Status: Open
Deadline: Ongoing
The IREX MEND Program: The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is implementing the USAID-funded Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka (MEND) program. The goal of MEND is to improve citizens’ access to balanced and reliable news and information, and to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to strengthen media freedom and democratic governance.
Summary: Under the MEND program, IREX will work with various groups of media stakeholders from media outlets to freelance journalists and media associations to strengthen their capacity, enabling them to play an independent and responsible role.
IREX will work with professional trainers and consultants who have proven expertise and a strong track record in offering needs-based, customized and focused trainings. IREX envisions establishing a pool of trainers and consultants whose expertise will be drawn upon during the life cycle of the program.
While the thematic areas for the MEND program have been broadly identified (Business and Operations, Digitalization, and Professionalism and Safety), each stakeholder will have individual needs. The selected individuals will be expected to work closely with the IREX/MEND program team to deliver these trainings and assistance programs. The following table provides an overview of specific areas of need:
| Area | Scope |
| Investigative Journalism (IJ) | Trainers should be able to train participants on the concept of exploring reliable data sources; document trails; data analysis; verification; story presentation; and writing and presenting a convincing investigative story. |
| Gender-Sensitive Reporting | This training will improve the knowledge and skills of participants broadly on gender-sensitive reporting. The trainer will also be expected to help the MDP partners use IREX’s proposed Gender Charter as aguiding document in reporting. |
| Reporting on Reconciliation | As Sri Lanka attempts to institute a process of transitional justice, the media plays a key role in reporting on conflict transformation, reconciliation and peacebuilding. Through this training, IREX will educate journalists on how they can shape perceptions, condition behavior and impact the minds, attitudes, and emotions of readers and the community at large. |
| Mobile Journalism | Mobile Journalism has fast become a key form of reporting in Sri Lanka. Trainers will empower journalists to produce high-qualitymobile video stories using their smartphones. The training should include key areas such as mobile filming, editing, live broadcast, integrating smart phones in newsrooms, and dealing with reliablemobile applications for iOS and Android. In addition, given the high mobile penetration in Sri Lanka, trainers should also be able to deliver trainings on the use of mobile journalism for conflict-sensitive reporting, which is pertinent in the case of Sri Lanka. |
| Media Ethics | Sri Lankan journalists operate in a highlycontentious environment. Through this training, media outlets will explore some basic theories, models and concepts in the field of media ethics. The trainer will introduce theories and perspectives, explore changing societal demands and expectations of media creation and media use, and will elaborate on existing ethical norms for media professionals. |
| Social Media Optimization and Digital Journalism | A priority area flagged was the need to train media stakeholders to creatively and efficiently use social media to maximize their audience, cater for different target audiences and digitally present their content through popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. The selected trainers will be expected to build capacity in social media storytelling, content marketing, innovative dissemination, revenue generation and userengagement. |
| Video and Audio Content Production | Trainers will be expected to trainparticipants in producing high quality audio and video content. IREX expects that participants will be able to produce highlycreative content for various web and digital platforms. |
| Election Reporting
| With general elections fast approaching,IREX is looking for a trainer who will be able to inculcate ethical and fair reporting techniques in journalists, including equal distribution of speaking time among candidates, female participation, journalistic ethics and violence issues. |
| Data Journalism | IREX seeks to train its partners on various aspect of data journalism, including online and offline data processing and presentation, including infographics and other visualizations tools.
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| Safety and security for journalists | The training on safety and security is expected to provide holistic capacity development support on digital, psychosocial, and physical safety for journalists. This will include training journalists, developing in-house digital security systems for media outlets, conducting digital security audits, and helping media outlets develop comprehensive digital security policies. |
| Business and Operational Management | The MEND program will work with anorganization or individual offering needs-based, customized and focused business, management and sales and marketing-related training for selected media outlets to develop their internal management systems. |
| Radio | IREX will be working with radio stations to develop innovative radio programs. In particular trainers will be expected develop programs to promote diversity, goodgovernance and reconciliation. Training will help increase public participation and provide strategies to engage a wider audience. Trainers will also have a strong knowledge of community radio models and rural production. |
Qualifications: Individuals/organizations will have extensive experience and a variety of skills to uplift the capacity of journalists working for the selected media organizations. Specifically, trainers should have:
- At least five years’ experience working for international media development agencies as a lead trainer in one or more of the themes mentioned above.
- A high level of practical experience or demonstrated knowledge in a range of skills related to the themes mentioned above, to provide highly customized trainings. Competitive applicants will be requested to provide references.
- Speaking, reading and writing proficiency in English is required. Additional proficiency in Sinhala and Tamil is strongly preferred.
- Strong interpersonal skills, work ethic, ability to work in a multicultural environment, work remotely and travel outside Colombo.
- Demonstrated ability to plan strategically and creatively to meet objectives.
- Strong ability to anticipate challenges and generate solutions.
Please, apply here.
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