Editorial Manager

Protection Department:

The IRC has been delivering protection programs in the northwest since 2013 and in the northeast of Syria since 2014, focusing on Protection/Rule of Law (PRoL), Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), and Child Protection (CP). These efforts include specialized case management, PSS, protection monitoring, service mapping, and advocacy. Collaborating with partners, IRC improves access to protection services, raises community awareness, and strengthens referral pathways. Protection capacity building, community outreach, and rapid response through mobile protection teams have also been provided since 2017.

Job overview:

IRC Syria is seeking an Editorial Manager for the Signpost project that aims at providing contextualized timely, accurate and reliable information to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees in Syria and empowering them to make informed decisions on issues that matter most to them. The Editorial Manager’s main responsibilities are to help develop and implement content strategy, and assign line and copy editing, proofreading, and approving informational content. S/he is tasked with ensuring content is accurate, complete, easy to understand, and engaging to empower crisis-affected people. The Editorial Manager will:

• Ensure project management tools are developed, implemented, and tracked.
• Develop relationships with sources and work with legal staff & advisors and other sectoral specialists, triangulate and verify information with multiple sources and follow journalistic principles.
• Collect, collate and process information requests and questions in an inclusive and consistent way, and pitch communication approaches to help turn them into useful, empowering information for Syrian IDPs and returnees.
• Develop informational content based on trends in critical information needs and package it in ways that are accessible and appropriate for the channels they are shared through.
• Support frontline communicators to respond to client questions with verified information.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop user friendly content for the signpost website and media platforms and ensure that the content is complete, depicting a full range of options and considerations for each issue-area covered.
• Establish clear information production guidelines and standards to ensure the project continuously shares accurate, timely and relevant information across its channels, including establishing processes to ensure that information content is continuously up to date and that new developments are captured in a timely manner.
• Consistently and proactively engage community liaison staff and legal staff to collect, investigate, and summarize user feedback and monitor traffic across signpost platforms, and respond to identified gaps in information.
• Maintain working knowledge of key issues and events relevant for those affected by the new context in Syria, and current and relevant local communication channels for content best practice.
• Ensure informational content is accurate, complete, easy to understand and engaging.
• Copyediting and proofreading online content for adherence to editorial standards.
• Develop and manage relationships with third-party content providers. Ensure third-party content receives appropriate technical review.
• Manage information production initiatives including video production, graphics designing, and large-scale translations.
• Regularly publish timely, accurate and relevant information in Arabic and Kurdish about the issues that matter most to crisis-affected populations including on access and eligibility to receive support, and feedback and safeguarding channels.
• Ensure the signpost photo database and editorial/content calendar are up to date.
• Organize, update and manage the signpost style guide.
• Analyze signpost growth, engagement and audience responses using different analytical tools and keep teams updated.
• Coach and assist signpost staff to collect content that meets high editorial standards.
• Draft reports on content as assigned. Attend regular team meetings and provide input regarding the achievements and challenges of the project.
• Represent Signpost Syria in workshops and other meetings.

Team Collaboration and Management:

• Reports directly to Integrated Protection Coordinator in Syria.
• Directly supervise service mapping officer, signpost legal officer, and community liaison staff to monitor.
• Work closely with editorial staff to edit content they have drafted.
• Work with an information production team to ensure content is aligned with the content strategy and appropriate for publication.
• Collaborate with other sector’s senior staff for verification of related content ensuring accuracy and relevance of information.
• Work with the Global ICT team to resolve technical issues across platforms.
• Collaborate with the Global Signpost Team & Regional Protection Technical Advisor for quality assurance.

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development:

• Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths the teams in Syria.
• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Approve and manage time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews.
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, minimally on a monthly basis.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths.
• As required, identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.

Job Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications or equivalent combination of background and experience.
• Minimum 4 years reporting, writing, and editing experience required; sub-editing/copy editing experience strongly desired.
• Experience working with crisis-affected populations in a voluntary or professional capacity in Syria.

Work Experience:

• Excellent content editing skills.
• Excellent visual design sense regarding clear and accurate presentation of content.
• Excellent communication and writing skills. Advanced English and Arabic language skills, oral and written.
• Experience using a content management system, and knowledge of best practices and strategy.
• Good judgment in the selection and presentation of published information.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills.
• Ability to work under difficult working conditions, and with a diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Ability and willingness to work and travel in remote areas.
• Ability to work independently with remote management.

Desired:

• Photo, audio, video, and graphic design skills.
• Experience in a media outlet and understanding of journalistic principles.
• Humanitarian experience with a CSO, NGO, or UN is desired.
• Experience producing useful lifesaving aid information for crisis-affected people.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct.
• Credible written, presentation and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development.
• Validated sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to effective resolution.
• Excellent management and interpersonal skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context.
• Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience.
• Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior level management and all other partners to maximize cooperation and productivity.
• Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop is a must.
• Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.

Language/Travel:

• Advanced English and Arabic language skills, oral and written.
• Travel: to field sites as well as attending workshops and meetings.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Integrated Protection Coordinator

Position directly supervises: service mapping officer, signpost legal officer, and community liaison staff to monitor.

Indirect Reporting: N/A

Key Internal Contacts: IRC’s Protection, Health, Economic & Recovery, & Development, Supply Chain, Humanitarian Access Focal Points

Key External Contacts: Coordination with Protection Cluster & Sectors, local stakeholders, community leaders, local NGOs and INGOs, legal organizations.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the country where this position is based and are currently residing outside of your home country, you may be eligible for an attractive relocation package. Eligibility is determined based on IRC's operational needs and specific role requirements. IRC strives to attract, motivate, and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.