Assignment - Research on salary costs in the Serbian Media Sector

The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) is a grant-making organisation which has been established by the European Union Member States, and the European Union institutions to foster and encourage democratisation and deep and sustainable democracy. EED has been established as an independent private law foundation with its seat in Brussels.

While EED statutes do not foresee the setting up of any regional offices in the countries that fall within the scope of its geographical mandate, EED has a network of consultants in key countries to help provide its Secretariat with knowledge consultancy services, technical assistance, and logistical support.

The media sector in Serbia plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion, disseminating information, and providing entertainment. However, limited data is available on the average costs associated with salaries and services in this sector, especially at the national and local levels. To better understand the economic landscape of the media industry, the EED is looking for a local consultant to gather, analyse, and report on the average costs for salaries and services in the media sector at both national and local level and salary ranges in donor funded media projects.

The consultant will be selected on the basis of his/her reputation and experience, his/her knowledge and understanding of media landscape in Serbia, and the scope of his/her network (media outlets, including CSOs, both established and recent, emerging political/social movements etc.).

The consultant could belong to a media/CSO or other form of group but would not qualify to receive EED support during the period in which he/she will be carrying out services to the Secretariat. This limitation applies both to requests submitted at the individual level and on behalf of the organisation.

Duties:

1) Data collection:

• Collect data on average salaries and service costs for various job roles in the media sector, including but not limited to journalists (print, broadcast, digital), editors, producers, camerapersons, sound engineers, graphic designers, social media managers, public relations specialists, etc.
• Gather data on the cost of services typically outsourced by media organisations, such as video production, graphic design, photography, copywriting and digital marketing services
• Ensure that data is collected from both national and local media organisations to reflect regional differences.
• Gather data on the salary range in media donor supported projects and donor guidelines on salary and service rates on media supported grants

2) Data Analysis:

• Analyse the data to determine the average costs of each job role and service.
• Identify trends and discrepancies between national and local levels.
• Examine factors influencing cost variations, such as region, media platform (print, digital, broadcast), and organisation size.

3) Reporting:

• Prepare a comprehensive report that includes a) detailed findings on average salaries for various job roles in the media sector, b) an analysis of service costs typically outsourced by media organisations, c) a comparative analysis between national and local levels, d) graphical presentations of data (charts, graphs, etc.) c) detailed findings on salary ranges in donor supported media projects/grants (EU, USAID, Intranews)

The consultant will work under the direct guidance of the EED Grant Manager.

Terms of Contract

The consultancy is expected to be completed within 2 months from the signing of the contract with maximum 10 working days. Additional working days might be considered if seen justified based on a provided working plan.

The consultancy contract fee rate shall be based on a competitive local salary depending on the level of experience, where the consultant will receive a fee per day worked.

Required Expertise

• University degree in political science, humanities or journalism;
• Relevant professional experience in the field of media and media policy development;
• Knowledge of the media market, with a particular accent on the Serbian media market;
• Knowledge of the donors that support media development in the country
• Excellent knowledge of English, including excellent communication and drafting skills;
• Professional fluency in Serbian, both oral and written;
• Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), internet;
• Ability and willingness to work with people of different cultural, national and religious backgrounds;
• Ability to keep full confidentiality about all assigned tasks and related documentation as well as able to exercise confidentiality, discretion and tact when dealing with diverse groups of people.

Application Process

Should you be interested in this position and meet the criteria, please submit your CV and a short motivation letter, as well as a proposed daily fee, estimation of the number of working days required to complete this assignment, and contact information for two referees, using the Apply button below.

The application deadline is October 17th, 2024, at midnight Brussels time.

Unfortunately, we cannot respond to every application. Therefore, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview. The information provided in the applications is subject to EU legislation on protecting personal data and confidentiality of information.