Africa Check, the continent’s first independent fact-checking website, is seeking an experienced journalist/researcher to join our growing Johannesburg-based team – testing the evidence for claims made on all sides of public debate and the media.
People across Africa make decisions every day based on the best evidence available to them, and often that information is misleading or just plain wrong. Our award-winning reports – published on our site and discussed and republished in wider media – reveal the truth behind the claims.
Job description:
Investigating claims about a wide range of topics by politicians and others to hold them to account, using publicly available information to reach a verdict about the accuracy of a statement. Writing it up in an easily understandable way with extreme attention to detail.
The successful candidate must:
- Have a well-honed nonsense detector,
- Be politically non-partisan,
- Have at least a bachelor’s degree in an applicable study field,
- Be glued to the news like other people are to Facebook,
- Be able to solve the equivalent of a maths equation (a public claim in our case) with research studies, expert opinion and logic,
- Know the difference between a representative survey and an internet poll,
- Lie awake at night fretting over a possible spelling mistake,
- Be able to explain to their grandmother what a term like confidence interval is,
- Have grit.
Advantageous:
- Experience in business and economic journalism,
- The ability to talk sensibly on television and radio,
- Fluency in an African language/French,
- Know Excel back to front.
What we offer:
- A competitive salary (no, really, although we’re an NGO!),
- A 13th cheque based on performance,
- Lots of opportunity for learning and growth,
- Cake club on Thursdays.
Send a CV and cover letter explaining why you would be perfect for the post to info@africacheck.org by close of business on Monday 13 June. Attach a sample of your writing and suggest a fact in the news that should be checked.
