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About Sahan Journal
Sahan Journal is the only independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit digital newsroom to provide authentic news reporting for immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota. As Minnesota becomes more diverse, Sahan brings these undertold stories to the mainstream, with the skill, perspective, and nuance they deserve. We create journalism that represents the changing face of Minnesota and recognizes that democratic engagement and power belong to everyone. Our stories reach audiences online and through media partners and social media, averaging 100,000 unique readers a month.
The opportunity
Sahan Journal is looking for a part-time, hands-on project assistant who will help make the Citizen Lab project a success. The Citizen Lab is an exciting, collaborative, community-listening project that will dig deep into the news and informational needs of Minnesota’s immigrant and refugee communities. We are looking for a tech-savvy and detail-oriented team member with an interest in media innovation, community engagement, and collaboration.
What does that mean, practically? The project assistant will support the engagement editor and financial controller in various tasks that include budgeting and finance work, event planning and execution, and marketing strategy.
At Sahan Journal, we make it a priority to mentor early-career journalists and nonprofit professionals by providing opportunities for growth. We welcome new ideas and experimentation with our storytelling styles, distribution methods, and collaborative workflow. With support from Google GNI Innovation Challenge, this role has potential for growth as the budget allows. If you have many but not all of the requested skills and experiences, please apply!
Reporting directly to the Innovation and Community Engagement Editor, the project assistant will:
Community engagement:
- Assist engagement editor in identifying opportunities to engage Minnesota’s Latino, Hmong, and Somali community members (for example, community events, online groups or forums, etc.)
- Facilitate collaboration between newsroom partners, including initiating check-ins and follow-ups to ensure deadlines are met
- Assist engagement editor in collecting information, data and assets for two milestone reports
- Support development and implementation of social media strategy around the project, with direction from engagement editor and multimedia producer.
Event planning and management:
- Work with engagement editor to plan and successfully execute the Citizen Lab community conversations. This may include: inviting guests, booking venue, ordering food and refreshments, etc.
Budget and finances:
- Assist financial controller in keeping track of Citizen Lab project budget. This may include: collecting and organizing invoices and timesheets, seeking and managing approval for payments, confirming receipt of payments etc.
- Assist Financial Controller in submitting monthly financial reports through the financial management system
This is a 10-month, part-time contract position for 15-25 hours per week, from February 2022 to November 2022. The rate will be $25-$32 per hour, depending on experience. This is a remote position with flexible work hours. However, because this job position requires a high degree of familiarity with Minnesota, preference will be given to applicants who live in Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area.
Qualifications
- Relevant work experience in journalism, community-building, or project management
- Proficiency in Google Workspace, Excel, Microsoft Office Suite
- Self-driven with a solution-oriented approach
- A high degree of integrity, accountability, energy, and flexibility
- Detail-oriented, with excellent organizational skills
- Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
- Occasional evening availability for in-person or remote events
- Must be available on a part-time basis from February 2022 to November 2022
Interested applicants should submit their CV and cover letter to jobs@sahanjournal.com with the subject line: “Citizen Lab project assistant.” In your cover letter, please tell us why you care about local news and its role in community building. We are looking to fill this position by the end of January and will be interviewing qualified candidates on a rolling basis.
