Project Officer, Earth Journalism Network – Our Mekong, Our Say

ABOUT THE PROJECT

USAID’s Mekong For the Future (MFF), implemented by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), works to improve natural resource governance in the Lower Mekong region by strengthening civil society’s participation in natural resource management by advocating for rights-based and inclusive programs and strategies that address transboundary environmental challenges, and conducting policy and environmental data analysis.

Through a grant from WWF, Internews will be implementing the Our Mekong, Our Say (OMOS) project to complement MFF and contribute to its goal and intermediate results, especially Intermediate Result 3 — to increase transparency of natural resource policy and governance and citizen understanding of that information. The OMOS project will strengthen the capacity of Mekong journalists, content creators and citizen journalists from Lower Mekong countries to produce high quality media stories and social media content on Mekong’s transboundary environmental challenges, and provide them with financial support, mentorship and cross border networking opportunities.

We will achieve this by organizing webinars on the themes of MFF, providing a training workshop to build journalists’ knowledge on the latest science and information on Mekong’s natural resources and creative storytelling, providing story grants and mentoring for journalists, training journalists on Mobile Journalism (MoJo) and organizing a social media campaign to collect and share how Mekong communities are experiencing the environmental challenges and demonstrating their resilience. These media stories and social media posts will be widely distributed through media outlets in the Lower Mekong region, as well as on the websites and social media accounts of Internews, Earth Journalism Network, WWF and USAID.

Our Mekong, Our Say will be implemented by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network , which is both a media development program as well as a global environmental journalist network, consisting of 14,000 members worldwide.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

The Project Officer – EJN Our Mekong, Our Say, will be responsible for managing the implementation of the Our Mekong, Our Say project, and coordinating with other Internews staff working in the Mekong region.

LOGISTICS

This is a remote-based position open to candidates based in either Cambodia or Thailand. You must have work authorization in your 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.

Note: Hiring is contingent upon receipt of funding. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply soon> This is a limited term position, with an anticipated duration of one year.

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.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following, with other duties upon request:

• Manage the implementation of all activities of the OMOS project and ensure the quality and timely delivery of all outputs.
• Manage the selection of participating journalists and other content providers, including approaching editors of media outlets for their support and buy-in.
• Manage consultants and staff hired to deliver activities under OMOS project.
• Work closely with the trainers and mentors to deliver the training workshops, story grants and mentoring program.
• Facilitate logistical arrangement for workshops and other events, with the support of EJN Program Associate.
• Oversee the provision of the story grants to the journalists.
• Oversee the monitoring and evaluation of project, with support from the MERL team.
• Coordinate communication between the trainers, mentors, editor and participants.
• Maintain consistent communication with WWF, USAID and any other partners.
• Coordinate communication and workflow among senior management and project team – especially EJN’s Mekong team.
• Prepare monthly updates, quarterly and end-of-project reports.
• Manage the procurement of services and goods for project activities, according to Internews’ procurement policy.
• Ensure timely and accountable spending of project budget, working with EJN Senior Finance Manager and HQ Grants and Contracts as well as Finance teams.
• Assist with the selection of awardees for other EJN projects’ story grant and fellowship.
• Keep abreast of developments in the political and environmental landscape that could help or hinder project activities and objectives, and support journalists to mitigate risk, with the support of Internews’ security team.
• Assist with new project development, as required, in the Mekong region.
• Represent Internews and EJN at meetings with stakeholders.
• Any other assignments as required.
• Understand and demonstrate commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values .

QUALIFICATIONS WE’RE LOOKING FOR

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 functions.

Required

• 5 or more years of project management experience in international development, in the Mekong region
• Proven knowledge of and experience with the media in Mekong countries, preferably in environmental journalism
• English fluency required, and fluency in one or more Mekong country languages
• Experience in small grants management
• Report writing and budget management experience
• Proven ability to prioritize and handle multiple ongoing assignments
• Proven analytical and problem-solving ability
• Proven ability to coordinate with different teams and stakeholders, as well as with senior management

Preferred

Note: Candidates who do not have these preferred qualifications, but who are interested and willing to learn, are encouraged to apply.

• Experience with and knowledge in natural resource governance
• Previous work experience with US funded programs and projects

This position is being offered and hired by Internews Network. Benefits will be consistent with Internews Network’s offerings and will be reviewed during the hiring process. Additional information can be found on our About Working for Internews page.

Internews Network is an EEO/AAP/OFCCP employer. Every qualified applicant will be considered for employment. Internews does not discriminate based on race, gender, gender identity or orientation, genetic information, age, national origin, marital status, disability status, political ideology, military or protected veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.