MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE: The purpose of the job is to provide administrative and editorial support to the existing project team of The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network (MCJN).
POSITION:
- The MCJN Bilingual Project Assistant (Ar/En) will report to the MCJN Editor & Manager.
- The project assistant will also coordinate with the MCJN project manager & MCJN communications coordinator, and to a lesser extent, with the MCJN founders (all work remotely).
- 8-10 hours per week (flexible).
- Six-month consultancy contract initially.
- Competitive hourly rate.
- Working from home, ideally based in UK, EU or MENA region.
- Ideally able to start ASAP.
ABOUT THE MARIE COLVIN JOURNALISTS' NETWORK:
The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network (MCJN) supports local female journalists in the Middle East and North Africa through mentoring, counselling, training, networking and other forms of professional development assistance. Established in 2016 in memory of the late Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin, MCJN is an online community and peer support network of Arabic-speaking female journalists, who help each other to continue reporting on some of the world’s most important and toughest stories, and therefore contribute to more gender-balanced media in the Arab region.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
Would you like to play a key role in ensuring the successful delivery and development of The Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network (MCJN)’s support services to female journalists across the Middle East and North Africa?
We are seeking a professional, proactive and self-motivated project assistant to support the existing project team across a variety of administrative and editorial tasks. This is a new and varied role that will provide the post-holder with extensive opportunities to gain experience of many different aspects of MCJN’s work, while playing an important role in delivering, developing and growing MCJN’s services. While it is advertised as a short-term, part-time consultancy role, it is hoped that the role may develop into a longer-term position, funding permitting.
To prevent conflict of interest, this role is not considered compatible with being a current member of the Network. If you are a MCJN member with relevant experience and would like to apply, please get in touch so we can discuss further.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
A. To assist the MCJN Editor/Manager in ensuring efficient delivery of support services to MCJN members across the MENA region:
- Provide administrative support to the MCJN Editor/Manager covering a wide range of MCJN activities related to membership applications, the mentorship programme, webinar management, emergency assistance requests, post-activity evaluations, amongst others.
- Maintain clear, accurate and logical records of all assistance-related data, correspondence and any other supporting documents within agreed systems and following agreed due diligence processes.
- Provide other administrative support to the MCJN Editor/Manager as appropriate to the post.
B. To assist the MCJN Editor and MCJN Communications Coordinator in delivering high quality, regular editorial outputs:
- Contribute to MCJN’s editorial and communications activities including translating written materials (from Arabic to English, and vice versa), publishing/uploading relevant content to MCJN’s content management system, sourcing suitable images/audiovisual material, and other related tasks.
- Assist with tracking and recording MCJN’s website analytics on a regular basis.
C. To assist the MCJN Project Manager with other administrative tasks as appropriate to the post and time availability:
- Support compliance with internal and external policies and procedures.
- Provide other grant-management administrative support as needed.
PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS:
The following experience is essential for the role:
- Experience of digital journalism or communications.
- Experience of providing administrative support in a not-for-profit environment.
- Experience of working with a remote/international team using digital tools to coordinate.
The following experience is desirable for the role:
- Experience of using a variety of digital communications tools and management systems, including content management systems (ideally incl. Django, Google Analytics, Mailchimp & Hootsuite).
The following skills and knowledge is essential for the role:
- Ability to work independently and remotely in a reliable and efficient manner.
- Excellent written communication and translation skills in Arabic and English, including excellent spelling and grammar (French would be an added plus).
- Strong organisational skills with ability to manage multiple tasks.
- Excellent IT skills, including use of full MS Office (Excel and Word especially), Outlook and Google Drive.
- Knowledge and understanding of web content management systems (ideally including Django).
- Good knowledge of digital communications and social media/communications platforms including MailChimp, WhatsApp, Signal, Twitter, Facebook, Zoom, SurveyGizmo, Hootsuite etc.
The following skills and knowledge is desirable for the role:
- Knowledge and understanding of web analytics and monitoring of web traffic and engagement.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
The following values and interests are essential for the role:
- Willingness to learn and gain new skills.
- Commitment to working within the principles of equal opportunities.
- Empathy with the aims, goals and values of MCJN and a commitment to support delivery to meet these.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and conduct discreet handling of sensitive information.
The following values and interests are desirable for the role:
- Interest in journalism and media development in the Arab world.
Please send an updated CV/resume and covering letter in English explaining how you meet the above requirements to mcjn@thecircle.ngo by 11.59pm BST on Friday 2 July 2021. Please include the contact details for min. two referees and advise on your availability to start.
