AFRICA INITIATIVE MANAGER BY SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK COMPANY

AFRICA INITIATIVE MANAGER

Solutions Journalism Network Company Location

Reports to: Mid-Atlantic Region Manager, Practice Change

Position type: Present-Oct 2023: Full-Time

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Benefits: Medical, Dental, some Wellness

Applications due: December 14th

Interviews: Early January

Start Date: Mid January to Early February 2021

BACKGROUND:

The Solutions Journalism Network, a growing international non-profit organization, is catalyzing critical reporting about responses to social problems. Solutions journalism provides a framework, grounded in journalistic ethics and informed by today’s professional challenges, that enables journalists to cover society more comprehensively, revealing possibilities for civic agency and connection. (More here: www.solutionsjournalism.org.)

In SJN’s seven years, solutions journalism has become a credible reporting practice recognized for driving meaningful impact in society. Over 18,000 journalists have been exposed to our curriculum. More than 300 news organizations have engaged SJN to produce staff workshops, develop reporting projects, and consult on audience or community engagement activities.

ROLE DESCRIPTION:

We’re looking for a skilled journalist-entrepreneur to lead with SJN’s Solutions Journalism Africa work in Nigeria and Kenya over the next 3 years. This is a full-time role based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Since 2016 SJN has been forging relationships with news organizations and journalists across Africa, seeding projects that have produced high quality solutions-focused reporting on various topics and communities. The Solutions Journalism Africa project expands on this with the goal to improve the quality and reach of that journalism by building the capacity for local reporters, producers, and editors to tell stories that better reflect the full reality of communities.

The Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative Manager will build on this base of work, catalyzing the spread of solutions reporting by journalists and news organizations in the region. They will work directly with our partners in Kenya and Nigeria to train journalists how to do this style of reporting well. This person will also co-manage local solutions journalism reporting projects and fellows. This person will also help steward activities connecting the coverage and will seed professional and civic networks that promote learning and sharing of best practices across geographies.

This position is part of a bigger push for us at Solutions Journalism Network to better serve journalists and the greater news media ecosystem in the region more equitably, purposefully and fully.

AFRICA REGIONAL MANAGER WILL:

• Work with local partners in Nigeria and Kenya to identify journalists and news organizations with high potential to integrate solutions reporting into their coverage, with a special focus on outlets producing health stories.
• Introduce, train and advance the solutions approach using SJN’s training resources to build awareness and adoption.
• Work with organisational partners and others at SJN to support reporting projects that yield high-impact solutions stories and help to shift journalistic practice.
• Represent SJN at talks, conferences and summits.
• Host and manage virtual or in‐person local and regional gatherings and webinars.
• Identify and support potential fellows who can help spread the solutions approach.
• Work with fellows, journalists and news organizations to advance their solutions reporting.
• Work with local partners and US-based team to co-create or localize training materials for different news media formats.
• Co-manage sub‐grants for news organizations and fellows

Does this sound like your calling? We hope so: We’re an energetic, ambitious, and fun bunch, and we want great people to join us. We need folks who know how to solve problems, with an appetite for experimentation and an appreciation for ambiguity.

Diversity and inclusion at SJN means a workplace where individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Diversity of perspective, identity, and experience is important to us. We want to reflect and serve the whole of society. As a result, we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to seek employment, and we make all employment decisions without regard to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factors protected by law. To request reasonable accommodation, contact Mikhael Simmonds, mikhael@solutionsjournalism.org

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Relevant tertiary education – degree in Journalism, English, Mass Communications or other relevant degree
• Serious journalism chops: You should have significant journalism experience in Nigeria (Experience with international news organisations would be an advantage)
• A focused entrepreneur, someone who sees opportunities at every turn—and can execute upon them;
• Project management skills: You are organized, disciplined, focused. You know how to function effectively with multiple moving parts.
• Self-Starter with the ability to lead projects and take the initiative in supporting the content development process
• You work well alone and able to work in a collaborative team environment
• Someone with an appetite for experimentation: While we see very clearly where we’re headed, we don’t always know how we’ll get there – and you’re comfortable and confident with that.
• Relationship Builder: You are passionate about connecting with people and building deeper relationships. You are happiest when you are engaging with new people and bringing them into your community.
• Familiarity with and connections to the Nigerian news ecosystem. Having experience reporting in other countries in East and/or West Africa is a bonus!
• Good editorial judgement: excellent writing and visual communication skills, developing clear and compelling stories
• Solutions journalism reporting experience is a bonus.

Do you have skills or experiences that we haven’t thought of that you can bring to this job? Tell us how you can see this role benefit from your own individual experiences. Submit a CV/resume and fill out the form below. If you have produced solutions journalism or solutions-oriented reporting before, please feel free to share it with us with your resume or in the relevant section below.

Apply here by December 14th. Interviews will be in early January. Start Date is expected to be late January to early February.

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘑𝘕 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 in 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVMHErvh9EGDXd5s5-iSqGPa-GhTWssAWNR44O6zqYNdw8uw/viewform