Project Manager

IWPR (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) is an independent non-profit organization that works with the media and civil society to bring about positive change in conflict zones, closed societies, and countries in transition processes around the world.

IWPR is seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented, organized and creative project manager with expertise in journalism media development. The project seeks to support independent media in restrictive Latin American countries to increase citizens’ access to more extensive, compelling, and high-quality coverage of the issues of greatest concern, and to support digital media outlets to improve their professional capacity to reach and engage the public.

The project manager will become deeply knowledgeable about the project’s objectives, terms, indicators, timelines, budget, and other key project components, as well as IWPR’s policies. The project manager will oversee project completion overall, with specific duties in terms of ensuring activities are implemented in a timely manner and on budget, preparing contracts, monitoring deliverables, resolving beneficiaries’ inquiries and requests, following organizational policies, guiding project staff on compliance matters, collecting monitoring and evaluation data, preparing reports and presentations for donors, assisting in development needs, facilitating meetings, supporting area directors in identifying solutions, and other project management tasks as needed.

The project manager will report to the Regional Journalism and Media Programs Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean and will coordinate with area directors and consultants supporting the project. The selected person will also assist in managing donor relations as needed. The achievement of this objective will contribute to an overall goal of increasing the capacity of independent media to reach audiences about important issues and hold authorities to account.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Project Management

• Ensure that the project activities are implemented in a timely manner and on budget and are delivering effective and relevant interventions.
• Working with the appropriate staff on the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation plans, ensuring that indicators are being measured and targets met, and that all activities are evaluated. Also ensure that the monitoring process is effectively measuring project progress, maintaining project databases and monitoring records, and alerting project staff as to any delays or failures to meet the quality of results expected. Additionally, ensure that all successes are properly recorded and reported.
• Submit monthly and quarterly reports on the progress of the project.
• Ensure the correct financial management of the project, ensuring that appropriate reporting and financial safeguards are in place, that all expenses are accounted for, approved, reasonable and allowable, and that the project remains on budget.
• Ensure compliance with IWPR policies and procedures and donor regulations, including several administrative tasks, by yourself and those supervised.
• Ensure that grant commitments are adhered to and delivered according to work plan, budget, and project timeline, while maintaining overall quality of the work.
• Ensure project staff are documenting processes as needed and maintaining the documentation organized and updated.
• Ensure timely and accurate program reporting from local beneficiaries and overall project reporting to the donor. Gather, analyze and present evaluation input and data received from project partners, beneficiaries, and other IWPR staff in a clear, concise, and attractive manner that speaks to the project's overall goal and objectives.
• Oversee the selection, awarding, implementation, and closeout of subgrants.
• Oversee the correct procurement of goods and services for the project, in line with IWPR’s policies, including supporting area managers with their procurement needs.
• Maintain project folders updated and organized, so that they are audit ready at any given time.
• Ensure appropriate working conditions and consider the safety and security of staff and consultants.
• Collaboration in grant writing and development of new project ideas for the Latin America office.
• Cultivate good relations with actual and potential donors and partners.
• Undertake other duties that may be reasonably requested by the Regional Program Director.

1. Activity Implementation

• Recruit and supervise expert consultants and staff on issues pertaining to journalism editorial quality, journalist and organizational security for media, media finance, and others, as needed.
• Assist area managers in the design and delivery of participative strategic planning workshops that will lead to the more effective management of independent digital news media.
• Support IWPR area managers, partners, and subgrantees to deliver project activities and milestones in the time and to the quality expected.
• Design and implementation of a monitoring and evaluation plan designed to measure outputs, outcomes, and impact of media development activities, in collaboration with regional project directors and monitoring and evaluation specialists.
• Work with other senior staff to maintain and improve the quality of all training and outputs.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum: Bachelor's degree in Journalism, International Development, Human Rights, or related field, complemented by at least two years of Project Management practical experience.
• A good understanding of issues pertaining to Media Freedom and Access to Information in the Latin American context, preferably with professional journalistic experience in South America.
• Successful track record of supervising, designing, managing, and implementing projects, including combatting disinformation with a collaborative approach.
• Experience managing grants from major donors.
• Technical expertise in media development, organizational capacity building, and/or journalism.
• Leadership qualities and excellent management skills. Demonstrated interest in human rights in particular the right to free expression and the right to access to information.
• Significant skill in drafting comprehensive reports, by organizing, analyzing, presenting data, reaching conclusions, and developing recommendations.
• Ability to track and manage budgets. Strong organizational skills and understanding of the importance of administrative and logistical duties, and willingness to implement them.
• Comfortable working with project management software, contact management systems, and other digital tools.
• Knowledge and ability to analyze social media metrics and increase social media audiences, and online engagement preferred.
• Experience in training adults and overseeing learning processes, preferred
• A team player who is excited about learning new skills.
• Creativity, flexibility, and persistence to ensure project objectives are met, even when confronted with setbacks.
• Ability to adapt to challenging, non-conventional environments and people.
• Fluency in spoken and written Spanish and English, including the ability to speak in public and write professional reports in both languages.
• Ability to multitask.
• Willingness to adapt to security measures needed to work in the region.
• Willingness to work with colleagues remotely across time zones.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in Journalism, International Development, Human Rights, or related field.

EXPERIENCE: At least two years

LANGUAGE: Spanish

TRAVEL: Occasionally

OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Project Management degree, certificate or other formal training and/or at least two years of practical experience as a manager.

Principals only. No calls please. Only those who have been considered for an interview will be contacted.

IWPR is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, veteran status or pregnancy and maternity.

IWPR will never ask for payment for recruitment.