Deadline: June 13, 2016
Africa Check, the continent’s first independent fact-checking website, is seeking an experienced journalist/researcher to join its growing Johannesburg-based team – testing the evidence for claims made on all sides of public debate and the media.
Job Description
Investigating claims about a wide range of topics by politicians and others to hold them to account, using publicly available information to reach a verdict about the accuracy of a statement. Writing it up in an easily understandable way with extreme attention to detail.
Benefits
- A competitive salary.
- A 13th cheque based on performance.
- Lots of opportunity for learning and growth.
- Cake club on Thursdays.
Eligibility
The successful candidate must:
- Have a well-honed nonsense detector,
- Be politically non-partisan,
- Have at least a bachelor’s degree in an applicable study field,
- Be glued to the news like other people are to Facebook,
- Be able to solve the equivalent of a maths equation (a public claim in our case) with academic studies, expert opinion and logic,
- Know the difference between a representative survey and an internet poll,
- Lie awake at night fretting over a possible spelling mistake,
- Be able to explain to their grandmother what a term like “confidence interval” is,
- Have grit.
Advantageous:
- Experience in business and economic journalism,
- The ability to talk sensibly on television and radio,
- Fluency in an African language/French,
- Know Excel back to front.
How to Apply
- Send a CV and cover letter explaining why you would be perfect for the post to [email protected] by close of business on Monday 13 June.
- Attach a sample of your writing and suggest a fact in the news that should be checked.
For more information, visit Africa Check
