Based in: Africa, the Middle East or South Asia
Come help expose the propagandists and dark money lobbyists who are distorting the public’s understanding of climate science.
Code for Africa (CfA) has an immediate vacancy for a full-time environmental investigative analyst to join its iLAB team. The role is open to candidates based anywhere in Africa, the Middle East or South Asia, and is ideal for someone passionate about exposing climate-related disinformation or how environmental narratives are manipulated by powerful interests.
Candidates must have demonstrable experience in investigative research, data analysis, or digital verification, with a strong ability to translate complex findings into clear, actionable insights. Proficiency in English is required, and additional African or international language skills will be an advantage. Candidates with open source intelligence (OSINT) research skills will be prioritised.
The successful candidate will join CfA’s transnational iLAB team. The iLAB works in support of the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), which is a CfA initiative that brings together the continent’s best muckraking newsrooms to investigate crooked politicians, organised crime and big business. The iLAB spearheads investigations that individual ANCIR newsrooms are unable to tackle on their own. This includes forensic analysis of suspected digital disinformation campaigns or toxic content aimed at misleading citizens or triggering social discord or polarisation using hate speech or radicalisation, or other techniques. The iLAB is also increasingly supporting other frontline newsrooms, outside of Africa. The successful candidates will work as part of a multinational and multilingual team using digital collaboration tools to create content for a global audience and international media partners.
Required: minimum requirements include:
- 2+ years of experience in environmental research, data journalism, or disinformation monitoring.
- Background in climate science, environmental policy, or related fields strongly preferred.
- Strong technical fluency in data analysis using Python, R, or similar tools; knowledge of SQL and database handling.
- Comfortable with OSINT investigations, especially around media monitoring, lobby tracking, and influence networks.
- Ability to develop and present data-driven stories to non-technical audiences
- Prior experience working with environmental NGOs, climate activists, or monitoring policy lobbyists.
- Knowledge of African climate contexts and policy debates
- Experience using tools like Gephi, Maltego, Meltwater, Meta’s Content Library or EarthData.
- Foundational AI literacy: awareness of how generative AI tools can be used in both producing and detecting disinformation.
Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:
- Deep understanding of how climate narratives are manipulated or misrepresented in African digital spaces.
- Experience identifying, categorising, and profiling disinformation actors such as lobbyists, bots, and pseudo-experts.
- Ability to trace narrative flows, build network maps, and analyse influence strategies across platforms.
- Skilled in mapping coordinated campaigns, funding trails, and media manipulation tactics.
- Ability to conceptualise and help develop ranking systems or annual indices
- Able to work with cross-functional teams to translate findings into impactful investigations, visual reports, or multimedia explainers.
- Capable of spotting newsworthy patterns in complex data and framing them for diverse audiences.
- Passionate about climate justice, transparency, and holding power to account.
Language and Location Requirements:
- Location: Africa, the Middle East or South Asia
- Primary workplace languages: English
- Preferred but not required: French, Arabic
About the Role:
The successful candidate will join iLAB’s Climate & Environment desk, which is responsible for investigating climate denialism/delayism, greenwashing, lobbying by both the fossil fuel and clean energy sectors, and anti-science disinformation. The team produces high-impact ‘actionable intelligence’ reports, alongside annual Toxic Ten rankings and partners with newsrooms and CSOs to expose harmful narratives, identify key disinformation actors, and support evidence-based research.
The investigative analyst will play a central role in surfacing and analysing large datasets drawn from media platforms, lobbying disclosures, environmental records, and OSINT sources. The analyst will help identify and classify bad actors, map coordinated disinformation campaigns, and produce evidence-backed insights for public-facing investigations and advocacy. Duties include developing data methodologies, scraping and cleaning datasets and creating visual comparisons (such as region-vs-region and year-on-year indices).
Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:
- Monitor and analyse online environmental information manipulation with a focus on climate change denial/delayism, lobbying, greenwashing, and anti-science rhetoric.
- Identify and categorise bad actors across sub-groups (media amplifiers, corporate lobbyists, pseudo-scientists, bots).
- Develop yearly Toxic Ten rankings and comparison indices (region-vs-region, year-on-year).
- Scrape, clean, and analyse large datasets including social media activity, media content archives, and environmental reporting databases.
- Track coordinated influence campaigns and networked misinformation flows using OSINT and environmental data sources.
- Map funding trails, affiliations, or campaign strategies behind denialist groups or narratives.
- Build robust methodologies for identifying and classifying denial/delay content using a mix of qualitative and quantitative tools.
- Work with editorial, design, and tech teams to produce public-facing investigations, dashboards, or infographics.
What We Offer:
- A competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
- Medical insurance cover, underwritten by a remote-first provider to ensure cover wherever you are
- A dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international travel, and generous vacation benefits.
- Ongoing opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques/technologies to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
- A chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and interacting with colleagues around the world.
How to apply:
Please fill in this form by 05 September 2025
To all recruitment agencies: CfA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employment application line, CfA employees or any other CfA contact. CfA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Please note: Due to high volumes of applications, we are unable to respond to each one individually. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact you.