Senior Media Advisor

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and technical advisory services across all global objectives, advising the project team on program design, implementation approaches, sequencing of activities, and course corrections over the life of the program.
• Serve as the program’s principal subject matter expert on media resilience, editorial independence, content distribution, and media business sustainability, ensuring technical soundness and appropriateness to each media market served.
• Advise on the development and refinement of program tools, methodologies, curricula, and technical assistance packages, ensuring they reflect current evidence and good practice in independent media development.
• Assess evolving threats to independent media, including foreign state propaganda, information manipulation, and coercive influence, and recommend adjustments to program interventions in response.
• Provide technical review of program deliverables, including work plans, assessments, training materials, and donor reports, to ensure alignment with project objectives and donor expectations.
• Develop recommendations for independent content partnerships, including identification, vetting, and prioritization of prospective content providers and syndication partners.
• Advise on the structure, terms, and technical parameters of wire service relationships and other content-sharing arrangements, including licensing considerations, attribution standards, editorial safeguards, and language coverage.
• Advise on editorial standards, verification practices, and content quality criteria applied to material made available to participating media outlets.
• Recommend approaches to content localization, translation, and adaptation that preserve editorial integrity while meeting the needs of outlets across regions and languages.
• Provide technical guidance on the design, functionality, and continued development of a media resilience portal and its associated content delivery system, from the perspective of end-user media outlets.

Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in journalism, communications, media studies, international relations, political science, or a related field. Graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum ten years of relevant professional experience in independent media, journalism, or international media development, including significant experience in a senior advisory, editorial leadership, or technical leadership role.
• Demonstrated expertise in media resilience, editorial independence, content distribution, and media business sustainability, with a track record of advising independent media outlets or media support organizations.
• Substantive knowledge of foreign state propaganda, information manipulation, and coercive influence directed at independent media, and of practical countermeasures available to media outlets.
• Experience with content syndication, wire services, or content-sharing partnerships, including familiarity with licensing, attribution, and editorial standards.
• Working knowledge of digital content delivery platforms and media technology, sufficient to provide informed technical guidance on platform design, functionality, and user experience; familiarity with the appropriate use and limitations of AI-assisted tools in editorial and platform contexts preferred.
• Demonstrated experience advising on media business models, revenue diversification, and audience development.
• Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices and with adaptive management of international development programs.
• Proven knowledge of U.S. Government donor requirements, regulations, and reporting for international programs.
• Strong written and oral communications and presentation skills in English, as demonstrated by prior publications, trainings, or participation in relevant panels and conferences. Proficiency in an additional language relevant to the program’s target regions preferred.

Preferred

• Graduate degree preferred.
• Proficiency in an additional language relevant to the program’s target regions preferred.

Benefits

• Health and Wellness Support : Significant coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance costs. Meaningful assistance programs through an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) and Rula (access to mental health experts).
• Long-term Financial Health: Retirement plan with generous employer contribution (vested after 12 months).
• Hybrid Work: Employees typically work in-office three days per week and telework two days per week.
• Time Off: Company-paid holidays, parental leave, generous vacation, sick, and personal leave days.
• Family Support : Dependent Care FSA
• Learning and Development Opportunities: Annual allowance for professional development courses and seminars along with access to world-class e-learning via eCornell.
• Compensation Equity: Regular competitive review of internal and external equity to ensure fairness in pay for employees working in similar jobs requiring comparable knowledge, skills, and experience.