SCOPE OF WORK:

Internews is looking for a Local Media Liaison (LML) for a two year assignment in a new Communications Project addressing the information needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). A national media specialist with sound understanding of and a wide network of contacts within the national and regional media, the LML will provide advice and technical assistance to aid organizations to work with local media organizations on how to leverage the variety of media tools. The LML will work closely with and report to the Humanitarian Liaison Officer (HLO)[1], who will mentor the LML to take over the duties of the HLO after six months.

Note: Hiring for this position will be contingent upon Internews' receipt of funding for this project.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The LML will assist the HLO to:

·         Liaison work of the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC)[2] Network and actively participate in all relevant humanitarian coordination events to identify critical information needs of IDPs, to provide feedback on relevant production content, and strategize with partners on how to address critical information sharing gaps.

·          Ensure voices from communities are fed back into projects, and policy and advocacy work at both cluster, humanitarian leadership levels and government (as needed).

·         Advocate, educate, and forge consensus among all those involved in the emergency response

·         Develop, maintain, and establish excellent working relationships with a wide range of humanitarian organizations and agencies, government representatives, and military when required, ensuring they understand the role of the CDAC Network and what it has to offer them in their daily work.

·          Facilitate and coordinate needs assessments of local media infrastructure, their current operational conditions, equipment, training and resources needed, lead a sector-specific needs-gaps analysis and facilitate the development of multi-sector strategies and tools to address them.

·          Serve as the main focal point for regional and national media organizations and outlets wanting to connect with humanitarian emergency response stakeholders: donors, national partners, private sector, and all international actors working on communications with communities.

·         Mentor regional and national media to ensure the uninterrupted and timely humanitarian reporting, help with production, when necessary, contribute to humanitarian content improvement.

·         Monitor the enhanced media coverage of the humanitarian issues, assess the quantity and quality of the actual humanitarian content and the selected dissemination tools, participate in the outcome analysis.  

·         Contribute to overall written program reporting for funders.

·         Any other duties as required by the HLO (and/or Internews management).

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Strong knowledge of Ukrainian media sector and its key actors, both national and regional, is a MUST
• University Degree in Journalism/Communications (or other relevant degree).
• Minimum 2 years of demonstrated progressive experience as Communications Manager/Media Expert/Project Manager in one of the leading media/ international projects.
• Fluency in spoken English and either Russian or Ukrainian.
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills and the ability to liaise authoritatively with figures from the humanitarian community, local media, local government and army, and other relevant actors, when required.
• Interest in and familiarity with new media and new digital applications for citizen journalism and information access.
• Excellent communication and reporting skills, both written and oral.
• Willingness to work in demanding, stressful, and, at times, dangerous situations under difficult living conditions with respect for basic security rules.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, to prioritize multiple work assignments in an extremely fast-paced environment, to meet deadlines, and to exercise good, professional judgment that reflects positively on the image of the Internews humanitarian project.
• An understanding of the vision/mission, core values and objectives of Internews.
• Psychological resilience and a sense of humor.

 Desired:

• Experience working in relief operations in challenging environments.
• Experience using media and communications in humanitarian emergency responses.

To apply:

Please, send an up-to-date version of your CV in English and Ukrainian with a cover letter and a list of minimum 3 references to [email protected];   [email protected]

by April 15, 2015.

In your cover letter, please answer specifically the following questions, in a maximum of one (1) page:

• Please detail your experience liaising with a wide-range of media partners and stakeholders, particularly as a representative to regular coordination and working group meetings, if applicable.
• Please provide examples of your experience working on media and communications in humanitarian emergency response situations, if any.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.