Digital Democracy Programme Officer (m/f/d) At Democracy Reporting International

BACKGROUND

Form of Employment: Full-time
Starting Date: As soon as possible
Duration: One year, with the possibility of extension
Location: Berlin

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. DRI promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies, and the development of democratic institutions worldwide.

DRI is currently recruiting a full-time Digital Democracy Programme Officer for its Headquarters in Berlin. In collaboration with, and under the overall supervision of the Director of Programmes, you will contribute to DRI’s work on online political discourse, with a focus on monitoring and analysing such discourse, while also contributing to policy debates on regulation, and providing training on these issues. You will contribute to the design and implementation of projects to gain insight and analyse the use of tech and digital tools for propaganda and disinformation during elections, referendums, transition processes, following conflicts and other salient political events. You will also coordinate project implementation and ensure effective delivery of project activities in accordance with the project proposal(s)/contract, donor requirements and conditions and DRI policy and procedures and the fulfilment of reporting requirements.

YOUR TASKS

• Design and implement projects assessing online disinformation, hate speech, targeted political ads and other phenomena associated with social media and politics;
• Carry out desk research about existing methodologies to inform our analysis and write short pieces and research papers on social media and democracy;
• Act as focal point on technical and thematic issues as assigned, coordinating with HQ teams and teams in Country Offices. Specific tasks include performing data collection and analysis to support HQ and country offices in their projects, as well as supporting the delivery of outputs (reports, articles, presentations, etc.);
• Develop and deliver training using DRI’s developed methodologies and tools;
• Perform communication tasks related to publication and outreach of research and policy papers produced by the team;
• Ensure quality and contribute to project publications and other communication products;
• Feed relevant project information into organisation-wide processes;
• Develop concept notes for presentation to donors and draft/ review project proposals;
• Carry out research and analysis on project-relevant trends and issues, as required;
• Monitor compliance and ensure quality delivery of project workplans and expenditure;
• Ensure quality reporting of relevant project narrative reports;
• Keep supervisor and colleagues abreast of any relevant developments that may significantly affect our work and discuss options for response;
• Support in development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation plan for respective projects;
• Support in mainstreaming gender in its projects;
• Coordinate with colleagues, country offices, researchers, academics, or other external experts involved in social media components of projects, displaying awareness of and ensuring adherence to project implementation requirements, donor deliverables and deadlines;
• Network with external experts, journalists and other stakeholders;
• Occasional travel to country offices, conferences and meetings;
• Other relevant duties, as required.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Required:

• Degree-level qualification in public policy, political science, statistics or related fields;
• Previous experience working with social media research; experience with democracy issues like disinformation and hate speech is an asset;
• Good understanding of political communication and data analysis;
• Advanced understanding of methodologies of social media monitoring;
• Good writing and research skills;
• Knowledge working with Python and other statistical software. Previous experience in collecting data via APIs of YouTube, Twitter and other social media platforms;
• Experience with marketing research platforms such as Talkwalker, Buzzsumo, etc.
• Good communication and negotiation skills;
• Ability to work as part of a diverse team;
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of German is considered a distinct asset. Other additional languages will be considered an asset;
• Experience working with CrowdTangle.

WHAT WE OFFER

DRI offers you a job with flexible working hours, 30 days of annual leave, a contribution to public transport (company ticket with BVG), travel health insurance, vocational training for every employee, and the opportunity to work in a diverse team in the heart of Berlin, where everybody is on first name terms with each other.

ABOUT US

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is an international, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to political participation and democratic governance around the world. DRI headquarters (HQ) is located in Berlin; DRI has country offices in Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Ukraine and works with local partners in a number of other countries. The working language is English.