Southeast Asia: Senior Media Advisor At Internews Network

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Internews seeks a Senior Media Advisor (SMA) for civil society and media support programs in SE Asia.

The SMA is responsible for training and mentoring of editors, reporters, citizen journalists, civil society communicators and media entrepreneurs, and for supporting broadcast, online and print media groups that are navigating a restrictive media environment.

Reporting to the Country Director, the Senior Media Advisor will lead a small team of training staff and consultants and is expected to lead and organize the implementation of all capacity building activities and reporting in order to meet project objectives.

OUR COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING A CULTURE OF BELONGING

We are an organization of dynamic, mission-driven individuals who are passionate about our core values and about supporting positive change in the world. We pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and flexibility. We believe that diverse teams are strong teams and work to support an ethic of belonging, dignity, and justice for all people. Our current team includes a mix of genders, parents and non-parents, and people of multiple races, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations and socioeconomic backgrounds. We are an EEO employer and encourage candidates of all races, genders, ages, orientations, ethnicities, and national origins to apply, and welcome those with alternative backgrounds and experiences.

LOGISTICS

This position will be at-post in one of Internews’ Asia regional field offices. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many of Internews’ offices are closed or partially remote and staff are working remotely. Until the situation meaningfully changes, this role will also function remotely. The incumbent will ultimately be based at-post in Southeast Asia. You should apply with the understanding that work hours will need to be coordinated to align in part with those of colleagues in Southeast Asia and on the East Coast of the United States.

All remote candidates will be considered. However, you must have work authorization in your current location that does not require sponsorship from Internews. Additionally, there are locations in which Internews is not able to support fully remote work.

Wherever possible, we work to try to find solutions for international hiring that work for both the company and the candidate. This means that some of the particulars around the offer for a role will be dependent on several factors, and that the benefits and salary structure that apply to a position will ultimately be based upon the candidate’s location and where the role is hired.

DAY-TO-DAY TASKS will include:

• Lead Internews training and capacity-building activities: research, materials preparation, developing curriculum, implementation of roundtable discussions, seminars and training workshops;
• Mentor trainees in story production and/or manage and oversee consultant mentors;
• Supervise a Training Manager and other training and capacity-building staff and consultants;
• Act as the first point of journalism reference for all Internews’ activities;
• Manage training and mentoring activity budgets;
• Develop and maintain an understanding of issues affecting both the media community and the media development community in Myanmar, including security and political factors;
• Technical support, guidance and mentoring to media partners;
• Provide technical oversight of sub-awards and mentoring to partners, including quality assurance, reporting and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) compliance;
• Ensure all project deliverables are completed according to agreed timeline and budgets;
• Build and maintain relationships with national and local media outlets including digital and mobile platforms;
• Build and maintain relationships with local media development organizations;
• Develop the terms of reference for any consultants carrying out specific components of capacity building work, liaise with the Director of Finance and HR in drawing up contracts and tracking consultant performance and deliverables through to final payment of consultant invoices;
• Support the Country Director in ensuring the projects comply with all administrative requirements, donors’ regulations (including branding and marking), laws including local laws or requirements or local staff;
• Ensure timely reporting of activities to the Country Director and effective collaboration with relevant Internews staff in drafting reports as required;
• Provide input to briefings and other communications activities as required;
• Understanding of and demonstrated commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values; and
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Fluent Burmese language speaker
• Advanced spoken and written English also required
• Minimum of 8 years’ newsrooms experience as reporter and/or producer
• Experience in broadcast journalism required (not just print)
• Experience in journalism training and curriculum development/lesson planning and the ability to organize effective remote/online training sessions
• Experience working with Myanmar media, preferably in-country
• Strong critical thinking and writing skills; excellent communication skills
• Demonstrable ability to analyze and interpret media trends
• Social media literacy, with understanding of key platforms and user trends in the region
• Thorough understanding of the technical, political and social issues specific to Myanmar
• Proven interpersonal and networking skills with international organizations and donors
• Experience of working in a cross-cultural team: understanding of organizational roles, practices, and responsibilities