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2); Achieve Results (Level 1); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 1).
  • To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Languages

  • Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level.
  • Knowledge of other languages would be an asset.

Additional Information

Closing Date

  • This vacancy will be filled as soon as possible, and applications should reach us no later than 23h59 on 19 December 2024 (Paris time).

Contract Duration

  • One year fixed term appointment, with the possibility of renewal.

What the OECD offers

  • Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at 5628.41 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.
  • Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.
  • Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.
  • Please note that the appointment may be made at one grade lower in the specified job family, based on the qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.

Selection Process

For retained candidates, the selection process may include a video-recorded interview, job-based assessment and panel interviews.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.

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