Senior Associate, Communications, Ocean Action Agenda

(temporary position, November 2026 to June 2027)

The World Economic Forum is an independent, not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Geneva, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Beijing and Tokyo.

We are the trusted platform for public-private cooperation where leaders come together to understand global challenges and drive action across sectors and regions. We create spaces where different stakeholders engage openly, build trust and collaborate to help solve shared global challenges.

Context and why we are recruiting

The Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) – the ocean goal – is inextricably linked to achieving the broader sustainable development agenda.

The Forum's Ocean team seats within the CNC Earth Systems Agenda to create innovative platforms at the nexus of science, business and policy and cultivates partnerships across business, government, academia and civil society to fast-track ambitious solutions for ocean health. The Ocean team hosts two key communities to achieve these objectives:

• Accelerating Critical Transformations for the Ocean (ACT Ocean) supports companies in identifying concrete actions that conserve and restore ocean health while creating long-term economic and social value. It brings businesses together with governments, academia and civil society to share knowledge and scale effective solutions.

• Friends of Ocean Action (FOA) is a coalition of 91 ocean leaders from business, civil society, international organisations, science and technology. The members – the Friends – come from business, civil society, international organizations, science and technology and are committed to fast-tracking solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the ocean.

The OAA team is recruiting a Senior Associate, Communications who will coordinate and deliver internal and external communications activities in line with agreed communications strategies, and promote the priorities, initiatives, activities and campaigns of our ocean work to demonstrate impact.

Reporting line and how is this role embedded in the wider team?

The role will be based at the World Economic Forum’s Geneva office, within the Ocean Agenda team, reporting to the Senior Manager, Programming & Strategy, Ocean Agenda.

Elsewhere across the Forum, this person will work with colleagues in the ocean team, the nature pillar and broader Centre of Nature and Climate, and the Global Communications Group. Outside of the Forum, this person will work with a broad range of stakeholders, including communications teams of Friends

of Ocean Action, external communications agencies and members of the media.

What will you be responsible for?

• Implement agreed communications plans and activities in collaboration with Ocean Agenda leadership, particularly on the strategy related to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2027.
• Support ocean project and initiative leads with the design of communications and messaging that increases the impact of their work, and ensure that all ocean project content (key messages, factsheets, websites, etc) is accurate, coherent with ACT Ocean and regularly updated.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external contributors to deliver agreed communications products and announcements, ensure accurate and consistent reference to ocean priorities and stories, and leverage digital and outreach opportunities.
• Plan, coordinate and deliver communications activities for key events, milestones and report launches.
• Develop and edit communications materials, including key messages, talking points, presentations and digital content for ACT Ocean
• Draft blogs, articles, media releases for ACT Ocean priority news and developments. 
• Create simple design collateral such as social media tiles.
• Work with external communications agencies for some project deliverables.
• Track communications outputs and coverage, contributing to performance reporting and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Contribute to effective and active internal communications to ensure visibility of the ocean work within the Forum.

What core knowledge, skills and experience are we looking to add?

Domain knowledge and experience

• University degree or equivalent professional experience in communications, journalism, marketing, international relations, environmental studies or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing strategic communications initiatives.
• Proven ability to translate complex technical or policy topics into engaging communications for diverse audiences.
• Experience producing a wide range of communications products including articles, blogs, presentations, executive briefing materials and digital content.
• Knowledge of ocean issues is highly desirable, with experience in sustainability, nature, environmental or international policy considered a strong advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; proficiency in an additional language is an asset.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, Canva, social media platforms and digital communications tools. Experience with Salesforce is advantageous.

Core skills

• Exceptional writing, editing and storytelling skills.
• Strong strategic communications and stakeholder engagement capabilities.
• Excellent project coordination and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to communicate complex information clearly and succinctly.
• High attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality outputs.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.
• Proactive, adaptable and solutions-oriented, with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.

Why join us?

Join an independent and impartial organization with over 55 years of connecting leaders to make sense of global challenges and move the world forward together.