Vacancy Notice – Business Development and Fundraising Expert

Assignment Description: Coaching up to four alternative media outlets on business development and fundraising

Assignment Location: Beirut, Lebanon

Employment Type: Short-term consultancy 

Assignment Period: March–June 2024

Level of Effort: Six expert days

How to apply: Please send your application documents to info.lebanon@democracy-reporting.org cc’ing e.haddad@democracy-reporting.org, by Monday, 5 February 2024, 11:59 PM local time (Beirut, Lebanon). 

DRI is looking for a business development expert to reflect with four independent social media-based outlets on ways to improve their business model and generate revenues toward greater financial sustainability.

Background

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin, and established in Lebanon since 2016. DRI promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions worldwide. Democratic discourse is the basis of our mission and vision. In our work, we facilitate discussion and exchange about democratic government and the need for a continuous discourse adhering to democratic rules.   

In the framework of its project entitled: “Independent Voices: Supporting Innovative & Citizen-centric Content Creation in Lebanese Media”, DRI is facilitating collaboration between a network of journalists, media makers, and digital content creators following a rights-based approach to shed light on political reform issues and the expansion of civic space.

The project aims at countering mis- and disinformation and the spread of fake news in mainstream media. To do so, we envision a young media community that works together to deliver high-quality media content about topics that are typically overlooked by mainstream media.

In this context, DRI is looking for a business development expert to reflect with four independent social media-based outlets on ways to improve their business model and generate revenues toward greater financial sustainability. The expert will meet the focal points of the outlets, assess their business model, and provide recommendations for improvement.

Your duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of DRI’s Programme Manager, the Expert will:  

• Meet with each of the four media outlets to assess their business model and the challenges faced (1 expert day);
• Develop a short business development plan, incl. actionable recommendations and quick-wins tailored to each media outlet (3 expert days);
• Discuss the findings with each beneficiary and in a plenary session (1 expert day);
• Present a short report summarising the mission, findings, and the recommendations (1 expert day).

Your skills and experience  

• A university degree in business management, economics, or any other relevant field; 

• At least 7 years of experience in business development and fundraising;
• Familiarity with the media world;
• Familiarity with social media-based business models;
• Excellent verbal and writing communication skills;
• Gender and cultural sensitivity;
• Working proficiency in Arabic and English.