Do you want a chance to quit moaning and rather do something constructive about the challenges facing Nigeria?
Code for Nigeria is hiring. We are seeking media innovators and digital pioneers to help spearhead a new #DataJournalism and #CivicTech lab in Lagos.
Pilot projects already in the pipeline for Nigeria include sensor journalismand drone journalism initiatives to give citizens ‘actionable information’ on issues such as air and water pollution, plus data-driven tools to help citizens find the best possible medical services, and investigative technologies to help watchdog media.
The initiative forms part of the Code for Africa movement, which recently received a $4.7 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) through the International Center for Journalists(ICFJ).
The successful candidate will be appointed as an ICFJ Knight Fellow, and will lead our in-country team in Nigeria. They will work with a pan-African network of digital experts, as well as some of Nigeria’s most powerful newsrooms.
The ideal candidate will be a digital media or civic technology veteran, with proven experience in managing data journalism teams and/or building digital news projects that engage audiences. They will also help to grow the local Hacks/Hackers communities in Lagos and Abuja, as well as seed new communities elsewhere, and will facilitate data literacy and digital journalism skills initiatives.
Candidates should familiarise themselves with CfAfrica’s work in other regional hubs such as Kenya and South Africa, as well as elsewhere on the continent.
Responsibilities:
- Supervise an in-country team of technologists at #CitizenLabs in Nigeria, as well as embedded Innovation Fellows and data journalists embedded into media and civil society partners across the country.
- Track key project analytics and metrics to ensure that projects remain on budget and and meet deadlines, as well as measure impact and generate stories and case studies to showcase results.
- Conduct regular “CfAfrica 101s” in newsrooms, teaching journalists and civic watchdogs how to use CfAfrica tools.
- Hold community events that bring together journalists and technologists to collaborate together around new technologies for storytelling and civic engagement.
- Bring an entrepreneurial spirit to work everyday, conceiving of new opportunities and avenues to help the media and civic watchdogs to grow.
Preferred qualifications:
- Significant experience working as a senior journalist or in a leadership position in the digital media or civic technology industries.
- Experience in the Global South, especially Sub-Saharan Africa.
- A deep knowledge of and passion for technology, and a strong track record using technology and/or data to tell stories to audiences that foster deeper civic engagement.
- Excellent leadership and management skills.
- Ability to manage several concurrent projects with timely deliverables.
- Ability to work effectively in a team.
- Fluency in English, with proficiency in other languages spoken in Nigeria is a plus.
- Excellent public speaking and interpersonal skills.
The successful Fellow may be from any country, but will be based in Nigeria for his or her fellowship. The duration of the fellowship is one year, with the possibility of extension for up to two more years.
Interested? Please apply here and select the fellowship for which you are applying: “Nigeria.”
You can direct any questions to: Alyssa Mesich at amesich@icfj.org or +1.202.349.7623.