openDemocracy is looking for an experienced Africa Editor for its expanding investigative project tracking the backlash against women’s and LGBTIQ rights.
- Employer: openDemocracy
- Location: Candidates should be based in Sub-Saharan Africa; openDemocracy has its headquarters office in London, UK.
- Salary: £42-48,000 (Full-Time), depending on experience
- Contract: 12 months, with possible long-term renewal subject to funding
- Notes: Preference given to applicants who can start in October. Please list your possible start date and any availability issues in your application.
openDemocracy’s Tracking the Backlash project investigates organised opposition to women’s and LGBTIQ rights across the world. We particularly focus on the finances, strategies and growing impact of far-right and religious conservative movements globally, including through ambitious cross-border investigations. We also support more young reporters to pursue investigative journalism with practical fellowships. Our work has already had outsized impact – triggering action from lawmakers and social platforms – and is frequently cited in leading international media, including CNN, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, and the Guardian.
We are now looking for a talented and passionate Africa Editor to join our team. You will be primarily responsible for commissioning, editing and reporting on Tracking the Backlash investigations in this region. You will develop and expand our contacts and collaborations with media and civil society partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, and work with other team members to design and execute investigative reporting, publishing and outreach strategies to maximise the impact of our work. In 2020, you will also recruit, mentor and work on investigations and other editorial projects with a full-time Fellow, an early-career journalist in the region.
You may be based anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a full-time role offered with a twelve-month contract and the possibility of long-term renewal subject to funding. Women and LGBTIQ candidates passionate about independent media projects are particularly encouraged to apply.
How to apply:
Candidates must be able to demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge and experience detailed in the person specification section of the job description.
Please click here to submit your application
A cover letter (maximum 1200 words) responding to the job description, why you would like to join our team, how the role relates to your experiences, skills and ambitions, and what you would bring to it. Please include two ideas for investigative stories in your region and highlight any experience you have mentoring or training other journalists, or working on cross-border projects.
- Links to 3 examples of recent published – or edited – work, along with a file with maximum 300 words detailing your role in them.
- An up-to-date CV (maximum 2 pages)
Application deadline: 17:00 GMT, Monday 30 September 2019
openDemocracy’s Tracking the Backlash project is led by women and prioritises the voices and perspectives of people who have been underrepresented or excluded from other media and public spaces because of their gender, sexuality, race, class or other characteristics. We are committed to equality and particularly encourage applicants who are interested in working with us to reimagine investigative journalism projects, and their management and execution, along intersectional feminist principles. This is a full-time position, but we are committed to accommodating caring responsibilities.
