Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 600 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 55 offices in 34 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
The organization is an exciting and rewarding place to work, with a dedicated and enthusiastic staff that is committed to its mission and values. You will be joining a highly motivated staff with a good team spirit and there will be opportunities to grow in the role.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Communications – National Media Manager
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Position Summary
- Search for Common Ground (Search) seeks a professional, motivated, creative and well organised National Media Manager. This position holder is the head of the media department responsible to coordinate and supervise all media related work within the organization. S/he will ensure that the department objectives are fully meet and will lead all aspect of the organization growth relating to media.
- S/he will oversee a team of 5 to 10 radio and tv producers, journalists, regional media coordinators and social media officers spread across the country. S/he will ensure a positive and productive team spirit and will make sure that the staff within the department are qualified and meet the expectations of the organization.
- The position holder will be responsible for designing Search’s media programming approach in such a way that it creates lasting change towards peace, social cohesion, mutual understandings, and contributes to changing attitude towards violence and conflicts and challenges stereotypes.
- The National Media Manager will ensure the quality and relevance of existing media programs and will design new high-quality relevant radio, social media and television programs. The National Media Manager will also be involved in studies, evaluations and listenership surveys meant to measure the change triggered by Search’s media programming. In close collaboration with the DMEL department, s/he will plan the monitoring and evaluation activities related to media, such as yearly listenership surveys.
- As a team leader for the media department, s/he will plan and lead team retreats, reflection meetings, capacity building for the team members. As a member of the Senior Management Team of Search-Nigeria, s/he will participate to project launch and close out workshops for each new project.
- S/he will also be managing projects directly, whenever these projects are purely media-focused. The Media Manager will be responsible for overseeing all the radio and television production and liaising with the partner FM radio and television stations for broadcasting.
- S/he will work under the supervision of the Country Director. The position will be based in Abuja and will include frequent travel to the field
Roles and Responsibilities
Media Strategy:
- Design Search’s Media program strategy for Nigeria, building on Search’s Common Ground approach to media techniques and manuals;
- Ensure the quality, effectiveness and ultimately the impact of Search’s ongoing media program;
- Analyze conflict dynamics and feedback information into media program design and implementation
- Design new media programs that meet the purpose of the projects supporting them, as well as fit with Search-Nigeria’s strategy;
- Develop a social media for peacebuilding strategy for Search-Nigeria, and diffuse it in the newly-designed projects;
- Ensure SFCG’s media activities and productions are inclusive, and conflict and gender sensitive;
- Keep abreast of Search-worldwide media work, findings from evaluation of other countries’ media work including lessons learnt and best practices, and use the findings to enrich Search-Nigeria’s media strategy;
- Regularly monitor the quality, resonance, reach and response to Search’s media program, i.e. by organizing listenership surveys, focus group discussions, and /or listener/viewers’ groups sessions (in close collaboration with the DMEL team);
- Closely collaborate with the DMEL team to put in place a monitoring system for Search’s media program
- Participate in the design of new programs and projects to ensure that conflict-sensitive media programming is integrated in in Search’s media strategy for Nigeria;
- Participate in project launch, mid-term reviews and close-out workshops whenever these include a media-program component
- Support the strategy and mission of SFCG in Nigeria, the region, and globally.
Management of media projects and activities:
- Plan the work of the media team across the country, including media productions and capacity building for media;
- Ensure the media productions are delivered on time and with high quality;
- Oversee the production and broadcast of Radio magazine and radio testimonies
- Ensure all media activities are documented by relevant staff. Produce a monthly report for the media department
- Verify and analyze work-plans, progress reports, final reports and other data for clarity, consistency and completeness
- Take the lead as project manager on Search’s media specific projects when the opportunity arises This entails managing the project staff, preparing costed workplans (yearly / monthly), facilitating the project launch and close-out workshops, monitoring budget versus actuals on a monthly basis, writing donor reports, collaborating with finance, HR logistics and DMEL departments to ensure the successful completion of the project(s) from start to end.
