[CLOSED] Editorial Assistant: Support the fight against misinformation

Can you spot the leads that become great articles?

Code for Africa (CfA) has an immediate vacancy for a full-time Editorial Assistant in East Africa to help coordinate our pan-African PesaCheck team.

PesaCheck is the continent’s largest indigenous fact-checking initiative, with teams in 12 African countries, and is incubated by Code for Africa (CfA). It researches and debunks misinformation published both online and elsewhere in more traditional media. It also tracks promises by public officials and shines a light on public finances to ensure the public is not misled.

As an Editorial Assistant, you will be an integral part of the editorial team. You will work closely with the News Editor as well as the team of 20+ fact-checkers to help identify stories and trends to be fact-checked across social networks and mainstream media. You will also play a key role in managing the internal editorial diary and story production in our partner newsrooms as well as ensuring all PesaCheck content stories are tracked, rated and documented.

The successful candidates will work as part of a multinational and multilingual team using digital collaboration tools to create content for a global audience and international media partners. Proficiency in either English or French is required, but bilingual English/French applicants will have an advantage.

Required: minimum requirements include:

At least two years of journalistic or research experience in a newsroom or equivalent environment.
Demonstrable understanding of the step-by-step news or content production process, including familiarity with editorial diaries/schedules, editorial workflow, and content assignment/deadline management.
Meticulous attention to detail, with the ability to work congenially in a fast-paced environment. This includes being an organisational whiz who is able to prioritise multiple tasks, while at the same time having the people skills needed to engage diplomatically and collaborate effectively with colleagues under tight deadlines.
Ability to work well in a team environment, as well as independently, in ways that proactively find solutions and simplify processes for your supervisors.
Excellent language skills (especially grammar and writing) and research skills
Demonstrate knowledge and interest in current affairs
Demonstrable competence on digital collaborative platforms such as Google Drive and Slack, as well as task/project management tools such as Trello with a systems-thinking and problem-solving approach to building streamlined processes that reduce bureaucracy and boost productivity.

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

Experience in editorial coordination or production coordination or editorial ‘copy tasting’ support in a news agency or similar content creation organisation will be an advantage.
Experience in researching and/or debunking misinformation and other forms of malign content.
Demonstrated leadership and self-direction. Willingness to teach others and learn new techniques.
Experience with WordPress, social media and/or social media tools for analysis/debunking/verification, e.g TinEye, InVid, WayBack Machine

Language and Location Requirements:

Location: East Africa preferred, but open to candidates based elsewhere in Africa.
Languages: English required
Preferred but not required: Bilingualism in French and English, as well as proficiency in one or more local languages will be advantageous

About the Role:

The successful candidate will join PesaCheck’s transnational newsdesk. The team is responsible for helping the public separate fact from fiction, using a range of journalistic techniques and digital verification tools.

You will work closely with our team of editors, fact-checkers and copy editors to coordinate our investigative research across 12 African countries.

You will support PesaCheck’s News Editor and Chief Copy-Editor in managing the daily editorial workflows and production process by a team of over 20 transnational and multilingual fact-checkers and copy-editors. This will include helping to manage the editorial diary, ensuring that fact-checkers submit quality stories on time. You will help manage the programme’s tiplines and source editorial leads for fact-checkers to follow up on. You will also take charge of streamlining and managing internal processes, such as documenting the content produced by PesaCheck, ensuring that records are kept up to date in meticulous detail.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

Support PesaCheck’s News Editor to facilitate daily editorial planning meetings at which editorial leads/assignments will be brainstormed and allocated to in-country researchers, with clear editorial briefs and submission deadlines.
Monitor PesaCheck’s various editorial leads/tip-lines, including the algorithm-driven Facebook Queue, to help shortlist prioritised items to be worked on by fact-checkers
Manage the daily editorial calendar or schedule that tracks newsgathering assignments.
Coordinate with other team members to complete stories and projects.
Coordinate closely with reporters and editors in partner newsrooms, including partners who PesaCheck is actively syndicating content with
Attaching ratings to content once the fact-checks are published
Handle administrative tasks including tracking team deliverables, scheduling meetings, and updating core project documentation.

What We Offer:

A competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
A dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international travel, and generous vacation benefits.
Ongoing opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques/technologies to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
A chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and interacting with colleagues around the world.

How to apply:

Please fill in this form by 15 December 2021

About Us:

Code for Africa (CfA) is the continent’s largest network of independent civic technology and data journalism laboratories, which build digital democracy solutions that give citizens unfettered access to actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions, and that strengthens civic engagement for improved public governance and accountability.

This includes building infrastructures like openAFRICA and sourceAFRICA, as well as incubating initiatives as diverse as the africanDRONE network, the PesaCheck fact-checking initiative and the sensors.AFRICA network.

The African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) is a CfA managed association of the continent’s best investigative newsrooms, ranging from large traditional mainstream media to smaller specialist units. ANCIR member newsrooms investigate crooked politicians, organised crime and big business. The iLAB is ANCIR’s in-house digital forensic unit, with teams in east, south and west Africa. ANCIR uses its resources to strengthen newsrooms’ own internal capacity, by providing access to the world’s best whistleblower encryption and investigative semantic analysis technologies, as well as skills development, and seed grants for cross-border collaboration.

At CfA, we don’t just accept differences – we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. CfA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

To all recruitment agencies: CfA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employment application line, CfA employees or any other CfA contact. CfA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.