Consultants CODEX Communication Expert at World Health Organization

Background

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body that develops food standards at the international level. Its main objectives are to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade.

Codex texts (standards, guidelines and codes of practice) are voluntary in nature but they are referenced in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO-SPS Agreement) as the benchmark standards in the event of a trade dispute. They are also an invaluable source of science-based standards readily available for countries to use to enhance food safety.

Effective engagement in the work of Codex is important for all countries to ensure that Codex texts take account of global, regional and national needs, perspectives and data. Member countries are therefore encouraged to actively participate and contribute to the standards setting process of the Codex and a broad range of issues. In order to effectively participate in Codex work, it requires national Codex structures to be in place, with, among others, clear mechanisms and processes to manage national codex activities at national level.

Recognizing the importance of Codex, Malawi became a member of CAC in 1971, and the Government of Malawi designated the Malawi Bureau of Standards as the Codex Contact Point (CCP) for Malawi. As required by the CAC, Malawi established a National Codex Committee (NCC) in 1997, as a means of enhancing the participation of the country in Codex work and the national consultation process on Codex matters.

The NCC for Malawi however is confronted with a number of challenges, as it does not have the high-level recognition needed to secure resources to support national codex work as well as the effective engagement of all stakeholder groups to advance codex-related activities at country level. This is in part due to the limited awareness and understanding of codex among high-level policy and decision makers and different stakeholder groups on the importance of Codex in advancing national food safety, health, agricultural, trade and developmental goals.  In order to address this challenge, it is therefore necessary to conduct advocacy among the various stakeholders in order to raise awareness of the importance of Codex to the country and in turn garner the needed support and engagement for codex activities at country level.

In light of the above, the World Health Organization Malawi Country Office seeks to engage a national consultant to develop advocacy tools for different groups (high-level policy and decision-makers, industry, scientific community, consumers, government ministries) that will be used to conduct advocacy activities on Codex.

Deliverables

1. Conduct a desk review and analysis of existing codex awareness and advocacy tools available at the national and international level;
2. Prepare and submit an inception report of the assignment to the CCP;
3. Conceptualize, design and develop key advocacy messages and materials that can be used for awareness raising of the different target groups (policy and decision makers, industry, scientific community, government ministries etc);
4. Recommendations on the appropriate communication methods to be used for the different target audiences (institutional communication, industry, high-level policy and decision makers, scientific community, consumers, donor and partner agencies etc);
5. Facilitate, in consultation with the CCP and the World Health Organization Malawi Country Office, a stakeholder validation workshop of the draft advocacy messages and materials as well as proposals on the appropriate communication methods for each target group; and
6. Prepare and submit a technical report of the assignment.

Deliverables:

1. Inception report
2. Advocacy messages and materials (draft and final versions)
3. Recommendations on appropriate communication methods for the different target groups
4. Facilitation of a validation workshop; and
5. Technical report of the assignment

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Expertise

1. In-depth knowledge of the functioning and operational procedures of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies;
2. Knowledge in the operations of a Codex Contact Point and National Codex Committee;
3. Knowledge of Codex work at international level;
4. Excellent facilitation and training skills; and
5. Excellent report writing skills.

Educational Qualifications

Essential:

Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications, Journalism, Business Management or any related field.

Desirable:

Masters Degree in any related field.

Experience

At least 3 years of experience in undertaking related assignments.

Skills/Knowledge

1. Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively 
2. Good understanding of production, graphic design and experience in developing public awareness materials;
3. Knowledge of Codex work in Malawi and WTO-SPS Agreement;
4. Ability to be strategic and analytical. 
5. Excellent facilitation and advocacy skills; and
6. Excellent report writing skills.        

Languages and level required

Good command of both written and spoken English