Terms of Reference - Data Journalism Trainer and Mentor

About BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action is an International NGO working in Ethiopia since 2001 as a registered charity with the Authority for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO). BBC Media Action uses media and communications for good, informing, connecting and empowering people around the world. This assignment is part of BBC Media Action's BRAVE programme, funded by the European Commission.

Background

Data-driven storytelling is an essential part of modern journalism. In Ethiopia, media outlets increasingly seek to produce evidence-based reporting but face gaps in skills related to finding, interpreting, visualizing, and presenting data.

This training aims to strengthen the capacity of journalists and newsroom staff to practice data journalism in a practical, ethical, and impactful way.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to deliver hands-on data journalism training that enables participants to understand, analyze, and communicate data in compelling and accessible formats. The training will help media practitioners integrate data into regular reporting and produce more accurate, transparent, and audience-relevant stories.

Key Objectives

• Introduce the principles, value, and workflow of data journalism
• Strengthen participants' ability to find, clean, interpret, and analyze datasets
• Equip participants with basic data visualization skills and tools
• Improve participants' capacity to produce data-driven stories grounded in evidence
• Support participants to develop a data story idea or draft outline by the end of the training

Training Content

The trainer will deliver sessions covering the following areas:

• Foundations of Data Journalism
• Finding and Accessing Data
• Data Cleaning and Preparation
• Data Analysis
• Data Visualization (Presentation)
• Storytelling with Data
• Ethical and Responsible Data Use (including sensitive data)