Media, Communications and IT Capacity Builder

Superb opportunity for a secondment/career break working for an NGO in Madagascar supporting the Malagasy and international team with media, communications and IT training and simple network troubleshooting

Media, Communications and IT Capacity Builder, Azafady

Job Description

Position Overview:

This position offers an excellent opportunity for a Media and IT specialist to gain valuable experience abroad working for a medium sized NGO in the stunning south east of Madagascar.  This opportunity would be a positive step to gain experience in order to work with a larger organizations or simply to have a career break. Your skills will be used to deliver simple media, communications and IT courses to NGO staff and trouble shoot problems in the day to day running of the current IT systems.

The Media and IT volunteer will spend at least 6 months working with Azafady in and around Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. They will be part of a team of local and international staff and volunteers developing and implementing sustainable development projects in the area. The successful applicant will be expected to work independently to meet the organisation's international media, communications and IT needs. Example tasks include, identifying IT training needs within the NGO, developing courses to meet these, training on a 1:1 basis, troubleshooting difficulties in the day to day IT systems, advising on a broad range of IT systems, media support to the NGO project teams, co-ordination of material for the website, advising on IT for video or sound production to the projects, photographing projects, support in updating Google maps or equivalent GIS data visualisation software relating to project work. 

For specific responsibilities, see the section below.

The volunteer will be fully integrated into the team giving them full access to projects, which currently include- school building, hygiene training, HIV education, environmental conservation and establishment of sustainable livelihoods. Although predominantly office based, the post holder will be required to visit project sites both in town and in the bush on a regular basis to photograph and video activities. For further details of the projects run by Azafady see www.madagascar.co.uk.

Duties and responsibilities:

The Media, Communications and IT Volunteer will work across all departments on the following areas:

• Setting up and maintenance of the various computers used within the busy NGO office
• Troubleshooting difficulties in the day to day running of the IT system such as the all-important internet connection
• Advise on IT development
• Needs assessment on the training needs of staff regarding IT use and maintenance
• Developing and delivering a series of training modules for staff in Word, Excel, internet, e-mail.
• Co-ordinating website and social media updates and newsletter material with staff across all departments
• Support to staff and volunteers on sound and video programmes and production
• Documenting project activities through photographs and video
• Liaison with UK office on IT equipment procurement
• Creative solutions to IT issues and capacity building required. A lot of standard techniques and fixes used in developed countries do not apply here, due to increasing reliance of fast internet connections and availability of resources.
• ·

Contract type: Volunteer

            Contract duration: a minimum of 6 months

            Location: Azafady, Fort Dauphin, Madagascar

            Reporting to: Director of Operations

Requirements:

The successful applicant will:

• Have experience of IT, preferably at an advisory level
• Demonstrate sound technical knowledge in areas of video and stills programmes and production
• Previous experience with GIS and visually communicating data is desirable
• Strong ability to communicate events to a wider audience internationally through photography.
• Good working knowledge of basic image management in Photoshop or equivalent.
• Experience with video editing techniques and software equivalent to Premiere or Final Cut Pro.
• Preferably, some experience of good sound recording techniques.
• Demonstrate interest in conservation and community development
• Have previous experience working to deadlines and criteria
• Ideally have previous experience living, working or travelling in a developing country, though is not essential
• Be fluent to a high standard in English. A working knowledge of French is desirable but not essential
• Be capable and comfortable adapting to life in a least developed country with sometimes basic living conditions
• Be able to adjust to life in another culture and a foreign language, and be able to work at all times with cultural sensitivity
• Be able to financially support themselves for a minimum period of 6 months
• Have all necessary equipment to carry out the responsibilities outlined above

Country and organisation background:

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. It has an ethnically diverse population of some 21 million people, and the number of inhabitants is increasing at a rate of about 3% per year.  It is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 151/187 in the 2013 Human Development Report, with more than 80% of the population living below the poverty line. 

Isolation of communities and lack of state capacity mean service delivery is extremely poor. Government educational services, extremely limited as they are across the island, rarely reach rural communities. State provided health facilities are seriously under-funded. Island-wide, among rural populations only 35% of people have improved water sources, and just 14% have adequate sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2014).

Tolagnaro (or Fort Dauphin), where ONG Azafady is based, is an isolated town in the southeast of the island, in Anosy Region. The people of Anosy are one of the poorest ethnic groups in the country.  Whilst the government has adopted a detailed strategy paper for poverty reduction, Anosy’s isolation means that little has changed. The region’s population suffers one of the lowest per capita incomes and highest rates of disease, infant mortality and illiteracy. Diarrhoeal disease, malaria, respiratory and sexually transmitted infections are rife. Average life expectancy is just 59 years, (UNICEF, 2006) and the mortality rate for those under five years is over one in ten (115/1000 live births, UNICEF, 2008 estimate).

Azafady has over 10 years’ experience of grassroots community development work. The organisation intervenes in Fort Dauphin and surrounding rural communities aiming to alleviate extreme poverty and protect a unique but greatly endangered environment by empowering the poorest people of the region to improve health and wellbeing and establish more sustainable livelihoods. At the heart of Azafady’s work is an integrated approach to community development sensitively built around what are directly expressed to be the most pressing needs of local populations and which maximises their participation. Project activities are focused on the fields of health and sanitation, livelihood diversification and natural resource management. All projects align with and contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and of the Madagascar Action Plan commitments in these sectors.

Application procedure

Send CV and cover letter to Lisa@azafady.org. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by email. Interviews will take place with Madagascar team by phone and with the London team in person.

Deadline for application- 31/08/14