- Duration: mid February – 31 December 2026.
- Number of days: 40 days, spread out over the year.
The consultant is expected to submit a proposal/workplan describing the use of the consultancy days.
AGILE is an EU-funded project implemented by a consortium consisting of five members: Internews (lead), ARTICLE19, CFI Media Development, Fojo Media Institute and Thomson Media.
The project runs from 2025 to 2028.
The project is built around five workstreams: Good Information; Inclusive Access; Sustainable Business Models; Accountable Institutions; Future of Journalism. For more information about the project: https://capacity4dev.europa.eu/projects/https%3A_en
Fojo’s role (workstream 5: Future of Journalism) focuses on strengthening and innovating journalism education at thirty universities in 13 countries across Africa, Asia, and the MENA region through the development of four extra-curricular courses:
- Managing Stress & Trauma (in MENA: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon),
- Closing the Climate Coverage Gap (not implemented in MENA),
- Dig Better – investigative reporting for female journalism students (in MENA: Egypt, Lebanon – potentially change country, to be agreed upon),
- Women Media Leaders of Tomorrow (not implemented in MENA).
To develop these courses, Fojo is testing a new method in the field of journalism education:
- The journalism educators are the ones developing the courses through a co-design approach, meeting to develop the approach to the subject, and the actual course curriculum. This happens through workshops spanning countries, regions and even continents,
- Once the courses have been developed and implemented, the educators meet again to assess the course and discuss and exchange on lessons learnt, before a second set of courses are developed and implemented,
- The courses are all fairly small in scope (for example 4×3 hours, or 5×2 hours) to allow for their smooth implementation in addition to existing teaching at each university. The courses can also be integrated into existing curricula.
University and student grants are provided as part of the course.
CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT
In MENA, Fojo will be working together with one journalism school in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon respectively.
The consultant will be responsible for the following:
- Make the final selection of the universities in close collaboration with Fojo,
- Introduce the universities to the project, manage communications with them
- Lead the co-design processes between the universities, with one onsite workshop of 5 days in April or May 2026,
- Coordinate university & student grants,
- Oversee course implementation at each university and provide content to Fojo regarding external communication (text and photos),
- On request participate in external meetings,
- Support follow-up and evaluation of the activity.
The focus of the consultant is on content – Fojo will provide administrative support, for example drafting MoUs with the universities, budgets, payments of grants to universities etc. Fojo is also in charge of MEL, including surveys and interviews with participating universities.
PROPOSED TIMELINE
- Feb–Mar: Project introduction, partner dialogue, procurement, and contracts,
- April–May: On-site workshop to co-design courses (Amman or Beirut, TBD)
- Aug–Oct: Course delivery and evaluation,
- Oct–Dec: Scholarship preparation and mentor selection,
- November: Global MENA university meeting at AIJC Conference, Nairobi (MENA consultant is not expected to attend).
SCOPE
- 40 days, rate to be negotiated with Fojo,
- Travel, accommodation, and per diem covered per Swedish government rules.
REQUIREMENTS
- Fluent in English (written and spoken),
- Arabic language skills highly recommended,
- At least 5 years of experience in similar consultancy assignments,
- Demonstrated experience in media development and journalism,
- Proven experience working in the MENA region, preferably across multiple countries,
- Ability to lead and coordinate regional and cross-country initiatives,
- Experience overseeing course implementation, monitoring, and evaluation,
- Excellent communication, coordination, and stakeholder-management skills,
- Ability to work independently and deliver outputs within a limited number of consultancy days spread over a long period,
- Familiarity with EU-funded projects and/or international donor programmes is an asset,
- Willingness and ability to travel within the MENA region for workshops and meetings.
CONTACT AND SUBMISSIONS
Please submit your CV and a brief proposal outlining how you intend to use the consultancy days by the 2nd of February to Sofie.gullberg@lnu.se.
