Director, Global Journalist Safety

Radio Free Asia•Washington DC, WA

5d•Remote

About The Position

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is seeking a Director of Global Journalist Safety to lead its worldwide safety and security function. This senior leadership role is responsible for protecting journalists, freelancers, and staff who support RFA's mission across Asia's most authoritarian and high-risk media environments. The Director oversees two Global Journalist Safety Officers and a distributed workforce, leads RFA's preventative advocacy strategy, builds and owns the organizational crisis response architecture, and serves as RFA's principal expert on physical and psychosocial journalist safety.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required in international relations, security studies, journalism, or related field.
10 years of crisis management experience, including real-time response to journalist safety incidents, including demonstrable lead (not supporting) experience across a minimum of three serious incidents (detention, abduction, serious injury, death in field, or forced exile).
Documented experience operating against state-level adversaries, specifically state-sponsored surveillance, transnational repression, and diaspora targeting.
Candidates must be able to describe (under NDA if needed) at least one case where they navigated hostile state intelligence interest in a journalist or source.
Documented experience of at least two transnational repression (TNR) cases taken from detection through resolution, including family liaison and cross-jurisdiction coordination.
10 years of leadership including management of geographically dispersed international teams.
5 years experience in advocacy for incarcerated and other at-risk journalists.
5 years of knowledge and understanding of regional dynamics East and South East Asia and common risks and threats in Asia.
Specifically working knowledge of the risk environment in one or more of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, or Cambodia. Short-term travel or project visits do not meet this requirement; extended in-region posting, cross-border casework, or sustained regional portfolio ownership does.
Strong leadership and team development skills across geographically dispersed, multi-office teams.
Excellent written and oral communicator.
Confident briefing government interlocutors and executive leadership.
Exceptional judgment and confidentiality, with the ability to recognise when to push and when not to.
Integrity and the highest standards of professional ethics.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree preferred, or experience in lieu of degree.
5+ years as a journalist is advantageous.
Prior experience in media, international NGO, diplomatic service, or government security function.
Asia-Pacific journalist safety experience strongly preferred.
Bilingualism is advantageous.

Responsibilities

Directly manage two Global Journalist Safety Officers, providing clear objectives, regular performance reviews, and ongoing professional development support.
Manage safety function budgets including third-party security providers and external consultants.
Oversee staff visibility across RFA's offices in Bangkok, Seoul, and Taiwan, and consultants and EOR employees deployed across Asia.
Report regularly to the COO on safety risks, active TNR cases, and strategic priorities.
Brief the President and Board as required.
Coordinate with HR on welfare, staffing, and workforce planning across all safety personnel globally.
Coordinate with the external/communications division on advocacy efforts, media outreach, and external engagement with USG and organizations.
Lead a preventative advocacy strategy to reduce risk of arrest and journalists' exposure to TNR, rather than responding reactively to cases in crisis.
Support the U.S. Government to engage national governments on journalists at risk before economic aid packages are agreed.
Lead risk assessment for advocacy strategies, accounting for physical and psychosocial risks, with particular focus on trauma.
Broaden USAGM's diplomatic engagement beyond USG to leverage the most effective missions for each case.
Design a UN/EU advocacy strategy, targeting delegations in Brussels, Geneva, and New York — to raise individual cases and represent RFA's needs.
Create and maintain RFA's Global Safety Strategy, a multi-year framework covering journalist safety objectives, TNR reduction targets, Asia-region risk assessments, and advocacy priorities.
Design and manage RFA's annual safety training program: plan, schedule, and track completion for all eligible staff.
Establish and maintain government, diplomatic, and civil society contacts to support advocacy for journalists at risk across Asia.
Develop preventative measures through the U.S.-linked business community, raising journalist cases before business deals are finalised.
Share information on specific cases with partner advocacy organisations — CPJ, RSF, INSI — for coordinated action across geographic contexts.
Build peer relationships with safety directors at NPR, Reuters, AP, RFE/RL, and Middle East Broadcasting Network.
Maintain a vetted roster of third-party security providers across RFA's Asia coverage region.
Design and manage confidentiality and media blackout protocols appropriate to each case.
Own RFA's journalist safety crisis response framework: escalation protocols, incident command structure, and decision-making authorities at each level.
Serve as senior crisis lead for all serious Asia-region incidents, detention, abduction, injury, death in the field, leading the internal Crisis Management Team across editorial, legal, HR, and the COO.
Maintain 24/7/365 emergency response capability with defined on-call responsibilities across both Officers.
Maintain a case management system for all active and historical TNR cases, including family liaison where appropriate.
Conduct post-incident After Action Reviews (AARs) and embed lessons into protocols and training content.
Develop and test country-level contingency and business continuity plans for all RFA operations across Asia.
Regularly review the Crisis Management Team structure and update as necessary.
Collaborate with COO and CTO on office security, including overseas bureaus.
Oversee physical safety policy and architecture for all RFA offices (access control, visitor management, CCTV, evacuation, fire) with execution delivered by Country Operations Director at each bureau.
Design emergency communication procedures and protocols connecting staff, journalists, and the crisis response function, with underlying technology delivered by Chief TechOps.
Consult on digital-security policy where it affects journalist safety, and assume crisis lead when a digital incident creates physical risk to a journalist or sources.