ThaiNGO

Job Description

Journalist Training - Project Officer

October 2023

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) exists to protect the natural world and defend our basic human right to a secure environment.

EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable and sustainable futures.

Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe.

Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, and wildlife and defend basic human rights. We have worked in Thailand since 2014 to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and human rights abuses on fishing vessels, actively promote improvements to policy-making, corporate governance, and management of fisheries, and most recently build journalist capacities to report on environmental crimes and climate change related issues.

EJF is seeking to employ a new 'Project Officer' to join its new journalist training and capacity-building program for environmental storytellers reporting on blue carbon and climate change issues for improved ocean governance. This position will involve engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including local communities, multimedia journalists, local government agencies across Thailand with a focus on provinces along the Andaman Sea coast.

Expected project outputs that the successful candidate will contribute to will include organising a series of capacity-building workshops to enhance the capabilities of journalists in covering environmental issues (with an emphasis on blue carbon and climate change-related stories), working directly with journalists to effectively report on these issues, and driving local and nationwide awareness of the importance of environmental issues and the need for expanded environmental reporting.

Successful candidates should be comfortable working independently, be adept at media engagement, have excellent interpersonal skills, be confident in public speaking, and be prepared to travel within Thailand (often at short notice and for prolonged periods of time).

Post Title: Project Officer

Type of appointment: Fixed term.

Remuneration:  THB 55,000 – 65,000 per month depending on experience.

Duration of contract: 12 months (potentially renewable or convertible to a permanent position, subject to performance review)

Location: Bangkok-based with the opportunity to travel.

This position is open to Thai citizens only.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify knowledge gaps in Thai media on environmental topics related to blue carbon, climate change issues and ocean governance.
• Liaise with journalists, local CSOs, media agencies, and key partners to engage with the project.
• Manage the project’s administration and finance—taking minutes of meetings, preparing letters and MOUs, assisting project logistics, preparing financial documents, etc.
• Lead in the planning and operation of workshops and other events.
• Lead in preparing project reporting and documentation.
• Manage sub-grant awards to journalists.
• Support other EJF projects in the Southeast Asia region as required.

Essential skills and experience:

• Thai native speaker.
• Professional proficiency in the English language.
• A degree in any relevant discipline (journalism, international relations, development studies, social-political science, environmental science, marine sciences, etc).
• Minimum three years of working experience in relevant areas (journalism, NGOs, private sector, field research work, etc).
• Extensive networks and strong connections with media outlets, journalists, and content creators based in Thailand.
• Demonstrable experience in forming and maintaining relationships with various stakeholders.
• Strong experience in project and grant management.
• Ability to use desk-based internet research to gather information.
• Ability to work with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, etc.) and Google-based documents (Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc.).
• Strong communication and writing skills in both Thai and English.
• Willing to travel across Thailand.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Demonstrable interest in or experience working on the following topics: blue carbon, climate change issues and ocean governance.
• Professional camera experience (film or photography)
• Experience in conducting field-based environmental projects and preparing project administrations, including financing and reporting.
• Car driving license.

Deadline:  20 November 2023 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis)

Please submit a CV with a cover letter to:  recruitment@ejfoundation.org