Openings – Citizen Matters

Citizen Matters is a civic media platform with insightful reporting on critical urban issues, ideas and solutions for cities across India. Our local chapters in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai focus on civic journalism and citizen  engagement. Our work is supported by Oorvani Foundation https://oorvani.org/, is a non profit setup in 2013, that supports public interest journalism and data through reader funding. We build open knowledge platforms for civic engagement and community revitalisation – thus enabling a critical mass of citizens working for better Indian cities.

We are expanding our team and are looking for enthusiastic committed individuals with a rapid learning curve and an interest in urban and community topics. If the idea of bringing citizens, data and journalism together to make better cities excites you, do apply!

1) Reporter

Location: Bengaluru

Citizen Matters seeks a skilled reporter who can dive deep into local topics and develop a range of stories. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who is open and collaborative, with the stomach for hard reporting on tough issues, while being able to mix up their workload with feature writing from time to time.

Responsibilities:

• Track developments in the city – both emergent news and systemic issues.
• Write news reports, analysis, interviews, long form features etc, working in parallel with the rest of the team across India.
• Develop multimedia content like audio, video as required

Support the team with social media outreach / engagement as planned. Including activities like social media chats, live interviews, panel discussions etc.

Our expectations:

• Excellent command over English. Local language knowledge is important.
• Keen interest in urban and local topics like economy, sustainability,  transport, water, waste, local governance and children.
• Curiosity and articulation, and a love for the written word!
• Self-learner, highly productive, efficient, capable of multitasking
• Excellent communication and social media skills
• Data journalism and hard reporting skills Experience: 0 – 2 years

Education: Graduate. Background in Journalism, Mass Comm or English Literature preferred.

2) Associate Editors

Number of requirements – 2

Location – Bengaluru, Chennai

The Associate Editor is responsible for commissioning, editing and publishing stories at the chapter level. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented and has a rapid learning curve.

Responsibilities:

• Handle editorial desk and publishing schedule, keeping to targets
• Commission, review, fact check, proofread, edit and publish content
• Handle layout (images, graphics, videos and artwork)
• Work with analytics, and manage SEO and social media
• Manage thematic projects

Our expectations:

• Textual content editing skills (mandatory). Video and audio editing skills would be a plus.
• Excellent command over English. Knowledge of the local language is important too.
• Familiarity with content management systems. Knowledge of SEO (preferred)

Interest in the civic space, familiarity with Bengaluru / Chennai (based on the location)

Experience: At least 3+ years of relevant experience

Education Qualification: Graduate in liberal arts or media. Specialisation in Journalism, Mass Communications would be an added advantage.

Application Process

To apply for a position at Oorvani Foundation, please fill this application form.

For clarifications, you can email hr@oorvani.in.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.
• Hiring page /openings changes 2022-Jan

Note: We strive to be an equal opportunity organisation with an open and inclusive environment. We do not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnicity, caste, class, language, gender (identity/expression/status), sexual orientation, appearance, disability, age, beliefs or any other basis.