Media Officer needed at Search For Common Ground’s International

Position Summary

Search is seeking a Media Officer for a 12-month project funded by the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The project will be implemented in consortium with two implementing Partners namely: Initiative for Justice Development and Peace Commission (IJDPC) Yola and Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP) Benue with the overall goal of promoting collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy processes to reduce human rights abuse by police forces in Benue and Adamawa States.

The Media Officer will work with the project team in empowering diverse persons in Benue to be aware of their rights and responsibilities, advocate against human rights abuses by security actors, specifically the Police forces. 

The position holder will also work with the project team and stakeholders to engage in evidence-based human rights monitoring, reporting, and advocacy thereby reducing human rights abuses. The candidate should be experienced in working with media partners in using media as a tool to address human rights abuse by giving voice to stakeholders. The position holder must be organized and experienced in deploying media as a tool for conflict transformation in relation to creating social behavioral change. 

Background of the Project

Adamawa and Benue states have experienced various types of conflict ranging from banditry, communal conflict, cultism, economic conflict, ethnic conflict, and religious conflict. These conflicts often result in loss of life and destruction of property, reflecting deep-seated tensions between different community groups. The violence often revolves around competition for land and resources, with herders and farmers clashing over grazing routes and farmland. This ongoing conflict underscores the urgent need for sustainable solutions and conflict resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, early warning reports and dialogues highlight a mutual lack of trust between citizens and security forces, effectively hindering the collaborative and holistic approach required to usher in a new era of peace and security in the region that prevents future human rights violations.      

Search, in collaboration with its partners Initiative for Justice Development and Peace Commission (IJDPC) and Foundation for Justice, Development, and Peace (FJDP) has designed a project in response to the challenges and opportunities outlined above. The overall goal of the project is to promote collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy processes to reduce human rights abuse by police forces in Benue and Adamawa State. This goal is supported by the following specific objectives and four interrelated expected results:

Objective 1: To strengthen the capacity of target CSOs, media, and community stakeholders to advance evidence-based HR monitoring, reporting, and constructive advocacy

ER1.1. Increased knowledge and skills of target CSOs and media actors in human rights monitoring, reporting, and constructive advocacy.

ER1.2. Strengthened communication and coordination between target CSO, media, and community stakeholders to build evidence to influence security sector policy and practice related to accountability and human rights.

Objective 2: To foster collaboration around increased accountability between target police actors, government authorities, CSOs, and local communities

ER2.1. Increased understanding of human rights principles amongst police actors.

ER2.2. Increased constructive interaction between affected communities, key government and civil society stakeholders, and police on issues related to human rights and protection.

The project’s impact will reinforce the links between civil societies, existing human rights monitoring platforms, and police forces to take coherent action to support the protection of civilian rights. Particularly in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and farmer-herder disputes in the Middle Belt, improvements in relations between police and communities will reduce push factors towards radicalization and intercommunal violent conflict.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Support the Project Manager and National Media Specialist in co-designing and managing media outreach activities with regards to promoting collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy processes to reduce human rights abuse by police forces in Benue.
• Support in planning and training of journalists on Common Ground Approach to address human rights related conflicts;
• Support the National Media Specialist in updating members of the Common Ground Journalism (CGJ) Forum in this phase of the project;
• Ensures all activities are conducted in accordance with Search policies and donor rules and regulations;
• Nurture positive relationships with media partners and consultants on the project;
• Support media partners in their planning, production, publicity, outreach and broadcast of multimedia products; 
• Develop activity work plans, media production and broadcast plans and strategies;
• Provide necessary support to the Communications team to manage social media profiles relating to the project, including publishing and distributing content, running campaigns and monitoring progress;
• Support the Communications team in organizing online meetings with stakeholders on the project;
• Support the Media Manager and Grants Coordinator to prepare Terms of Reference and Contracts for the media partners and staff assigned;
• Oversee and ensure the quality of the production of the media products and provide constructive feedback to the production team;
• Keep track of media logs, monitor the broadcast of the media products and provide regular feedback to the service providers; 
• Coordinate with the program teams to integrate program messages into media programming streams;
• Track and document organization’s news coverage through online and traditional sources;
• Develop relations with media actors and assist in mobilizing media for events where necessary;
• Provide monitoring data to the DM&E manager and share success stories and impact stories as a result of media products;
• Provide media reports and documentation and share progress, challenges, and lessons learned  to support the Project Manager to write periodic progress reports;
• Perform any other task as may be assigned by the supervisor.
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties broadly in line with the above key duties

Core Competencies

• Demonstrate integrity and promote Search values and ethical standards;
• Promote the vision, mission, and strategic objectives of Search;
• Demonstrate capacity to adapt to a multicultural context, tolerance, and respect for issues related to gender, religion, race, and nationality;
• Proficiency in the use of MS Office 
• Demonstrate capacity in developing concept notes and Terms of Reference for hiring consultants.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication or its equivalent in multimedia production, digital skills, journalism, communication, development communications or a related area; 

Required Experience

• At least 2-3 years of experience in media production/design and coordinating multimedia programs;
• Experienced in creating multimedia formats such as audio/visual, animation, photography, online and traditional etc. to engage an audience; 
• Ability to communicate in local languages will be a big advantage;
• Significant experience designing and conducting training courses in journalism and media;
• Track record in delivering effective media/communications/advocacy strategies in support of  campaigns and advocacy programmes;
• A reasonable level of monitoring and evaluation knowledge is also required

Other Relevant Requirements

• Understand key opportunities in Nigerian media markets and a thorough understanding of requirements of different kinds of media i.e. Digital/Online, Print, TV and Radio
• A good understanding of target audience, intended outcome programming, behavior change communications, and edutainment approaches;
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills;
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment and strong interpersonal skills.