Project Manager

Organizational Profile:

MERSA Media Institute is a nonprofit media policy think tank. We work to help create vibrant, responsible and independent media institutions, professional unions and education centers through research, capacity building and institutional support in Ethiopia.

Background:

MERSA Media Institute (MMI) and North Wollo Woldiya University Higher Education Community Radio are implementing a three-year program titled “Laying the groundwork for peace and democratization through media innovation, civic partnership, and engagement.” The program seeks to build stronger media – civic partnerships, expand citizens’ access to reliable information, develop innovative radio dialogue formats that promote peacebuilding, support practical journalism training at the community radio level, and strengthen indigenous institutions of conflict resolution. The Project Manager will be stationed in Woldia to coordinate and ensure the effective delivery of all consortium activities at the community radio station.

Position Summary:

The Project Manager will be responsible for leadership, coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and for the successful accomplishment of assigned projects at Woldia. He/she will also be responsible for managing budgets and operational plans, including the strategic use of resources provided as a sub-grant from MERSA Media Institute.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversee project plan and implementation of all targets set in action plan matrix.
• Develop detailed implementation plan and operational strategy in line with the project design and partnership requirements
• Support script development, content structuring, and program formats using human-centered design principles.
• Co-create and supervise radio dialogue shows, radio dramas, and youth-led multimedia formats for community engagement and peacebuilding.
• Work with local theatre groups and journalism students to produce community dialogue content.
• Design a plan for resource utilization and take corrective action when necessary
• Develop and ensure appropriate tools and strategy to monitor progress, quality and impact of projects
• Create schedule, track progress, follow procedure and adapt project timelines and ensure all deliverables are met
• Serve as a project partnership and stakeholder liaison.
• Manage financial and other operational records and give weekly updates to supervisors and other departments
• Coordinate logistics for radio production, trainings, public events, and community dialogue activities.
• Ensure that systems are in place to support effective project compliance and positive audit results, and that staff understand this system and follow it accordingly
• Develop reports and other project documentation as and when required
• Perform any other related task as may be assigned

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Media, Communications, Project Management, Arts, Social Sciences or related fields.
• Minimum 3+ years in radio newsroom leadership, program creation, editing, production, or media management and other related experience with 1–3 years of NGO/private sector experience.
• Proven experience in project management and media development related work
• Must have experience in performance arts
• Must have audio visual experience
• Financial literacy in budget process and accounting
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and other local languages
• Proven experience in editorial work and content editing
• Demonstrated ability in program creation and production
• Experience in designing and delivering trainings and mentorship programs
• Strong understanding of local social and cultural contexts
• Demonstrated experience with stakeholder engagement and excellent communication skills

Desired:

• Experience mentoring young journalists, drama groups, or student media clubs.
• Familiarity with human-centered design (HCD) approaches for content development.
• Interest in public interest journalism, civic engagement, peacebuilding, and community media innovation.
• If you have a track record of getting things done
• Core leadership qualities: shaper, implementer, completer finisher, team worker highly desirable
• Avid learner, thrives under pressure – a no-brainer
• Creative, storyteller, visual thinker
• Self-starter, independent researcher, collaborator
• Project tracking skills and working knowledge of Trello and Google products