Indigenous Media Fellow, Investigative Journalism Foundation
Investigative Journalism Foundation
Marketing & Communications
Toronto, ON, Canada · Amman, Jordan · Remote
CAD 73,500-83,500 / year
Posted on Apr 24, 2026
Indigenous Media Fellow, Investigative Journalism Foundation
Description
Indigenous Media Fellow, Investigative Journalism Foundation
Location: Remote, anywhere in Canada.
Salary: $73,500 - $83,500
Term: Immediately - March 31, 2027
Deadline: May 15, 2026
About the Investigative Journalism Foundation
The Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to public-interest journalism. We are a new kind of media outlet, built around databases on who donates to politicians across Canada, who lobbies them, and how the government spends your money.
The IJF is rapidly growing and is proud to be named one of the world’s most innovative media companies by Fast Company magazine. We were also selected for Fast Forward’s accelerator for tech non-profits, won an Anthem Award for our Open By Default database, two gold medals at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards and the Product of the Year award from LION Publishers.
As a nonprofit, nonpartisan media outlet, our primary purpose is to serve the public. We do this by publishing in-depth investigative journalism that speaks truth to power. Our databases are also used by other journalists, policymakers and academics seeking to increase transparency and strengthen Canadian democracy.
About this job
This role is funded by a Canadian Race Relations Foundation Media Fellowship grant. The purpose of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation is to facilitate, throughout Canada, the sharing and application of knowledge and expertise in order to contribute to the elimination of racism and all forms of racial discrimination in Canadian society. The Media Fellowships Program supports the CRRF’s commitment to building a national framework for fighting racism in Canadian society by strengthening media organizations’ capacity to combat racism and creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue, learning and sharing with the broader public.
Please note: Based on grant eligibility requirements, this role is limited to journalists, reporters, columnists and storytellers who belong to First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, Black and other racialized communities, and/or religious minorities, to advance equity in newsrooms. We encourage applications from emerging or early-career journalists. Successful applicants may be asked to submit a self-identification form in accordance with funding guidelines.
The Indigenous Media Fellow will receive hands-on training in the data-driven investigative methods in which the IJF specializes, and will, in turn, contribute to the IJF’s reporting on how money and power in Canada affect Indigenous peoples. Reporting on money and power in Canada through an Indigenous lens is a longstanding priority of the IJF.
We are looking for a journalist with an interest and expertise in Indigenous affairs, politics and government at all levels. The successful candidate will devote 40 hours per week to reporting on Indigenous affairs, including coverage of the legacy of residential schools and Indigenous people’s representation, or lack thereof, in government activities like lobbying and contracting.
We’re happy to hear from candidates based in Canada. Successful candidates will be excited about working with a mission-driven nonprofit that uses journalism to strengthen Canadian democracy every day.
What you’ll do at the IJF:
- Dive deep into our Residential Schools: the Hidden Stories database and other databases to shine a light on the experiences of Indigenous people in the residential school system in a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive manner.
- Practice shoe-leather journalism to connect with Indigenous communities on the ground to report on socio-economic and governmental issues as they pertain to Indigenous affairs.
- Lead investigations of different levels of government and their policy decisions, services, and spending, as they relate to Indigenous affairs and beyond.
- Produce stories approximately every two weeks, each about 1,200 to 1,500 words in length.
- Collaborate with other IJF reporters on everything from story-idea generation to long-term investigations.
- Participate in weekly pitch meetings and the IJF’s practice of peer review, in which IJF reporters carefully fact-check and copy edit each other’s stories before publication.
- Work on co-productions with reporters in partner newsrooms at some of the largest media outlets in the country.
- Participate in related activities to be delivered by the CRRF and its partners as required, up to and including weekly meetings, training, and evaluation activities.
We’re looking for someone with:
- Experience writing in-depth or investigative stories that make the world a better place. We’re looking for people who have shown a dedication to uncovering the truth.
- Experience and a comfort level with culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed journalism that can help to shine a light on both Indigenous affairs and experiences of Indigenous communities within the residential school system.
- The ability to spend weeks methodically working on a long-term investigation while simultaneously bringing an accountability lens to quick-turnaround pieces.
- Excitement about working in a data journalism-focused newsroom. We integrate things like web scraping, data visualization, machine learning and natural language processing into our editorial process.
- Experience working with spreadsheets and data. Programming knowledge and advanced scraping and data skills are assets.
- A genuine interest in working with others. Our newsroom is deeply collaborative, and we regularly work with other media outlets. We believe the best journalism happens when we work together.
- We welcome journalists with any level of experience. Entry-level, aspiring, emerging, and early-career reporters are encouraged to apply if they think they would be a good fit for this position!
How to apply:
Please fill out this form. It will ask you for your CV and a cover letter telling us how your skills are a fit for the IJF’s mission, as well as links to three stories you reported on which you’re particularly proud of. With the links, please include a few sentences outlining what role you played in the story and how it best demonstrates you have the skills outlined in the “we’re looking for someone with” section above.
The three stories from your portfolio are by far the most important part of your application.
Not sure you’re qualified for this job? Please apply anyway. We’re looking for talented people who share our passion for making Canada a better place. Experience matters less than a desire to learn and grow. We’re committed to building an inclusive environment.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
— The IJF team
Compensation
$73,500.00 - $83,500.00 per year