The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is inviting applications for the position of Editor for the second phase of its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship. We are looking for Editors who will play a critical role in mentoring journalists from Benin, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria.
About the Digital Public Infrastructure Journalism Fellowship
The Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship, is a project of the MFWA, with funding support from, and in partnership with Co-Develop. The project seeks to empower media professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute effectively to the evolving digital landscape, ensuring that the benefits of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Public Goods (DPGs) are widely understood and leveraged across West Africa. Specifically, the project trains journalists who are competitively selected across the region on the concepts of DPI/DPGs through a three- to six-month fellowship. The trainings prepare the beneficiaries to better understand and produce stories that elevate public awareness, stimulate debates, foster inclusivity, and encourage participation and uptake of DPI/DPGs issues across West Africa.
Under phase one of the project, 20 journalists from 10 countries in the region benefited from the Fellowship, improved media coverage and broadened public discourse on DPI/DPGs through the production of over 100 stories. Most of the published stories resulted in reactions from some government institutions and state actors in the various focused countries.
Building on the achievements and gains from the first phase, the second phase seeks to further enhance the capacity and skills of beneficiary journalists to enable them do in-depth reporting on DPI/DPGs. The project is designed to target 60 journalists from four countries, Benin, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. The Fellowship will run for six months – three months of intensive trainings (virtual and in-person) from November 1, 2024, to January 30, 2025, and the following three months (February-April 2025) for story development and periodic peer-learning sessions. The fellowship will also involve virtual editorial meetings and pitching sessions.
Tasks/Duties of the Editor
- Participate in subject-matter (DPI/DPGs) training sessions organised for Fellows to enhance knowledge on DPI issues.
- Organise follow-up journalistic trainings (at least once a week) for Fellows on effective skills for reporting on DPI/DPGs issues as will be learnt from the technical trainings.
- Organise a training for Fellows in generating DPI/DPGs story ideas and pitching story ideas.
- Assess story ideas and pitches shared by Fellows and help them in shaping and fine-tuning them before they are developed.
- Vet, make recommendations for improvement of stories pitched and give final approval for stories to be published.
- Liaise with the other Editor (Francophone Editor) for thoughts and ideas in relation to stories and publication of reports under the project.
- Where possible, suggest story ideas that the Fellows can pursue or follow-up on.
- Provide quality assurance for stories.
- Support tracking and evaluation of Fellows and the entire Fellowship programme for the necessary improvements.
- Suggest ideas on how to make the Fellowship programme more effective and impactful.
- The Editor will work with Fellows to pitch at least six great story ideas each on DPI/ DPGs.
- The Editor is to work with Fellows to publish all the stories by the end of the Fellowship in April 2024.
Qualifications
- Proven experience in editorial roles, particularly within digital journalism.
- Knowledge or interest in DPI, DPGs, or related technological areas.
- Ability to mentor and provide constructive feedback to journalists.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills.
- Previous experience working on regional projects or with international organizations is an advantage.
Compensation
Editors will receive a service fee for their work, subject to a statutory withholding tax of 7.5%. The total fee will be determined based on experience and the project’s budget.
Application Process
Interested candidates should submit their CVs and a cover letter outlining their editorial experience and interest in DPI/DPGs reporting. Applications should be sent to info[@]mfwa.org before or by October 15, 2024.
For more information about the fellowship and the editor’s role, kindly contact Vivian Affoah, Programme Manager, Digital Rights via vivian[@]mwa.org.