Digital Pollution Junior Advisor – Intern / Volunteer

Location: Any sub-Saharan African country or Canada

Supervisor: Managing Editor (also Environmental Working Group Chair)

Supervisors assistants: Digital Innovation Manager, and, Regional Radio Craft Team Lead (also Environmental Working Group member)

Farm Radio International is an NGO that has been working since 1979 to harness the power of radio to meet the needs of small-scale farmers. We work with more than 1,000 radio organizations located in more than 40 African countries to fight poverty and food insecurity. With the benefit of FRI resources and training, our broadcasting partners deliver practical, relevant, and timely information to tens of millions of rural Africans, including women farmers. We also work with a range of funding partners to implement radio projects that address specific development challenges and community needs, delivering results for farmers and other rural citizens.

The FRI Environmental Working Group is thinking about the best ways to include the climate crisis challenges into FRI activities. In that context, it’s implementing the FRI Environmental policy (covering air and road transportation, issues related to buildings and supplies, employees’ behaviours, and food and water consumption) in some country offices (Burkina Faso and Ethiopia) and HQ (Canada), with a view to implementing this tool in all FRI country offices. Another goal will be to include environmental accountability in all FRI projects and activities.

In this framework, FRI is looking for a Digital Pollution Junior Advisor Intern / Volunteer from September 2022 to March 2023. Though this position includes research and making recommendations, it is primarily aimed at enabling measurable changes in staff behaviour, data storage practices, and management of supplies. The volunteer will be also requested to support implementation (as needed) of environmental actions in 8 country offices and the headquarters (digital pollution issues, but not only).

Responsibilities

The Junior advisor intern or volunteer on digital pollution will help the Environmental Working Group to minimize to the maximum extent FRI’s digital pollution over the long-term.

Identify our sources of digital pollution and their consequences

• Establish a baseline from information provided and from own research
• Describe the consequences of digital pollution in depth in order convince staff of the need to address the issue
• Other job-related duties as required

Define our objectives and propose a short- and long-term action plan to reduce digital pollution

• Establish and propose a list of specific objectives, supported by accurate technical information
• Establish a measurable and detailed action plan, including milestones and criteria for success, for the short- and long-term
• Other job-related duties as required

Establish a training plan and train staff

• Evaluate staff knowledge on digital pollution
• Design a training plan adapted to this level of knowledge and aimed at measurable changes in staff behaviour, data storage practices, and management of digital communication (Digital Innovation Manager will support. Regional Radio Craft Team Lead could help from a training design perspective.)
• Train FRI staff (then the FRI team will be able to implement)
• Propose new training courses and exercises to be followed
• Other job-related duties as required

Other tasks

• Provide brief monthly reports on progress
• Provide a final report at the end of the contract, summarizing all aspects of the work, and including a list of references on digital pollution and how to address it.

Qualifications and Competencies

Qualifications

• Knowledge of the environmental impacts of digital technologies or a related field or equivalent work experience in a relevant field in digital pollution
• Experience (or strong knowledge) with Google Suite products or Google workspace

Competencies

• Research and ability to synthesize and popularize information
• Experience in developing and delivering training
• Ability to work independently to troubleshoot, perform root cause analysis, identify and isolate technical issues
• Are excited to learn new digital tools and skills
• Ability to work and cooperate well with people
• Good Intercultural communication capabilities
• Written and spoken English and/or French, with capabilities in both languages an asset

Compensation

Voluntary assignment with an honorarium.

Compensation communication fees