Strategist, Indonesia (Contractor)

ABOUT PURPOSE

We are Purpose, the global social impact agency.

We use creative storytelling and campaigns to shift narratives, spark movements and drive change. Partnering with philanthropies, brands and NGOs to inspire people to reimagine the world, and to harness their power to make it happen.

Our movement-building, culture-changing, participatory projects have delivered real impact with our world leading partners since 2009. And as we’ve grown, our connections around the world have grown too. Yet we’ve never lost sight of what matters, collaborating with underrepresented audiences, impacted communities and unexpected allies, to tackle tomorrow’s biggest problems today. With Purpose.

Purpose specializes in; strategy, creative, campaigns, and impact measurement and learning - across the social impact space.

We focus on six issue areas we believe are key to our collective future: environment and climate, equity, childhood and youth, democracy and human rights, mis- and disinformation, public health. Join the team that made all this work.

About the Role

We are seeking a Strategist with experience in climate issues (particularly on forest, indigenous communities, and climate) for a contractor position to support a Purpose strategy and research projects. Purpose is leading a six-month landscape mapping and co-design phase to build a locally owned blueprint for a Papua-driven communications hub focused on forests, people, and climate. The project centers Papuan journalists, storytellers, communities, CSOs, and trusted local leaders in shaping a shared narrative infrastructure — one designed to redistribute narrative power to the communities most affected by deforestation and climate change. The mapping phase will investigate the existing media ecosystem, trusted messenger networks, narrative gaps, structural constraints, and connections to national/international policy processes (including FOLU Net Sink 2030 and the Indigenous Peoples Bill).

The Strategist will lead the design and execution of the narrative and audience strategy components of the mapping phase, translating ecosystem research and stakeholder consultation into a coherent, evidence-based strategic direction for the proposed communications hub. They will report to the Project Lead and work closely with the Field Researcher and Coordinator. This is a hands-on strategy role that requires synthesizing qualitative and quantitative inputs — desk research, social listening, interviews, and participatory workshops — into clear, actionable recommendations, while working closely with Papua-based partners to ensure findings reflect lived reality rather than external assumption.

• Report to: Associate Director of Strategy (Project Lead)
• Engagement type: Part Time Fixed Term Contract
• Working hours: 24 hours per week
• Duration: November 2026 - March 2027]
• Preferred location: Indonesia
• Working conditions: Remote, with flexibility for time zones and some travel
• Desired Start Date: October 2026

Key responsibilities

• Audience and narrative strategy: Lead analysis of key audience segments (urban Indonesian publics, national policymakers, international audiences) — their values, information habits, and trust networks — and translate this into a narrative strategy that identifies which frames, formats, and messengers are most likely to move each audience.
• Landscape mapping: Work with the research team to synthesize findings from desk research, social listening, and stakeholder interviews into a coherent view of the Papua media and information ecosystem, identifying gaps in production, distribution, and reach.
• Trusted messenger strategy: Contribute to development of the trusted messenger taxonomy, applying narrative and audience expertise to assess fit between messenger audiences and forest/climate narratives.
• Stakeholder engagement: Support and, where appropriate, lead consultations with CSO partners, media partners, and community leaders to co-design narrative priorities.
• Risk and sensitivity review: Flag narrative, political, and reputational risks specific to the Papua context (media censorship, access restrictions, community sensitivities, risk of co-optation) and feed these into the project's risk assessment.
• Cross-functional coordination: Work closely with the research/mapping lead, Papua-based field consultants, and CSO/media partners to ensure narrative recommendations are grounded in the ecosystem mapping rather than developed in isolation.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in narrative strategy, campaign strategy, or communications strategy, ideally within civil society, movement-building, or advocacy contexts.
• Demonstrated experience developing audience segmentation and narrative frameworks grounded in research (not assumption).
• Familiarity with Indonesia's civil society, media, and/or forest and climate policy landscape; direct experience in or with Papua strongly preferred.
• Experience working with or alongside indigenous communities, local media, or grassroots messengers in a culturally sensitive and non-extractive way.
• Strong written and analytical skills, with the ability to translate research findings into a clear, decision-ready strategy document.
• Comfort working within an evidence-based, fact-checked approach to claims — this project requires flagging uncertainty rather than overstating findings.
• Bahasa Indonesia and English fluency required; Papuan language/dialect familiarity or existing relationships in Papua a strong asset;
• Willingness to travel within Papua and West Papua for fieldwork, subject to access and security conditions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience with narrative frameworks or comparable strategic communications models.
• Experience working on forest, land rights, or climate justice narratives in Eastern Indonesia (Papua, Maluku, Kalimantan, Sulawesi).
• Experience designing or contributing to trusted-messenger or influencer strategies that bridge activist and mainstream cultural spaces.
• Background in participatory or community-led research methods

Purpose takes on some of the biggest challenges in the world, which affect people of different identities and backgrounds in different ways. We are stronger and most effective with a diverse team leading the charge and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. As an equal opportunity employer, we welcome the unique contributions that individuals bring in terms of their education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, orientation, and beliefs