Team Management and supervision:
- Lead the hiring process for consultant, staff ( temporary and full time ) when needed, to ensure human resources meet the needs of the projects
- Build a roster of media consultants to ease the hiring of short-term support
- Supervise, guide, evaluate the team members, ensuring a high team spirit and excellent atmosphere
- Provide technical leadership and oversight for Media work and staff,
Relationship with Media houses:
- Maintain a network of media houses and media influencers at the national and regional level and a contact database
- Manage the partnership agreements with partner media houses: keep track of contract and their end dates, ensure timely renewal of agreements, keep track of support provided to each partner, negotiate airing rates and best airing / viewing times
- Support partner radio stations to produce programming based on the Common Ground approach
- Put in place a monitoring system to ensure partnership agreements with partner media houses are adhered to (i.e. timely production and airing of programs, quality of programs produced, etc.-
- Coordinate program documentation and technical assistance to media partners in documentation
- Design programing strategychnical leadership and oversight for partner media groups, i.e. local TV and radio stations partners
- Represent SFCG to partners, donors, and local and international organizations working in the Media sector
- Ensure SFCG has a key role in reinforcing media partner’s capacity to deliver appropriate services (this can be removed as much has been mentioned about capacity building).
- As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.
Required Profile
Education:
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Journalism, Communication, Media or related fields
- Additional education in conflict management, media for peacebuilding, communication for social change would be a strong asset;
Experience:
Essential:
- At least 5 – 8 years’ experience as a media producer and/or journalist;
- At least 3 years’ experience in the field of media development, media for peacebuilding or communication for social change,
- At least 2 years of experience independently managing projects, preferably in the non-profit and NGO sector;
- Significant experience designing and conducting training courses in journalism and media;
- Experience in media program design, including drama, spots, news & current affairs;
- Track record in delivering effective media/communications/advocacy strategies in support of campaigns and advocacy programmes;
Desirable:
- Experience working in a conflict resolution setting
- Experience working in a non-profit or similar environment
- Experience of partnership building, with experience of influencing stakeholders and establishing and maintaining strong partnerships;
- An excellent planner with deep knowledge and experience of project management tools and processes (project planning, workplans, budget planning, etc.)
- Organisational skills and attention to detail;
- Excellent use of Excel, excellent writing and analytical skills
- Well organized, dynamic and creative
- Excellent comprehension of the principles of conflict, conflict transformation and the role of media in peacebuilding
- A team leader, with a strong capacity to motivate oneself and others and build a team spirit;
- Ability to work under pressure and in challenging environments
- Flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances
- Willingness to travel regularly to Search’s field offices
- Proficiency in written and spoken English, pidgin English; fluency in local language(s) a strong plus
Other Relevant Requirements
- Understand opportunities in key Nigeria media markets and thorough understanding of requirements of different kinds of media i.e. print, TV, radio, and online;
- Written and verbal communications skills including the ability to synthesise complicated policy issues into digestible products and to deal with both elite and popular media and specialist and non-specialist audiences;
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment and strong interpersonal skills;
- Commitment to Search’s aims and a clear understanding of the links between policy, lobbying, campaigning and media work and of how policy change can be achieved through effective advocacy;
- Ability to responding flexibly to opportunities and requests sometime with little notice;
- Ability to manage competing priorities in a rapidly changing environment;
- Demonstrate capacity to adapt to a multi-cultural context, and tolerance and respect to issues related to gender, religion, race and nationality;
- Treats all people fairly without favouritism and solves problems in collaborative ways
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Job Title: Consultant, Institutional Learning – Baseline Study Consultant
Location: Niger-Delta, Nigeria
Position Summary
- As part of startup processes for the project “Sharing the Green Grass: Cultivating a Locally-led Peace Architecture in the Niger Delta”, Search seeks the services of an external consultant to lead a baseline analysis, conflict mapping, and capacities assessment that is planned in Delta State, to determine local conflict dynamics aimed at informing the approach to project activities, including risk mitigation and Do No Harm strategies.
- This will ensure programming is adapted to respond to the particular needs of people in the target areas, and that the participants selected to engage in project activities include both the farmer and herder leaders in target communities and marginalized groups affected by the conflict, such as women and youth.
