Code for Africa (CfAfrica) and The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) seek outstanding applicants for a project manager to spearhead the CfAfrica’s data journalism initiative in Nigeria. Applicants should be media industry veterans, ideally with experience in managing data journalism teams and building digital news projects that engage audiences. Working as part of a larger pan-African team, each selected Fellow will help teams of CfAfrica data journalists and technologists embedded into partner newsrooms harness data to build compelling journalistic projects, using strong mobile and interactive web components. The goal: to catalyze news media to deliver ongoing, high-quality health and development news that engages audiences and sparks systemic change.
The project manager will help build partnerships with local newsrooms, recruit technologists and journalists to embed into partner media, and then help partners build pilot projects. You will also help to grow local Hacks/Hackers communities, and facilitate data literacy and digital journalism skills initiatives. You will receive support from Senior ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellows, who work as a pan-African data editor and digital strategist for the initiative, as well as from a CfAfrica technical team of coders, data wranglers and designers. In addition, you will also be able to tap into CfAfrica’s work elsewhere on the continent, including in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.
To achieve success, you will gain a critical understanding of CfAfrica’s existing tools and approaches, and should be a passionate advocate for how these approaches can strengthen news gathering. You will also connect with journalists and media managers through events, regular newsroom visits, online training, and more. As teacher and communicator, you will think deeply about methodology and curriculum. You will understand how to scale efforts and provide ongoing support. At the same time, you will be a champion for the needs of the media, and an advocate for creating tools that can further enable digital reporting. You will be a team player who loves working on a purpose-driven team that operates with high creativity and velocity.
Responsibilities:
- Supervise in-country teams of data journalists and technologists working at news partners; ensure these projects are consistently achieve their deliverables within set timelines
- Manage a network of local media partners, ensuring that partners avail appropriate resources and support for our projects
- Track key project analytics and metrics, measure impact and generate stories and case studies to showcase results
- Conduct regular “CfAfrica 101s” in newsrooms, teaching journalists how to use CfAfrica tools
- Hold community events that bring together journalists to collaborate together around new technologies for storytelling
- Develop on-going relationships with journalists who are using CfAfrica tools, encouraging and evolving their development over time
- Bring an entrepreneurial spirit to work everyday, conceiving of new opportunities and avenues to help the media grow
Preferred qualifications:
- Significant experience working as a senior journalist or in a leadership position in the media industry
- Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Nigeria
- A deep knowledge of and passion for technology, and a strong track record using technology to tell stories to audiences
- Excellent leadership, management, diplomacy skills
- Ability to manage several concurrent projects with timely deliverables
- Ability to work effectively in a team
- Fluency in English; proficiency in other languages spoken in the target countries is a plus
- Excellent public speaking and interpersonal skills
The Project Manager will be based in Nigeria; and the duration of the position is nine months, with the possibility of extension for a year.
If you are interested in being a candidate, please apply here. You may direct any questions to: Baindu Kallon at bkallon@icfj.org.
About Code for Africa
Code for Africa is the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism initiative. It seeks to instill a culture of civic innovation and digital experimentation in newsrooms and other civic watchdogs. It also incubates investigative and citizen journalism initiatives, using its networks to work with partners in the media, civil society, the private sector and governments. The goal is to seed new ideas and technologies that deepen public accountability, civic transparency and citizen engagement. It is funded by a basket of international donors, including the Omidyar Network, the World Bank, various regional Open Society Foundations, and a variety of smaller donors. While Code for Africa focuses its work on the continent, it regularly collaborates with like-minded initiatives across Asia, Europe and Latin America. You can join the CfAfrica community here.
About ICFJ
The ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellowships are designed to instill a culture of news innovation and experimentation worldwide. The goal is to seed new ideas and services that deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens in the editorial process. The program is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Fellows build on past successes in the Knight program, which has a strong record of achieving impact. They work in countries where there is a good opportunity to create the news media of the future. With additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Knight Fellows are empowering journalists in sub-Saharan Africa to use the latest digital tools to tell compelling stories on health and development issues.