Terms of Reference for Programme Coordinator
BACKGROUND
Thomson Media supports journalists and media organisations worldwide often in challenging and emerging economies. Our work promotes ethical reporting and ensures independent, trusted sustainable media businesses developments. Thomson currently implements several media support programmes in the regions of Western Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe. The focus of Thomson’s work is to provide guidance to media outlets for sustainable development and operation through business mentorship, testing and implementing new and innovative business modalities, supporting media to attract and engage new and underrepresented media audience(s) including young, female, minority groups and diaspora. Thomson is looking to hire Programme Coordinator to become part of the wider Western Balkans and Central and Eastern European team and support implementation of its programmes.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Media Innovation Europe: towards resilient public-interest media ecosystem (MIE 2026-2028) is a two-year programme co-funded by the European Union aiming to provide support to the European newsrooms and individuals through business needs assessments and personalised advisory, grants, training and mentorship to media managers and journalists that work or are building working in and building newsrooms that are moving towards a full digital transition. MIE's overall goal is to empower media outlets to navigate a changing media context providing tools and guidance to align their journalistic products, business structures, and means of discovery and distribution in an audience-focused and sustainable way. The project is delivered by a consortium led by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) together with the Berlin-based Thomson Media (TM), The Fix Foundation (TFF) and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).
As part of the project, Thomson Media will implement the following programmes:
a. Ideation – following the open call for support, selected beneficiaries will pass the series of three ideation workshops (September - November 2026)). The three main objectives of ideation sessions are to (1) have innovative and articulated ideas, (2) inspire and support out of the box thinking and (3) secure quality and committed candidates for its programs that will ensure impact. Workshops will engage with two types of beneficiaries are (1) new media outlets, journalists or collectives of journalists/media professionals with a start-up plan for a sustainable new media model and (2) experienced media professionals and decision makers in established newsrooms. Selected participants will get familiar with key concepts such as ideation techniques, steps they have to complete to be able to better understand testing and validation. They further have the chance to brainstorm ideas with facilitator support that they can possibly turn into project proposals and apply for funding from Thomson or other donor organisations. Upon the completion of the series, participants will have three potential trajectories: have a reserved spot in our Validation Booster program (to validate ideas they previously articulated through the workshops), or to take part in networking and collaborative activities and fellowship program, Thomson and its partners plan to organize within this project, or beyond.
b. Validation Booster (VB) - tailored for smaller media outlets, content producers, journalists, communication/media startups and networks. Validation Booster is structured as a guided program consisting of up to 12 workshops, related resources and tasks designed to help beneficiaries to learn how to validate and test their business idea that imply new digital products/services, diving into the process of rethinking a media’s potential and feasibility in the digital environment. The goal is for beneficiaries to be acquainted with the necessary tools, knowledge, and directions to properly understand and implement validation methodology for their business idea. After completing Validation program key beneficiaries will be: a) equipped to present their ideas and mission clearly; b) capable to validate on their own any business idea they may have within their outlet in the future; c) develop materials to present and communicate their validated idea to interested parties and potential funders and d) present their idea, if validated, to broader pool of funders and investors. Besides structured mentorship, beneficiaries will receive funds through grant scheme (up to EUR 3.000) to implement all validation program related tasks. The program will be driven through one cycle (February – June 2027). Up to 12 beneficiaries will be involved in this support stream.
c. Business Innovation Synergizer (BIS) - tailored to support larger media with significant absorption capacities, developed strategic or business plans and/or validated ideas. Media outlets will be supported through grants (EUR 30.000), technical support (1-on-1 mentoring, capacity building). The program will be implemented from January 2027 until December 2027. Only one cycle will be organized, with a defined number of beneficiaries (up to 5 under the Business Innovation Synergizer programme). BIS’ overall objective is to improve the business sustainability of professional media and make journalists and media outlets more resilient to any external threat.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Programme Coordinator will offer services in supporting media development programming in line with project scope and timeline, manage Ideation, Validation Booster and Business Inovation Synergizer programmes and provide support for other related project activities across the Creative Europe countries. The Programme Coordinator will also be responsible for tracking media support to outlets through grants and mentoring. The Programme Coordinator will liaise with the program team, which includes the Manager, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Administrative and Financial Coordinator, and Communication Coordinator. An important aspect of work will be liaison and cooperation with project partners as well as relevant stakeholders in media development.
Main Tasks and Responsibilities
The Programme Coordinator shall be responsible for the following tasks and responsibilities:
Plan and implement programme activities related to media development, ensuring the effective roll-out of technical assistance, mentoring and successful grant implementation to media outlets in cooperation with the project team and liaison with Administrative and Financial Coordinator.Coordinate all Ideation, VB and BIS programme related activities as a main contact point (call launching, selection of beneficiaries, programme kick off, programme implementation, programme closure, capacity building activities, events, monitoring and evaluation, reporting)
Anticipate potential programmatic challenges and proactively coordinate with the line manager and team to devise solutions, guaranteeing the seamless execution of activities. This includes maintaining and nurishing regular and productive communication with the media outlets, experts, mentors, consultants, project team, project partners and stakeholders to ensure sucessful implementation.
Strategize, design, and lead visits within the countries of the region, ensuring all key project activities, events, and engagement initiatives are executed to maximize outreach and effectiveness.
Engagement with experts, mentors and consultations on a regular basis. Take an active role in the selection process, ensuring the recruitment of top-tier professionals. Foster and maintain strong professional relationships with these experts, facilitating their involvement in project activities and their liasion with the Administrative and Financial Coordinator.
● Maintain regular and productive media outlet communication by serving as the primary liaison between the project and media outlets, ensuring clear communication, understanding of project objectives, and alignment of goals for both mentoring and grants and other project related activities.
Consistently update the Project Supervisor and the Financial Manager about progress, challenges, and milestones achieved in the project's lifecycle.
Cultivate relations with partners and stakeholders: Participate as necessary in all projects related meetings with partners, local posts and stakeholders.
Systematically organize and archive all essential project materials, ensuring easy access and reference for the team.
Take on diverse project management and program-specific tasks as directed by the Thomson Project supervisor and the project team, demonstrating adaptability and commitment to the project's success.
Support the Administrative and Financial Coordinator under the oversight of the Thomson Project Supervisor
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Education: A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies including postgraduate studies or at least 10 years of work experience in the field of communication, media, international development, or other related relevant fields.
Language: Fluency in English and at least one of the languages spoken within the Western Balkans.
Professional Experience:
Sound understanding of the media sector
Participating in multi-layered projects handling several activities with overlapping timelines, at least 3 projects of this type to be named as a reference.
● At least 5 years of relevant working experience in the field of media project implementation, media development, journalism, communications, or any related field.
Experience in planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of media support programs awarded to organizations/media outlets.
Certain level of administrative and event organization experience, at least 5 different events, workshops or trainings organized.
Other skills:
Excellent presentation, oral and writing communication skills, with strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
● Reliable with high standards for perfection and attention to details.
● Highly collaborative working style, a team player who communicates well across all levels of the organization.
Strong organizational skills, problem-solving, proactive, can-do-it attitude and ability to get things done.
● Ability to adjust to changes in priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT
Duration of assignment will commence from June 2026 until May 2028.
LOCATION
Remote work covering the Creative Europe countries. Travel per need and planned in advance with the Thomson program team.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested candidates should submit their resume, cover letter and offer to jobs(at)thomsonfoundation.org by 12.06.2026.
REVIEW AND AMENDMENTS
These Terms of Reference may be reviewed and amended as needed to meet the evolving needs of the project and organization.