The objectives of the assessment are to:
- Determine current conflict dynamics in the target LGAs including types of conflict, the dynamics and key driving factors for conflict and peace;
- Identify gender and youth dynamics of the farmer-herder conflict and recommend potential strategies that ensure women and youth are fully represented and substantively engaged on the project, while upholding the principles of Do No Harm;
- Identify and recommend priority communities in each LGA, based on their unique characteristics;
- Identify key stakeholders and their capacities to respond to early warning information;
- Identity potential barriers to peace in communities and recommendations to overcome these;
- Identify advocacy and policy influencing priorities regarding the farmer-herder conflict in the state;
- Provide recommendations on Conflict Sensitivity strategies for programming based on findings from the assessment.
- Provide baseline data for project outcome indicators including:
- % of target community members interviewed who report reduced violent conflicts between members of other communities
- % of target groups with increased capacities to promote collaboration between farmer-herder communities
- % of community members who report creating new, positive relationships with members of the other community
- % of participants interviewed who demonstrate greater capacities to detect, report, and respond to potential violence
- % of participants interviewed who report resolving disputes between farmer-herder communities
- % of target partners, associates, and farmer-herder community members interviewed who feel confident that project-related activities will continue long-term
- Findings from this assessment will be used to inform programme planning and implementation. As such, clear and actionable recommendations are expected, in light of data collected on site. The report will also be shared widely with project participants and partners, and presented during SFCG Nigeria programs. The assessment report – with sensitive details redacted – will eventually be published on SFCG’s website and shared with other learning networks in order to enhance the broader field of peace-building in Nigeria and the world.
About the Project
- The overall objective for the project “Sharing the Green Grass: Cultivating a Locally-led Peace Architecture in the Niger Delta” is to strengthen local capacities to peacefully manage conflict and prevent violence from escalating within a locally-led peace architecture in the Niger Delta. The 24-months project, funded by the USAID/CMM, is being implemented in Ethiope East LGA, Isoko North, Ndokwa West and Ughelli North in Delta state, Nigeria. It is supported by two objectives and five expected outcomes:
Objective 1
- Farmer and herder communities cultivate the skills and relationships to collaborate on peace and security issues.
Expected results:
- Local partners, civil society organizations, and community members have increased capacity to identify and respond to conflicts.
- Farmer and herder community members have improved relationships, deeper understanding about each other, and increased trust.
- Objective 2: Farmer and herder communities develop effective, sustainable local mechanisms for early warning response, dispute management, and violence mitigation.
Expected results:
- Local partners and farmer-herder communities develop new mechanisms to identify and respond to early warning signs for potential violence.
- Farmer and herder communities improve the management and mitigation of disputes in nonviolent mechanisms within and between their communities.
- Local partners and stakeholders expand ownership over a sustained and scaled peace and community security architecture that includes law enforcement, government, and civil society actors.
- Local partners and stakeholders expand ownership over a sustained and scaled peace and community security architecture that includes law enforcement, government, and civil society actors. The project is based on the theory that if farmer and pastoralist communities in the Delta have improved understanding and relationships across dividing lines, and locally-owned and sustained mechanisms are developed for conflict prevention and dispute resolution then the risk of intergroup violence will be reduced and norms and institutions favorable towards peace and reconciliation will be reinforced.
- This proposed theory of change is informed by our “Peace Architecture” approach to bottom-up People-to-People conflict resolution in Nigeria, which focuses on supporting local-level cohesion and community-owned conflict prevention and mitigation, and linking communities with government, security, justice, and other actors where necessary. The project proposes to adapt and strengthen the capacities of local peacebuilding and civil society organizations, as well as key community stakeholders, to build relationships, skills, and sustainable structures that reduce farmer-pastoralist tensions and elevate women and youth perspectives in the Niger Delta, in conflict sensitive ways that adhere to the principles of Do No Harm.
Methodology:
- The proposed methodology is to be clearly stated in the technical offer, detailing why the methodology is preferred and its relevance to the state, the farmer/herder conflict and purpose of the assessment. In addition, the technical offer should include details on logistics and roll-out of the study: who the target respondents will be and why, how will they be identified or recruited, how data collection and data quality assurance will be carried out, as well as how data analysis will be done.
