Vacancies at Code for Africa (CfA)

Required: minimum requirements include:

• 3+ years of proven experience in journalism or research, preferably on a fact-checking desk.
• Excellent research, numeracy, and analytical skills to break down complex issues for a range of audiences.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage high work volumes within tight deadlines while maintaining consistency and accuracy.
• Strong news literacy, critical thinking skills, and a keen sense of accuracy and truth.

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

• Experience in transnational multilingual digital newsrooms
• Understanding of fact-checking, disinformation, and digital tools for fact-checking
• Familiarity with mining and handling large datasets
• Strong decision-making and exceptional presentation skills

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: Anywhere in Africa.
• Languages: English, French
• Preferred but not required: Arabic, Portuguese, Somali

About the Role:

The successful candidates will join PesaCheck’s transnational fact-checking team working as part of a network of locally-based fact-checkers in 18 African countries. The team is responsible for helping the public separate fact from fiction, using a range of journalistic techniques and digital verification tools.

Your core duty is to produce long form fact checks and investigate questionable content on social media, on mainstream media and utterances/claims by public figures. You will also, from time to time, collaborate with PesaCheck media partners and/or Code for Africa’s digital innovation teams on other special projects.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

• Proactively monitor various local/regional public sources, from mainstream media to social media and chat apps, to detect misleading or malign content, such as hate speech.
• Analyse public statements/manuscripts for factual errors, logical flaws, and significant omissions to determine their classification as misinformation or another form of misleading content.
• Examining the sources mentioned in selected public statements/manuscripts and, where necessary, identifying additional documents and/or sources to help determine whether PesaCheck should classify the content as misinformation or as another form of misleading or malign content.
• Producing ‘explainer articles’ that outline why a specific public statement/manuscript has been classified as misinformation or another form of malign content. Your articles will be based on substantive desktop research and interviews, accurately distilling relevant information into explanations that are easily understandable by ‘ordinary’ audiences, and that are substantiated by tangible evidence.

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Required: minimum requirements include

• Bachelor’s degree in translation, linguistics, literature, or a related field.
• At least three years of experience as a translator/interpreter.
• Somali native speaker and a demonstrable fluency in written and spoken English.
• Fluency in using CAT tools and translation memory software.
• Demonstrable experience in specialised translation/MTPE/Transcription (En< >Som)
• Up-to-date knowledge and understanding of news and current affairs affecting the Horn of Africa.
• Able to translate complex details into easily understandable and accurate target language.
• Able to multitask, prioritise, and manage time efficiently.
• Able to work creatively and accurately under pressure with excellent attention to detail.
• Organised and able to create, manage and oversee multiple timelines and schedules.
• Proficiency in collaborative work solutions such as Google Workplace (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.), Slack (or equivalents such as Teams), and project management tools like Trello.

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage

• Certification in translation and/or interpretation.
• Previous experience working in the media sector.
• Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics.
• Good knowledge of contemporary political, economic, social and scientific issues in Africa and across the globe.
• Experience working with international partners and team members.

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: The role can be performed remotely, therefore applicants across Africa will be considered.
• Languages: Somali and English

About this role

The successful candidate will join the PesaCheck team which is responsible for helping the public separate fact from fiction, using a range of journalistic techniques and digital verification tools across languages and cultures. 

The successful candidate will work closely with the PesaCheck team, but particularly the chief translator and chief copy editor to translate news content. You will also, from time to time, conduct internal training to upskill staff both at PesaCheck and across CfA’s other programmes. Training and mentorship take place online and in-person and consist of both group and individual sessions. 

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience as a translator in a professional working environment, able to translate material from English to Somali, and vice-versa with precision, and a deep knowledge of the media landscape in their country and/or region. 

We operate in a fast-paced environment, so you will need to quickly understand and learn new things. You will also need to possess a keen attention to detail. You should be comfortable handling multiple tasks with multiple ongoing deadlines and should have previous experience working on digital collaboration tools that CfA uses, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello. 

