Media Development Manager – Resilience of Independent Media Team

Join a team which has unique expertise combining the power of journalism and the law to advance media freedom, foster more inclusive economies, and promote human rights.

For more than 35 years, we have promoted the highest standards in journalism by training reporters around the world to cover issues relevant to their local context, accurately and impartially. Today, we work to strengthen local and national journalism, improve media ethics, standards and regulation, combat misinformation, and explore and shape the future of the profession. We do this through newsroom consultancy, journalism training and mentoring, capacity-building, and via our funding of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford.

We are seeking a highly skilled Media Development Manager with deep technical journalism expertise and exceptional training capabilities to support the Foundation's Resilience of Independent team. The function of the team is to provide technical oversight to media development projects, develop new and innovative approaches and products to address emerging and longstanding issues faced by the media, explore collaboration and research with external stakeholders and engage and support our network of world-class consultants and over 20,000 alumni.

The ideal candidate must be a technical journalism expert with proven thought leadership capabilities and the ability to design and deliver innovative learning solutions. As TRF projects are multi-layered and leverage the expertise of a variety of teams, they require media development sector knowledge combined with strong stakeholder engagement skills. Accordingly, the candidate will also have quality assurance, curriculum development and network management expertise.

The role is based in Canary Wharf, London

This is a fixed term 12-month contract, with an opportunity to extend.

About the Role

Provide technical journalism expertise and thought leadership input into funded media development programmes, ensuring content quality and professional standards
Coordinate with programme delivery teams to ensure technical excellence across all workstreams
Act as the technical journalism focal point for the Resilience of Independent Media team and provide expert guidance to other teams
Co-design innovative journalism learning products that are bespoke and relevant to TRF's partners, incorporating emerging trends and best practices in journalism education
Oversee technical quality of journalism and learning programmes through comprehensive quality assurance frameworks and continuous improvement processes
Develop and maintain technical standards and guidelines for all media development initiatives.
Conduct needs assessments and curriculum development to ensure programmes meet partner requirements and industry standards
Engage and manage networks of TRF consultants and alumni, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaborative programme development.
Provide mentoring and capacity-building support to programme participants and delivery teams
Stay abreast of the latest developments in journalism practice, media technology, and adult learning methodologies.
Collaborate with external stakeholders including media organisations, academic institutions, and international development partners on thought leadership initiatives.

About You

To be our Media Development Manager, you will likely have:

Strong technical journalism background with demonstrated working journalism experience, knowledge of editorial processes, and best practice journalism standards and ethics.
Proven thought leadership capabilities including experience in developing innovative journalism training methodologies and learning products.
Extensive experience in curriculum design and adult learning with ability to create bespoke, relevant training programmes for diverse audiences.
Quality assurance expertise with experience in developing and implementing technical standards and evaluation frameworks or willingness to develop those capacities.
Strong network management skills with proven ability to engage and coordinate with consultants, alumni, and external stakeholders
Excellent communication and presentation skills with ability to deliver technical training and facilitate knowledge sharing sessions across teams.
Prior experience in media development or journalism capacity building, including programme design, implementation, and evaluation
Experience working with international development partners and understanding of donor requirements and reporting standards.
Excellent time management, organisation skills, highly disciplined and results oriented
A flexible, creative and growth mindset

Please note that the closing date for applications is Thursday 4th September 2025. Early applications are encouraged.

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What’s in it For You?

Global Perspective and Impact: Interested in working for a dynamic global organization with a focus on social impact? With hubs all over the world from Bangkok to Madrid to Rio de Janeiro, join a truly international team with a shared goal of helping to build societies around the world that are free, fair, and informed.
Unique Approach: Our expertise in media and the law is world class. We combine the power of both to address the critical issues faced by humanity.
Our Relevance: With a focus on advancing media freedom, fostering more inclusive economies and promoting human rights, our work has never been more needed than right now.
Industry Competitive Benefits: We offer competitive salary packages and market-leading benefits.
Learning & Development: We are dedicated to the continual professional development of our employees and offer access to both in-house and external training opportunities.

About Thomson Reuters Foundation

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information services company. As an independent charity, registered in the UK and the USA, we work to advance media freedom, foster more inclusive economies, and promote human rights. Through news, media development, free legal assistance and convening initiatives, we combine our unique media and legal services to drive systemic change.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. We serve professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Our products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is a world leading provider of trusted journalism and news.

We are powered by the talents of 26,000 employees across more than 70 countries, where everyone has a chance to contribute and grow professionally in flexible work environments. At a time when objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and transparency are under attack, we consider it our duty to pursue them. Sound exciting? Join us and help shape the industries that move society forward.

As a global business, we rely on the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of all employees to deliver on our business goals. To ensure we can do that, we seek talented, qualified employees in all our operations around the world regardless of race, color, sex/gender, including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, veteran status, or any other protected classification under applicable law. Thomson Reuters is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer providing a drug-free workplace.

We also make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs in accordance with applicable law. More information on requesting an accommodation here.

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More information about Thomson Reuters can be found on thomsonreuters.com.

Media Development Manager - Thomson Reuters Foundation

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