Mexico: Digital Security Specialist, Multi-Regional PMU At Internews Network

ABOUT INTERNEWS AND THE INTERNET FREEDOM & RESILIENCE TEAM:

At Internews, we believe everyone deserves trustworthy news and information to make informed decisions about their lives and hold power to account. We conduct our work in partnership with local communities–the people best placed to know what works.

Internews’ Internet Freedom & Resilience (IFR) portfolio seeks to advance the digital safety of human rights defenders, civil society members and journalists, and advocates for digital rights and protections for the world’s most vulnerable populations. From funding local Internet rights advocacy initiatives and open-source technology development, to designing cutting-edge approaches to organizational security, the IFR team focuses first on partners’ needs and connecting them to others demanding a safe, inclusive, and open Internet for all. You can learn more about our work here: https://internews.org/areas-of-expertise/global-tech/what-we-do/

This position will be working on strengthening digital security of LGBTQIA+ communities in Mexico, improving their resilience in the face of ongoing digital threats. The project will employ a multi-layered, community-based approach, focusing intensively and deliberately on the needs of LGBTQIA+ individuals. These activities will take place as part of the Internews PROTECT Fellowship, and this Digital Security Specialist will be building out the fellowship alongside the project team.

DAILY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

Training & Mentorship:

• Serve as a mentor to selected fellows, ensuring knowledge and implementation of tailored security practices.
• Respond to incidents and mentor fellows as they provide rapid response to communities and organizations in the region.
• Support the development of security networks; country-specific collaborative security plans, including a detailed plan for long-term information sharing.
• Collaborate with the project team and partners to build advanced training approaches.

Facilitation & Skill-Building:

• Co-organize and facilitate digital security training fellowship for LGBTQIA+ community members in Mexico.
• Provide support and technical expertise during other in-person events, including curriculum development sprints.
• Facilitate regional convenings hosted alongside international events, such as the Internet Freedom Festival or RightsCon.

Curriculum Development & Localization:

• Multi-layered needs assessment
  • Mexico-specific threat modeling workshops with Organizational Partners and Fellows;
  • Desk researcha and interviews,resulting in new or updated Mexico-focused Country Risk Assessments (CRAs) with an emphasis on the LGBTQIA+ community; and
  • Country-wide surveys of the broader LGBTQIA+ community, dispersed through trusted networks.
• Serve as an expert on the Mexico context, specifically with regards to LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals.
• Provide technical expertise and guidance during the development of new digital security resources and localization of existing resources (including guides, tools, etc.).
• Strategically shape new training resources developed under the project to ensure they are scalable and relevant at the global level.
• Support fellows to develop community-specific digital safety resources and awareness raising campaigns (social media infographics, presentations, one-pagers, etc.) in local languages for each target country based on needs and gaps identified during Country Risk Assessment.

Administration:

• Assist with the identification and selection of regional fellows to participate in project activities.
• Advise the development and implementation of digital safety awareness-raising engagements for lgbtq+ individuals in the region.
• Contribute to the writing and compiling of program reporting, including quarterly reports and other project-related reports.
• Help track project metrics that serve to measure the success of the Internet Freedom and Resilience Program.
• Draft project-specific content for internal and external communications, including blog posts and programmatic highlights.

Values & Flexibility:

• Understanding of and demonstrated commitment to Internews’ Core Values.
• Completing other duties as mutually agreed.
• Passionate about teaching others with compassion and understanding of their skills and abilities

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Experience as a digital security trainer in Mexico, including experience developing training curriculum
• Thematic expertise in LGBTQIA+ and minority communities
• Experience with threat modeling, and selecting/installing digital security-related software and equipment for individuals or organizations
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong understanding of secure communication tools
• Professional-level fluency in Spanish and English
• Optimism, a sense of humor, and excitement at supporting and elevating voices of people across the globe

Preferred

• 5+ years’ experience as a digital security trainer, including experience developing training curriculum
• Non-profit experience and/or familiarity with US government rules and regulations
• Experience with facilitating large-scale, regional events, and experience with events that bring together diverse skill sets, diverse cultures/ethnicity etc.
• Experience using project management tools (e.g. – Trello, Airtable, etc.)