Consultant - UAS-LCB Radio Partners at Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action - helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps is currently implementing the ‘Using the Airwaves for Stability in the Lake Chad Basin’ program, which focuses on the use of radio as a means to generate constructive public dialogue and debate in order to inform more participatory and effective policies, practices, and communications channels related to reintegration and reconciliation for communities in northeast Nigeria. The program will run until September 2020.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant (for Capacity Building for UAS-LCB Radio Partners)

Location: Borno
The Consultant will report to: Program Manager, UAS-LCB
The Consultant will work closely with: Deputy Program Manager and Program Officer

Job Description
The UAS-LCB program seeks to:

• Strengthen the capacity of radio partners to engage in ethical and conflict-sensitive journalism practices in a way that generates accurate, transformative, and sustainable radio programming on themes of reintegration and reconciliation
• Strengthen community awareness and understanding of dynamics, developments, and options around reintegration and reconciliation
• Promote opportunities for communities to provide feedback on reintegration and reconciliation that creates greater ownership, participation and sustainable implementation of policies and practices
• Promote localized narratives of peace coexistence aimed at establishing a foundation for effective reintegration and reconciliation

Consultant Objectives
As part of Objective 1, Mercy Corps is seeking to build the capacity of local radio partner Dandal Kura Radio International to conduct the foundational production stages for radio programming with a high degree of quality. Trainings could include the following topics, as well as and others to be identified through a pre-training needs assessment:

• Developing program topics
• Formative research on audiences
• Selecting program formats
• On-air presentation skills
• Creating a running order
• Interviewing skills
• Scripting programs
• Editing skills
• Formative research on content
• Sound design and balancing
• Identifying guests
• Managing call-in segments
• Mapping sources
• Managing non-web-based interactivity (VoxPop, Roving Reporting, etc.)
• Formative research on guests
• Managing web-based interactivity (Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, etc.)
• Mercy Corps expects that these trainings will result in Dandal Kura being able to practically apply the necessary skills for radio production in order to independently manage all stages, and thereby improve their ability to deliver quality peacebuilding programming.

Deliverables and Timeframe:

• Training Agenda
• Training Materials (i.e. PowerPoints, handouts)
• Training Assessment Tools (i.e. pre- and post-tests)
• Three (3) three-day Production Stages Trainings
• Training Report
• Mentorship Report
• Deadlines to be confirmed upon contracting.

Total Estimated Level of Effort:

• 22 days

Required Experience & Skills
The ideal consultant will have the following experience and skills:

• 8+ years of experience in radio journalism, especially in development radio
• Demonstrated technical expertise in radio production stages, including formative research, scripting, guest engagement, interviewing and presentation skills, post-production, and management of audience interactivity
• Established expertise designing and facilitating trainings for INGOs, utilizing participatory learning methodologies
• Advanced Degree in Journalism, Communications, Social Sciences, or other related field
• English and Hausa fluency required
• Knowledge of the northeast Nigerian context preferred

Application Closing Date
29th May, 2020.