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include

• Accurately translate, review and adapt content from English to Somali and vice versa. Content includes, but is not limited to, short form articles, long form articles, blog posts, and social media content
• As part of the translation process, provide input on localising and adapting content to suit local language and cultural contexts
• Translate, revise, and review written content including with accuracy and precision.
• Maintaining style and tone of translated content while adhering to editorial guidelines and brand standards
• Adhere and contribute to PesaCheck’s translation style guide to ensure language quality standards and house style are adhered to.
• Manage multiple translation tasks simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of translated content.
• Proactively keep relevant stakeholders informed of the status of translation tasks, seeking clarity and feedback as needed. 
• Manage multiple translation projects simultaneously, prioritise tasks and ensure timely delivery of translated content.
• Conduct terminology research to stay updated on the industry language.
• Assist in supporting, mentoring and motivating journalists and fellows in the various CfA projects to help them with the timely completion of their training aims and story production.
• From time to time, you may provide translation, interpretation or facilitation support during trainings and workshops.
• Support in translating/customising CfA’s courseware to local languages/contexts and other content as may be assigned from time-to-time.

go to method of application »

Required: minimum requirements include

• Bachelor’s degree in translation, linguistics, literature, or a related field.
• At least three years of experience as a translator/interpreter.
• French native speaker and a demonstrable fluency in both written and spoken English.
• Fluency in using CAT tools and translation memory software.
• Demonstrable experience in specialised translation/MTPE/Transcription (En< >Fr)
• Up-to-date knowledge and understanding of news and current affairs affecting Francophone Africa.
• Able to translate complex details into easily understandable and accurate target language.
• Able to multitask, prioritise, and manage time efficiently.
• Able to work creatively and accurately under pressure with excellent attention to detail.
• Organised and able to create, manage and oversee multiple timelines and schedules.
• Proficiency in collaborative work solutions such as Google Workplace (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.), Slack (or equivalents such as Teams), and project management tools like Trello (or equivalents such as Asana).

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage

• Certification in translation and/or interpretation.
• Previous experience working in the media sector.
• Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics.
• Good knowledge of contemporary political, economic, social and scientific issues in Africa and across the globe.
• Experience working with international partners and team members.

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: The role can be performed remotely, therefore applicants across Africa will be considered.
• Languages: French and English

About this role

The successful candidate will join the PesaCheck team which is responsible for helping the public separate fact from fiction, using a range of journalistic techniques and digital verification tools across languages and cultures. 

The successful candidate will work closely with the PesaCheck team, but particularly the chief translator and chief copy editor to translate news content. You will also, from time to time, conduct internal training to upskill staff both at PesaCheck and across CfA’s other programmes. Training and mentorship take place online and in-person and consist of both group and individual sessions. 

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience as a translator in a professional working environment, able to translate material from English to French, and vice-versa with precision, and a deep knowledge of the media landscape in their country and/or region. 

We operate in a fast-paced environment, so you will need to quickly understand and learn new things. You will also need to possess a keen attention to detail. You should be comfortable handling multiple tasks with multiple ongoing deadlines and should have previous experience working on digital collaboration tools that CfA uses, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello. 

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include

• Accurately translate, review and adapt content from English to French and vice versa. Content includes, but is not limited to, short form articles, long form articles, blog posts, and social media content
• As part of the translation process, provide input on localising and adapting content to suit local language and cultural contexts
• Translate, revise, and review written content including with accuracy and precision.
• Maintaining style and tone of translated content while adhering to editorial guidelines and brand standards
• Adhere and contribute to PesaCheck’s translation style guide to ensure language quality standards and house style are adhered to.
• Manage multiple translation tasks simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of translated content.
• Proactively keep relevant stakeholders informed of the status of translation tasks, seeking clarity and feedback as needed. 
• Manage multiple translation projects simultaneously, prioritise tasks and ensure timely delivery of translated content.
• Conduct terminology research to stay updated on the industry language.
• Assist in supporting, mentoring and motivating journalists and fellows in the various CfA projects to help them with the timely completion of their training aims and story production.
• From time to time, you may provide translation, interpretation or facilitation support during trainings and workshops.
• Support in translating/customising CfA’s courseware to local languages/contexts and other content as may be assigned from time-to-time.

go to method of application »

Required: minimum requirements include:

