BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action uses media and communications to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. To achieve this, the Media Actions partners with civil society, local media and governments to:

Produce creative programmes based on robust research in multi-media formats which inform and engage audiences around key development issues.
Strengthen the media sector through building professional capacity and infrastructure.

BBC Media Action delivers a portfolio of media projects in Tanzania. It seeks to expand this portfolio of work, and also to ensure that existing projects are delivered on time, on budget, to the highest standards and in accordance with BBC editorial values as well as Media Action methodologies.

Overall Purpose of Job

The Senior Projects Manager will be responsible for the overall management and delivery of a range of projects which utilise the power of media to tackle issues of governance, resilience and health. The Senior Projects Manager will ensure the agreed targets and objectives are met and will also ensure the quality and cohesion of project outputs. This will include managing a team of Project Managers.

The Senior Projects Manager will be responsible for overseeing budget management of projects, and for reporting on editorial and operational progress to the Country Director. S/he will also be responsible for liaising with the relevant teams in the London headquarters and with project donors. Upon request of the Country Director, the Senior Projects Manager will represent Media Action in-country to key stakeholders and will ensure effective relationships and partnerships with a wide range of partners including broadcasters, NGOs, international development agencies and others.

Main duties and responsibilities

Reporting to the Country Director, to take responsibility for overseeing the planning and implementation of country projects and activities.
To manage a team of Project Managers and to support them to meet agreed objectives and develop their skills so that they are able to make an effective contribution to planned activities and hold more senior roles in future.
To oversee the management of project budgets by the Project Managers and thus ensure the delivery of the outputs is in accordance with those budgets and in-line with Media Action’s financial procedures and the funder’s operating guidelines.
To ensure the design and implementation of project activities adhere to workplan and logframe commitments and remain in line with BBC editorial standards and values and Media Action’s best practice.
To negotiate and mediate if conflicting views/priorities arise within the projects, working through these to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
To lead the reporting of progress, both internally to the BBC and externally to partners, the donor(s), and other interested parties.
To work closely with the Research Manager in the design and coordination of monitoring and evaluation and to conduct regular review and feedback sessions, adjusting project delivery as necessary.
To work closely with the Partnerships Development Manager in the design and coordination of capacity strengthening interventions adjusting project delivery as necessary.
To develop good working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including the BBC World Service, local broadcasters and relevant NGOs and CSOs and government bodies.
To support business development activities as required. This will involve working with the Country Director and local staff to pursue appropriate funding opportunities in-country, as well as working as part of a global team responding to international and sub-regional funding opportunities.
To work with the other BBC Media Action staff in-country and in London to identify training priorities linked to the needs of staff, including the greater development of in-house capacity, and to ensure that training meets Media Action’s high standards.
Sit on the Senior Management Team and contribute actively to office-wide decision making and strategy.

Skills, knowledge and experience requirements:

Experience of senior management in a developing-country context, preferably in Africa, with demonstrated the capacity to project-manage effectively several distinct projects simultaneous.
Strong financial management skills, with proven experience managing complex budgets of over £1m per year, including accurate and timely financial and narrative reporting to donors.
A proven track-record in international development; experience in the use of media to achieve development goals is a considerable advantage. Experience of working in one or more of the governance, health and resilience sectors is also an advantage, as is experience in capacity-building implementation.
Experience of directly managing teams of at least four local and/or international staff, preferably within a developing-country context, at a level which demonstrates experience in developing and improving systems and processes.
Awareness of the BBC’s editorial values and an instinct for how to apply these to media development projects.
The potential to acquire strong media editorial leadership skills in order to make sensitive editorial judgements at a senior level.
Ability to work on own initiative and organise time effectively within a range of often conflicting deadlines.
Capacity to juggle competing priorities and a busy programme of work while working to an agreed strategy.
The ability to forge strong working relations quickly and gain the trust of media house managers, editors, participating NGOs and senior staff in the region.
Previous experience of writing successful proposals for at least three different international donors, including sections on project research, logframes and detailed budgets; understanding of adaptive and flexible programming will be a distinct advantage.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Demonstrable creative ability, with a proven track-record in project design development and implementation.
Experience of developing and leading staff from different backgrounds.
Fluent written and spoken English.

Desirable:

a) Knowledge of regional and international current affairs.
b) Experience of Tanzania, or at least awareness of its geopolitics, culture, religions etc. and Kiswahili language skills.
c) Proven experience of working in media projects is highly desirable. Applicants with extremely sound ideas but little production experience will be considered on evidence of creativity and potential.

Key competencies

Managing relationships and team work: able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team, as opposed to working separately or competitively. Values individual’s differences and demonstrates a commitment to knowledge sharing and informal learning, for the benefit of the team.
Strategic thinking: Able to identify a vision and create plans for implementation of that vision to meet the end goal. Evaluates situations, decisions, and issues in the short, medium and long-term
Leadership: Ability to inspire others to realize an identified vision.
Analytical Thinking: Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks for problem solving and/or development.
Change Management: Able to understand and anticipate the need for change and to build frameworks for planning and managing the continuous process of change.
Planning and Organisation: Able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others; planning of activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.
Resilience: Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, set backs or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
Decision Making: Able to take the initiative, originate action and be responsible for the consequences of the decision made.

Do not include certificates in your application