Internews Europe – Job Description

Project Director

Caucasus Connect

Job Title:                        Project Director, multi-country project (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia)

Location:                        Caucasus Region

Reports to:                    Director of Programmes, Internews Europe

Prepared Date:             January 2012

Starting Date:               May 2012

Duration:                       24 months

BACKGROUND:
Internews Europe is an international media development organisation whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard.

Internews Europe (IEU) will start implementing a 2-year project aimed at overcoming barriers and disconnects in coherent public policy formulation and uptake on climate change and biodiversity through reinforcement of local media, environmental NGOs capacity-building and creating links with the academic community working on environmental issues.

GENERAL FUNCTION:
The Project Director is responsible for the development, management (programmatic and financial), and coordination of Internews’ activities in the four concerned countries in the framework of a program focusing on improving the enabling environment for climate change response, biodiversity protection and ecosystems management. The position will be based in the region and will involve frequent regional field travel.

• Overall Project Management; provide leadership and direction for the implementation of all project  activities in the Caucasus Region ensuring that the project’s goals are achieved while improving effectiveness and maximizing impact;
• Team Management:  Direct the efforts of a team of journalism consultants, trainers and mentors in order to assure that high standards of professional training and related activities are delivered according to project commitments;
• Co-financing: Engage into extensive co-financing applications to secure the additional funding needed for the project implementation;
• Manage relations with local project partners and beneficiaries: negotiate and manage contracts, supervise and monitor the implementation of activities, ensure smooth communication with all parties involved ;

• Design, organize, supervise and monitor all project activities, involving stakeholders from the media, environmental civil society organisations and scientists:

o    Seminars and conferences (regional and international) for all target groups

o    National workshops for academia and NGOs

o    Environmental stories production small grants

o    Environmental reporting best practices’ guide production

o    Baseline study on climate change and biodiversity reporting

o    Other networking activities involving primary stakeholders and public bodies

• Content monitoring: ensure that journalistic reports produced are in line with professional standards of journalism and editorial guidelines;
• Financial Oversight: ensure that financial and administrative processes are controlled and compliant with organizational and donor requirements; assist local partners in financial reporting;
• Local partners capacity building: provide organizational development support to local partners and beneficiaries in the region as appropriate; mentoring of local partners staffs through strong management, specialized trainings, upgraded resource materials and tools, effective feedback and the modeling of professionalism;
• Coordination of project activities and partners: work closely with Internews Network, media partners and institutions, and relevant civil society organisations to collaborate and leverage resources where possible;
• Official Correspondence: prepare or oversee the production of all official communications, briefings and reports to donors and partners as required;
• Region environment and challenges: maintain a thorough knowledge of independent media outlets, journalists and institutions in the region in question (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia) and a general understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the domains of climate change, environmental protection and biodiversity in the region. Also maintain a keen understanding of issues affecting both the media community and the media development community in the region, including security and political factors.
• Representation: represent IEU at all external events including meetings, roundtables and conferences with government officials, partner organizations and other stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential task.

Necessary (must have all)

• Minimum 5-year experience of managing international media development projects; ability to plan, set goals, monitor progress and evaluate results;
• Experience managing partnerships and teams of up to 20 people;
• Extensive international experience in journalism training and production or in supervising and developing media training and production programmes;
• Knowledge of media (TV, Radio, Internet and newspaper) and civil society organizations;
• Experience as a working journalist specializing in the domain of environmental issues and biodiversity preservation; significant ability to provide capacity-building to the media professionals in the process of media reports production;
• Strong critical thinking and writing skills; excellent communication skills;
• Experience creating and managing budgets;
• Proven interpersonal and networking skills with international organisations and donors.
• Extensive travel in the Caucasus region. Ability to move freely in the region is obligatory.
• Language skills: Fluent in Russian and English.

Desirable (must have at least two of these, but the more, the better)

• Extensive experience working in challenging environments including conflict zones or post-conflict zones, specifically, experience living and working in South and Eastern Europe.
• Knowledge of media research and monitoring methodology;
• Prior knowledge of the Caucasus region is an important asset;

CONDITIONS:

• Full time – 24 months
• Starting date – ASAP
• Type of contract : Consultancy
• Benefits: international pay package

PHYSICAL DEMANDS and WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Extensive regional travels in the countries involved and to other regions will require the candidate to show strong personal balance and high flexibility. Candidate will need to be able to easily travel in the region concerned. Knowledge of the region will be an asset. In some locations, safety issues, a lack of adequate heating, air conditioning, electricity, hot water, phone lines and reliable transportation infrastructure are among other challenges.

TO APPLY:

• Interested candidates meeting the qualifications should forward a cover letter and resume (not longer than 3 pages) together with 3 references. to  jobs(at)internews(dot)eu (re-write in standard format)
• Reference to mention: “PD – CC” and name in the subject line
• Deadline for applications: February 8^th, 2012

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The above noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give the associate a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of his/her position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.

Ville

Caucasus Region

Langues parlées du candidat

English and Russian required

Durée du contrat

24 months

Documents à envoyer

• Interested candidates meeting the qualifications should forward a cover letter and resume (not longer than 3 pages) together with 3 references. to  jobs(at)internews(dot)eu (re-write in standard format)
• Reference to mention: “PD – CC” and name in the subject line
• Deadline for applications: February 8^th, 2012