Apply Now: Outreach Producer, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Project

August 12, 2021

The Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma in Europe (DCE) has been engaged over the past two years in a project to produce best practice guidelines for journalists covering conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). It is now seeking to fill a seven-month contract to deepen the outreach of this new resource so that journalists and filmmakers around the world have the opportunity to build the principles in these guidelines into their working practice.

The guidelines can be found on a dedicated website here.

Applicants will be expected to show a commitment to responsible and ethical journalism and an understanding of the issues contained in the guidelines but do not need to be an expert in areas of trauma science. The successful applicant will:

  1. Promote the guidelines through individual contacts with journalists, relevant professional bodies and education centres;
  2. Help organise training workshops and/or panels at four key documentary film and journalism events in the international calendar;
  3. Help organise four online briefings to be made available to media workers unable to attend physical events;
  4. Arrange and oversee versioning the site into two additional languages (Bosnian and Russian) which are spoken in countries where CRSV is a significant concern (the site already exists in English, French, Spanish, Swahili and Arabic).

As part of this role, the successful applicant will work with the project leaders and DCE network to:

  • Liaise with the existing 30+ contributors to the guidelines to explore ways of intensifying outreach through their networks, news organisations and production companies;
  • Collect testimonials from influential practitioners that can be used to promote the guidelines through peer networks;
  • Approach key documentary film and journalism media support organisations who distribute resources to lobby for the inclusion of links and references to the guidelines on their websites;
  • Contact influential media organisations, both internationally and in countries affected by CRSV, to promote the discussion and distribution of these resources; 
  • Work with leaders at the UN, including peacekeeping trainers, to provide resources to communications staff in conflict zones;
  • Use survey methods to evaluate media workers experience of the guidelines and how they are distributed;
  • Respond to breaking news stories in conflict areas by distributing the materials on social media, and scanning journalism output and social media channels to look for fresh distribution opportunities;
  • Pursue external funding opportunities that would allow us to create additional language localisations and to seek academic research partners who could carry out more sophisticated impact research on how journalists use these resources.

The successful applicant will work under the direction of experienced members of the DCE team to carry out these tasks during the period until end-March 2022.

  • Start date: September 1, 2021
  • Finish date: March 31, 2022
  • Hours: Two days per week
  • Pay: £1,100 per month

We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who have an ability to work in one or more of the non-English languages used in the resource. Applicants should be mindful that this is a trauma-facing role and that they will be working with potentially distressing news content on a regular basis.

Please apply by August 23 to [email protected] attaching a note setting out your suitability for the post and enclosing a CV. Applicants should be prepared to start on September 1.

Project summary: Media workers are often the first to interview survivors of sexual violence in conflict. The majority are well-intentioned and work at great personal risk, and yet many lack training and adequate guidance. This can result in inadvertent emotional harm to survivors and misrepresentation of the issues.

This project has created a set of comprehensive guidelines in five languages for any journalist or filmmaker who may find themselves working on conflict-related sexual violence. It is available on Reporting on Sexual Violence in Conflict, a website which has built into it advanced tools that enable resource sharing on different social media platforms.

The challenge now is to seed awareness and promote take-up of these materials by practicing journalists and filmmakers, students moving into the profession, news organisations, professional bodies and media officers working for NGOs in this sector.

Notes: DCE is an equal opportunities organisation and welcomes applicants from all section of society. We are affiliated to the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma which is based at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York.