- The assessment will target community residents in the locations where the project is being implemented, as well as other prime/affected locations in Delta states, as listed above and as logistically feasible. Tools for the assessment will be developed by the consultant and/ or team in collaboration with Search’s DME staff. The inception and final reports will also be developed by the consultant and/or team with Search’s input. The tools will be administered in the identified communities and the data analyzed by the consultant and/or team chosen to perform this research.
Deliverables
The baseline assessment deliverables are:
- An inception report detailing the proposed method, study matrix, and work plan. It is to be approved by Search’s DME staff before starting data collection.
- Research tools (developed by the candidate and/or team with the input of Search’s DME staff)
- Draft report for review by SFCG staff and other stakeholders
- Final Report (maximum 30 pages, excluding appendices), consisting of but not excluded to: Executive Summary, Methodology, Findings and Analysis, Conclusions, Lessons Learned and Recommendations. The report should be structured according to the evaluation questions. A template for baseline research within Search will be provided.
- All data collected for this research including audios and transcripts for all interviews, and quantitative data entered in a template, based on the methodology used
- Appendices, including data collection tools and list of interviewees
- A power point presentation of the report
Required Profile
Education:
- Graduate Degree in Conflict Studies, Social Work or other relevant degree is an added advantage;
Experience:
- 5 years or more of experience in evaluations and large-scale qualitative and quantitative studies with international organizations;
- Experience in evaluating programs relating to community development, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution;
- Experience in evaluating programs relating to farmer-herder conflicts will be an added advantage;
Other Relevant Requirements
- Strong analytical skills
- Excellent written communication and report writing skills in English
- Prior work experience in North East Nigeria
- Ability to communicate fluently in Hausa and Kanuri
- Ability to be Gender Sensitive and flexible with time and work schedule
Logistical Support:
SFCG will provide the following logistical support to the consultant:
- Transmission of background materials (project proposal, meeting notes, etc.)
- Availability of a meeting room in Abuja and Warri, as required;
- Meeting arrangements with stakeholders and beneficiaries as requested by the consultant
- Support of a SFCG Field Officer for introductions to key stakeholders and equivalent
Timeframe:
- The assessment will take place between Mid-February, 2019 and March, 2019, with the final deliverables due end of March, 2019.
Budget and Terms of Engagement:
- All production costs incurred will be covered from the consultancy fee.
- 5% withholding tax will be deducted at source from the total cost of the consultancy fee for a firm.
- 40% of the consultancy fee will be paid when initial the contract is signed, 30% will be paid upon submission of initial findings and the remaining balance of 30% will be paid on final completion and submission of satisfactorily deliverables.
The consultant is required to respect the following Ethical Principles:
- Comprehensive and systematic inquiry: Consultant should make the most of the existing information and full range of stakeholders available at the time of the review. Consultant should conduct systematic, data-based inquiries. He or she should communicate his or her methods and approaches accurately and in sufficient detail to allow others to understand, interpret and critique his or her work. He or she should make clear the limitations of the review and its results.
- Competence: Consultant should possess the abilities and skills and experience appropriate to undertake the tasks proposed and should practice within the limits of his or her professional training and competence.
- Honesty and integrity: Consultant should be transparent with the contractor/constituent about: any conflict of interest, any change made in the negotiated project plan and the reasons why those changes were made, any risk that certain procedures or activities produce misleading review information.
- Respect for people: Consultant respect the security, dignity and self-worth of respondents, program participants. Consultant has the responsibility to be sensitive to and respect differences amongst participants in culture, religion, gender, disability, age and ethnicity.
In addition, the consultant will respect SFCG’s evaluations standards, to be found in SFCG’s evaluation guidelines: https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SFCG-External-Evaluation-Guidelines-FINAL.pdf
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Deadline: 21st February, 2019.
Note
- Interested candidates will send the following items to our employment portal:
- Current Resume
- Cover Letter (which includes expectations of compensation and projected start date)
- Please compile your writing sample and resume into one document as the system only has the functionality to upload two documents per application.
- Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
- Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls please.
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