We exist to help civic media build resilience to shifts in markets, technologies and platforms. Whatever we do, we begin with what civic media needs and then work backwards. Without a passion for civic media, you will not be able to make the most of your time at PROTO.
The community has social, political, regional, lingual, ideological and religious differences. We want to invite this diversity into PROTO and use it to further constructive conversations. Can you set your personal bias and preferences aside?
As a company that is nurturing a community, PROTO team members will end up meeting 100s of new people. But there are no bylines at PROTO. Whatever we do, make, find; it's in PROTO's name. We want people who want to build systems and institutions.
Unlike newsrooms, we do not have daily output schedules. There are no beats to cover. At PROTO, we create our own rhythm instead of reacting to the flow of external events. Work at PROTO is much more measured. Once the strategy to tackle a problem is in place, everyone commits wholly to their role. You never say “that's not my job".
It is painful (and sometimes bureaucratic) to build systems. Can you write your ideas down and share them in advance before brainstorming? Can you design processes and tools that increase productivity and test them repeatedly until they are optimal? and iterate on processes and tools that increase productivity? Can you hire and develop those who can replace you?
Every industry, every role has its own language, its war stories. You have to leave them behind when you work at PROTO. We're not just multi-disciplinary, we're anti-disciplinary, and we encourage the team to break things down and understand them, whether it's a differing opinion on how to do something or a reaction to a situation. You must find ways to break big challenges down into small, understandable blocks, so that our cross-functional team can see the problem, prioritize the parts and find ways to move the needle on issues at hand.
To collaborate, you need to learn enough about other functions to know why your colleagues obsess about or dismiss certain things. Ask questions. When you question or criticize someone, the intent is to help them refine their thoughts, not to put them down. Can you stand firm and not compromise for the sake of social cohesion? Do you also know when to concede a point? Message Input
The curriculum operates across 3 tracks (Credibility, Adaptability, Sustainability), and the associated events come in several formats of varying degrees of intensity, duration and learning outcomes.
We also have openings for media researchers, developers, designers and social media marketers. Reach out to us at hey@pro.to
