The Senior International Journalism Fellowship, run by the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), is currently receiving applications from outstanding journalists as the fellowship opens in Africa specializing in health and development journalism.
The Senior Knight Journalism Fellow will play a leading role in overseeing ICFJ’s African journalism initiative beginning in early 2015. The goal of the project is to catalyze news media to deliver ongoing, high-quality health and development news that engages audiences by harnessing digital tools.
The fellowship defines audience engagement as measurable instances where citizens consume and interact with news; contribute to and co-create news; amplify the news by sharing it online and offline; act on news, by responding to issues or events; and explore issues or data reported in news, by accessing additional information or resources
The countries which the project is aimed at are Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. The duration of the fellowship is one year, with the possibility of extension for up to two more years.
The fellowship programs have helped to empower journalists and engage citizens with new technologies and best practices. Over the years, the ICJ has worked with more than 85,000 media professionals and citizen journalists in 180 countries.
The Senior Knight Fellow will carry out tasks such as helping with multimedia story production and multi-country reporting projects, and working to replicate successes from one country to another while serving as editorial project leader. The Fellow will work with a team that includes other Knight Fellows focused on digital innovation and audience engagement strategies, and oversee health journalism specialists to be based in each of the four countries. The Fellow, who may be from any country, will be based in Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa.
The skills which candidates are expected to possess are:
- At least 10 years’ experience in covering health and development (issues related to poverty and its alleviation)
- Sub-Saharan Africa expertise
- Strong digital media and audience engagement skills
- Excellent leadership skills, including managing others
- Strong organizational skills
- Ability to work effectively in a team
- Fluency in English; proficiency in other languages spoken in the target countries is a plus
The deadline for submission of applications is January 7, 2015. Interested candidates can apply online at www.tfaforms.com
For enquiries and more information, contact Kyle Thompson at kthompson@icfj.org or 1.202.349.7610.
The Knight International Journalism Fellowships are designed to instill a culture of news innovation and experimentation worldwide. The goal is to nurture and produce new ideas and services that deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens in the editorial process.
The program is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Fellows build on past successes in the Knight program, which has a strong record of achieving impact. They work in countries where there is a good opportunity to create the news media of the future. With additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Knight Fellows are empowering journalists in sub-Saharan Africa to use the latest digital tools to tell compelling stories on health and development issues.
