JCA Technical Support Intern

We are looking for a Technical Support Intern who will work alongside the Journalism Cloud Alliance’s (JCA) tech team to help journalism organisations understand, evaluate, and migrate their cloud infrastructure. This is a hands-on technical role: you’ll research providers, help size infrastructure, draft migration plans, and support members through their transition to JCA-recommended services.

About the JCA

The Journalism Cloud Alliance helps investigative journalism organisations access affordable, secure cloud infrastructure. We connect newsrooms with vetted infrastructure providers, negotiate group discounts, and provide advisory support for migrations and service setup. Our members include investigative media organisations across Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure research: Compare hosting providers (pricing, features, SLAs, jurisdictions), maintain the partner capabilities database, and identify new potential partners
• Sizing and scoping: Help analyse member infrastructure needs — review current setups (CPU, RAM, storage, services), estimate costs on JCA providers, draft comparison documents
• Migration support: Help prepare migration plans for members moving between providers (e.g., AWS to Greenhost, commercial email to self-hosted). Document procedures, test configurations, and assist with DNS changes
• Technical documentation: Write setup guides, maintain the services catalogue with technical specs, document common configurations (WordPress on Greenhost, Nextcloud on FlokiNET, Mailcow setup)
• Provider testing: Set up test instances on partner infrastructure, validate performance claims, document findings
• Security awareness: Flag security concerns in member setups, help evaluate DDoS protection options, and understand jurisdiction implications for at-risk newsrooms

Requirements

• Hands-on experience with Linux servers (command line, SSH, basic administration)
• Understanding of web hosting concepts: VPS, DNS, SSL/TLS, email hosting (MX records, SPF/DKIM)
• Familiarity with at least some of: WordPress, Nextcloud, Docker, nginx, databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL)
• Ability to read and compare hosting provider specs and pricing
• Good written English for documentation and member communication
• Interest in journalism, media freedom, digital security, or open source
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Hetzner, DigitalOcean) is a big plus
• Available for at least 15 hours/week for 4-6 months

Nice to Have

• Experience with backup tools (rclone, rsync, BorgBackup)
• Familiarity with DDoS protection, VPN setup (WireGuard), or identity management (Keycloak)
• Experience with CMS migrations or email hosting (Mailcow, Mailu)
• Previous work in a nonprofit, journalism, or media support context
• Spanish, French, or Portuguese (some members communicate in these languages)

What We Offer

• US$500 (EUR 400) per month
• Meaningful work supporting press freedom and investigative journalism worldwide
• Direct exposure to cloud infrastructure, digital security, and nonprofit operations
• Mentorship from experienced practitioners in the journalism support ecosystem
• Flexible remote work with asynchronous communication
• A reference letter and professional network in the media development sector

How to Apply

Send a short email to Michael J. Oghia, the JCA’s project manager, at moghia@gfmd.eu with:

• Your CV and LinkedIn profile
• A brief paragraph (3-5 sentences) on why this role interests you
• Your availability (hours/week, start date, time zone)

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage applications from candidates in the Global South and from underrepresented backgrounds in tech.