Information Resilience Manager, Central Asia (CA)
Zinc Network, Kazakhstan
Job Description
Introducing Zinc Network (Zinc):
Zinc Network is a B-Corp certified U.S. small business with offices in Washington, D.C., London (HQ), Tbilisi, and Warsaw. Zinc conceptualises and creates programs, interventions, and strategic communications campaigns around some of the world’s most complex problems from disinformation to extremism, media capture to authoritarianism.
Zinc has 80+ team members from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds, including diplomats, behavioural scientists, researchers, content producers, digital experts, and service designers. Zinc works with a broad range of governmental, NGO, and private sector clients, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); the U.S. Department of State (DOS); the UK Home Office (HO); the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO); UN agencies and missions; and foundations.
About the Role:
Zinc seeks an Information Resilience Manager, Central Asia (CA) who will oversee Zinc’s work for the upcoming USAID Central Asia Information Integrity Activity (CAIIA). The position is contingent upon funding. It will be based in Almaty, Kazakhstan and include regular travel throughout the CA region. The individual will report to Zinc’s Portfolio Director based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Zinc will prioritise candidates from the CA region for this position.
The Information Resilience Manager, CA will have strong knowledge of current counter-disinformation efforts in the region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan) and a history of work in the counter-disinformation and/or information integrity space. They will know key stakeholders and interventions in the areas of 1) fact-checking, pre-bunking, and debunking, 2) Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) research, 3) campaigning, and 4) social media and influencer engagement. They will be a skilled facilitator and trainer, with experience bringing organisations together for learning, knowledge exchange, and capacity development.
Key Responsibilities:
· Serve as Zinc’s project director for work on the USAID Central Asia Information Integrity Activity (CAIIA) (contingent upon funding)
· Facilitate and lead workshops with local stakeholders that are designed to address key disinformation vulnerabilities apply agile, design thinking methodologies to these facilitation processes
· Oversee a rapid response mechanism designed to produce and disseminate debunking content
· Oversee OSINT trainings and support for key local partners
· Oversee audience-centric research, working with Zinc staff to conduct formative audience research and horizon scanning related to disinformation narratives
· Support the development of a regional community of practice that builds local capacities and supports the exchange of learnings related to countering disinformation among CA stakeholders
· Manage Zinc’s team of local experts and consultants, including those specialising in product/service design, local operations, campaigns, production, influencer management, research, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning
· Be accountable to Zinc’s Portfolio Director, ensuring results-driven project management focused on achieving core project key performance indicators (KPIs)
· Liaise effectively with Zinc support staff based in Washington, DC, London, and the region, including teams of strategists, creators, digital experts, grants and financial administrators and compliance experts, among others
Requirements
Key Qualifications:
· Bachelor’s degree in political science, international relations, journalism, or a related field
· Minimum of seven years of progressive experience in the democracy and governance, media development, and/or countering disinformation space
· Experience with USAID and/or development programming
· Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
· A good sense of humor and a dedication to turning failures into growth opportunities
· Willingness to travel up to 20% of time
· Fluency in English and CA languages
Conditions of Employment
Candidates who receive a job offer will be required to:
· Disclose any previous disciplinary action against them resulting from a substantiated safeguarding (including any breaches involving trafficking- related activities) or workplace investigation
· Undergo background checks including employment verification, sexual offender registry (as available), identity confirmation, and anti-terrorism vetting
Area of Selection:
We’re committed to hiring a diverse workforce from different professional and cultural backgrounds, and to that end, we encourage a variety of people to apply to join our company to represent the diverse range of subjects associated with our projects.
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