Programa Catalisador do Brasil/Planejamento 2012-2013/Data analyst consultant

This job opening has been closed. See this page for current job openings.

Click here to see the announcement of the selected candidate.

• Data and Experiments Consultant
• Wikimedia Foundation
• Brazil
• Full-Time

Check the job position announcement Read more about the task proposed to candidates

Report to: Brazilian National Program Consultant

YOU ARE ... a passionate, deep thinking analyst who wants to make the world a better place. You are aware and excited by the social potential Wikimedia's projects represent and the nearly limitless possibilities for data analytics and research to improve our work and improve our projects.

You are looking to work with cross-functional teams to tackle really complex questions and help translate them into insights that support the mission of Wikimedia. You are collaborative and action-oriented; you are mission-driven and pragmatic; you're open, honest.

This is a teleworking position (work from home). We are looking for candidates based in Brazil, and willing to travel to our offices there

Job Purpose

Volunteer editors are the lifeblood of Wikimedia projects. In recent years, the number of editors contributing to our projects (including Wikipedia) has been stagnant. Brazil is a country whose population has had more access to internet and education - and where access to knowledge and educational resources is key for the development of the country. Given the potential of emerging countries, particularly Brazil, the Wikimedia Foundation would like to support increased participation by building a team focused on Brazil and Portuguese language projects. The role of the team will be to support the community in experiments and data driven decision processes, aiming both at improving the community environment and routine in administrative tasks and at enhancing participation and retention of editors, ensuring that the community remains vibrant and able to sustain the projects.

Background and context

How can we experiment, test and track solutions and best practices among the editing community about the social norms, policies, and initiatives that will create renewed openness and promote general community health? How can we better fulfil the mission statement of the Foundation and attract more editors, especially from under-represented demographics? What type of initiative better fits improvements to be made and how can we make sure they are reaching our expected goals? What are and how to develop new tools for the community to make their editing experience better? Those are the challenges you’ll help address as a Data and experiments consultant at the Wikimedia Foundation!

Job responsibilities

Duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Work with the WMF Brazil lead program consultant and other consultants in recommending and executing key programs
• Evaluate community experiments by defining and analyzing metrics. Build and sustain a detailed, data-driven picture of what is really going on day-to-day among contributors to Portuguese Wikimedia projects
• Provide support to document pilots and capture/share learning from pilots within the community
• Participate in and support discussions about prospective pilots, helping ideas to become possible experiments
• Provide support to the community in gathering metrics towards volunteer-led change in the social norms, policies and practices that prevent openness and growth in the projects
• Identify bottlenecks for the growth of the Wikimedia projects and work with the community in building strategies to overcome them
• Track, monitor and measure the impact of actions of Wikimedia programs and activities that result on online projects (such as the Education Program and Outreach activities)
• Provide general support to the Brazil team and in community events
• Collaborate with the Wikipedia community members to develop data monitoring, tracking and analysis processes
• Develop reports and present analysis findings to WMF staff, the Wikimedia community and, where appropriate, external conferences

Required Qualifications

• High energy for, drive and commitment to the Wikimedia mission
• Experience in communities on collaborative projects
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in Portuguese
• Fluency in English Language
• Knowledge about the Wikimedia and Portuguese Wikipedia communities and history
• Demonstrated skills in engaging, motivating, coordinating and supporting volunteer communities, and in managing the sometimes chaotic and quasi-anarchic nature of free-thinking communities is important
• Extensive technical background in research and experimentation (BS/MS in computer science and/or mathematics, statistics or equivalent experience).
• Knowledge of MediaWiki.
• Demonstrated ability to turn data into actionable insights for Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia Community.

Extra Points if you have:

• Experience on editing and participating in communities of Wikimedia projects (our ideal candidate would be an existing Wikipedian with a strong reputation in the community, however candidates need to meet the requirements of the position)
• Experience in a Linux/Unix server environment.Experience with scripting languages, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python or shell scripting.
• Proficiency with database storage systems, ability to perform SQL queries on a database.
• Understanding of statistics and experience with using statistical software. Strong ability to analyze and synthesize quantitative data from primary and secondary sources, and proven ability to create simple, meaningful reports.