Job Description

Citizen Journalists Network (CJN) is a leading media organization dedicated to promoting citizen journalism, empowering grassroots reporters, and amplifying diverse voices and perspectives from communities around the world. With a commitment to transparency, integrity, and social impact, we provide a platform for citizen journalists to share stories, report news, and advocate for change on issues that matter most to them. Our mission is to democratize media, foster civic engagement, and drive positive social change through citizen-driven storytelling and journalism.

Position Overview:

We are currently seeking a creative and talented Website Designer to join our team at Citizen Journalists Network. As a Website Designer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining our organization's website to ensure an engaging and user-friendly online experience for our audience. You will work closely with our editorial team, digital strategists, and technical experts to create a visually compelling and responsive website that showcases our content, engages our community, and advances our mission.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Website Design: Design visually appealing and intuitive website layouts, templates, and user interfaces that reflect our brand identity, values, and editorial style. Use graphic design software, wireframing tools, and design principles to create mockups, prototypes, and design concepts for website pages and features.
2. Responsive Design: Develop responsive and mobile-friendly website designs that adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes, devices, and browsers. Ensure consistent user experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms, optimizing for performance, speed, and accessibility.
3. Content Management: Manage website content, including text, images, videos, and multimedia assets, using content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal. Create and update website pages, posts, categories, tags, and menus, and ensure content accuracy, relevance, and freshness.
4. UI/UX Optimization: Optimize user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design elements to enhance usability, navigation, and interactivity on the website. Conduct usability testing, user feedback analysis, and A/B testing to identify areas for improvement and implement user-centered design solutions.
5. SEO Integration: Implement search engine optimization (SEO) best practices and techniques to improve website visibility, ranking, and organic traffic. Optimize website structure, metadata, headings, alt tags, and internal linking strategies to enhance search engine crawlability and indexing.
6. Performance Monitoring: Monitor website performance, traffic metrics, and user engagement using web analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics. Analyze key performance indicators (KPIs), traffic sources, and user behavior patterns to identify trends, insights, and opportunities for optimization.
7. Security and Compliance: Ensure website security, data privacy, and compliance with regulatory requirements, including GDPR, CCPA, and ADA accessibility standards. Implement security protocols, SSL certificates, backups, and updates to protect against security threats, malware, and vulnerabilities.
8. Collaboration and Communication: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including editors, journalists, photographers, videographers, developers, and digital marketers, to align website design with content strategy, editorial calendar, and marketing campaigns. Communicate project timelines, milestones, and deliverables effectively to ensure project success and stakeholder satisfaction.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Web Design, Multimedia Design, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in website design, front-end development, or UI/UX design.
• Proficiency in graphic design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, XD) or Sketch.
• Strong knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and responsive design frameworks (e.g., Bootstrap).
• Experience with content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.
• Familiarity with web accessibility standards (WCAG), SEO best practices, and web analytics tools.
• Creative thinking, attention to detail, and a passion for user-centered design.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
• Portfolio showcasing website design projects, UI/UX samples, and design process.