• 5+ years demonstrable newsdesk editorial management experience, including managing teams of journalists in a mainstream media or equivalent digital publishing environment.
• Demonstrable understanding of the step-by-step production process for creating well researched and substantiated news reports, including familiarity with editorial diaries/schedules, editorial workflow, and content assignment/deadline management.
• Meticulous attention to detail, with the ability to work with congeniality in a fast-paced deadline-driven environment. This includes being an organisational whiz who is able to prioritise multiple simultaneous tasks, while at the same time having the people skills needed to engage diplomatically and collaborate effectively with colleagues under tight deadlines.
• Robust critical thinking, and strong research and investigative skills, with good general knowledge and interest in current affairs.
• Proven track-record for creative problem solving in fast-paced impact-driven environments, where solutions involve balancing human and production considerations.
• Demonstrable ability to self-manage, creating your own as well as wider team timelines and milestones with clear systems/processes.
• Proficiency in collaborative work solutions such as Google Workplace (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.), Slack (or equivalents such as Teams), and project management tools like Trello (or equivalents).

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

• Previous experience in a fact-checking or editorial verification newsroom.
• In-depth knowledge about ‘information disorder’ and the differences between misinformation and disinformation and mal-information, as well as conspiracist content and hate speech.
• Working knowledge of French, and/or Arabic, in addition to the African languages within PesaCheck’s 18-country focus area.

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: Anywhere in Africa.
• Languages: English required (French, Arabic, Kiswahili, Amharic helpful)

About the Role:

The successful candidate will join Africa’s largest fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck.

The News Editor will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the newsdesk, managing the frontline journalists/researchers across multiple time-zones, with key duties including setting editorial targets and production schedules (strictly enforcing publication deadlines where necessary), helping journalists identify appropriate leads/issues for research, and ensuring that journalists get the data analysis or multimedia support needed to produce impactful content.

A major mechanism for achieving this will be the News Editor’s management of an editorial diary, or editorial calendar, that allows for seamless synchronisation of editorial production with the copy and translation desks, as well as other support teams.

PesaCheck’s newsroom is structured as a central multilingual newsdesk, flanked and supported by a copy desk and translation hub. The newsdesk, managed by the News Editor, finds and researches misinformation to produce public debunk reports. The copy desk, under the supervision of the Chief Copyeditor, reviews and revises all content from the newsdesk, ensuring that it meets international factual, language and ethical standards. Finally, the translation desk, led by the Chief Translator, translated all content between English and French, Amharic, Afaan Oromo Somali and Tigrinya, ensuring content is accessible to local contexts and markets.

The newsdesk works alongside the special projects team, supervised by the Special Projects Editor. The special projects team drives pop-up election monitoring, newsroom partnerships and a large training initiative. 

PesaCheck is overseen by a Managing Editor, who answers to CfA’s Editor-in-Chief who also manages the organisation’s other investigative and data journalism newsrooms.

Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:

• You will manage and nurture PesaCheck’s in-country journalists, overseeing their day-to-day research, helping develop their skills and knowledge
• You ensure the team’s work runs on-schedule to meet agreed deadlines and other deliverables.
• You will select and prioritise editorial leads for your journalists from PesaCheck’s various editorial tip-lines or algorithmic ‘listening’ or media monitoring tools to help ensure we focus our attention on the most harmful misinformation/conspiracies
• You will facilitate daily editorial planning meetings at which editorial leads/assignments are brainstormed and allocated to in-country journalists/researchers, with clear editorial briefs and submission deadlines. 
• You will, with the support of your Newsdesk Assistants, ensure that journalists meet agreed editorial targets and production schedules while adhering to PesaCheck’s ethical and editorial policies and standards.
• You will ensure the accuracy, clarity, fairness and appropriateness of all draft content, and will ensure that journalists respond promptly to any queries or requests by the copy and translation desks or other support teams.
• You will, in consultation with other editors, make suggestions on explanatory infographics or other multimedia/visual elements for the graphic or data teams to produce to accompany fact-checks.
• You will, with the support of Newsdesk Assistants and CfA’s technology team, manage PesaCheck’s various databases and digital tools for tracking, matching and analysing misinformation.
• You will, in consultation with other editors, proactively identify editorial challenges, ranging from skills-gaps to conflict or censorship, that impact on PesaCheck’s research and you will also proactively identify other production bottlenecks that erode PesaCheck’s ability to quickly debunk emerging misinformation narratives. 
• You will, with input from the Managing Editor, drive the refinement of PesaCheck’s editorial style guide and newsdesk ‘playbook’ (operational manual) and editorial policies to help journalists better understand their role and content production guidelines.