Australian Centre for Agricultural Research – Communications Officer Network

Recruiting communication contractors outside of Australia presented logistical challenges for the ACIAR team, so they looked to AVI to advise on employment technicalities in-country and to assist in hiring the most suitable personnel. Through a partnership with AVI, ACIAR has been able to recruit a culturally  diverse team of communication officers across  the Indo-Pacific region who have been integral to  furthering outreach efforts and expanding the  reach of ACIAR impact stories. As a result, more people know about the vital  research ACIAR is funding in their country, and  ultimately how Australia is assisting its regional neighbours to take action towards the 2030  sustainable development agenda.   Since 1982, ACIAR has commissioned and managed more than 1,500 research projects in 36 countries, partnering with 150 institutions and more than 50 Australian research organisations. Communicating the impact of ACIAR research and how it helps smallholder farming communities is an integral part of telling the ACIAR story. ACIAR’s Outreach Team has been looking to grow and expand their storytelling capacity by recruiting in-country  communication specialists to capture first-hand  the impact of Australian agricultural research for development efforts.

AVI provides the following services to ACIAR under our partnership:

• Position description creation
• Advertising the role through AVI networks, social media channels and international platforms
• Review and shortlist applications
• Assessment of technical capability and team fit
• Panel interview co-ordination and support
• Development of behavioural-based interview questions based on the requirements of the role
• Due diligence checks including reference checks, police checks and others as required
• Candidate salary negotiation, contracting and onboarding, and local salary benchmarking.
• Employment advice regarding the differing and often complex local labour laws across the different countries
• Monthly salary payments to the Communications Officers