Job openings/Senior Research Analyst - Global Development

 YOU ARE ...

.. a passionate, brilliant, deep thinker 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 research. You are comfortable context-switching between an online conversation with volunteers, a research deep dive, a presentation to colleagues and roll-up your sleeves data work.

You are looking to work with cross-functional teams to tackle really complex questions and help translate them into insights that support the Global Development mission of Wikimedia. You see yourself helping to justify investments through research that seeks to understand our context, rigorously assess options, develop clear measures of success, and systematically evaluate performance.

You are collaborative, but action-oriented; you are mission-driven and pragmatic; you're open, honest, and you are driven by the relentless pursuit of the social impact that your work contributes to.

About research at the Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation consists of three operating departments advancing the organization's mission: to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop free educational content, and to disseminate it effectively and globally.


 * The Global Development department expands Wikimedia's presence and programmatic activities world-wide, with special focus on disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. This includes support for Wikimedia's chapter organizations such as grantmaking, on-the-ground programs in key regions, and development of partnerships to exapnd mobile and offline access.
 * The Technology department operates the Wikimedia Foundation websites, including Wikipedia, and it maintains and improves the underlying open source software (for example, by improving usability for entry-level volunteers or simplifying media uploading).
 * The Community department supports and strengthens Wikimedia's community of volunteers and supporters, by developing outreach programs such as university outreach, organizing Wikimedia's fundraising efforts, and working with volunteers to structure existing activities in the projects more effectively.

The work in all three departments is data-driven. In order to ensure that research is conducted effectively to support the specific programmatic work in each department, relevant research resources are hired into the department they are likely to interface with most. For example, analytics, usability and product research sits inside the technology department; community experiments and qualitative community research are organized in the community department; market research data is managed within the Global Development department.

Position summary:
The Senior Research Analyst, Global Development supports the Wikimedia community and Global Development team to generate research insights that support the growth of Wikimedia around the global with a particular focus on geographies and languages where Wikimedia is less developed. This is a new function at the Wikimedia Foundation and the incumbent will be expected to build a research agenda and help establish a robust performance assessment system for Global Development. The incumbent will be expected to engage and support a community of Wikimedia volunteers and academic researchers.

Position responsibilities:

 * Develop, manage and execute on a research agenda and budget for the global development team that informs our strategic agenda
 * Conduct research and analysis that addresses major questions about our Global Development work, informs program decisions and evaluates program performance
 * Work with Chief Global Development Officer and colleagues to create performance measures for Global Development activities and put in place systems to track performance on an ongoing basis and share those publicly with the Wikimedia movement
 * Cultivate strong relationships with volunteers and external researchers interested in analyzing this work
 * Build research, data management and data presentation tools that help volunteers, staff and external researchers conduct their own analysis, represent and share data
 * Manage a small inter-disciplinary team of researchers within Global Development
 * Partner with other Wikimedia Foundation research staff to analyze big questions facing the movement and to create a community of practice around research
 * Be an advocate for open and free sharing (in a manner that is consistent with Wikimedia's open copyright policies) of data and research across the research ecosystem

Reports to
Chief Global Development Officer

Candidate characteristics

 * High energy for, drive and commitment to the mission: Deeply believes in the value of Wikimedia exudes enthusiasm for the mission and can powerfully embody and communicate the mission
 * Intellectual curiosity and flexibility: Enjoy tackling difficult, ambiguous problems and able to incorporate new knowledge into how one approaches situations and generates solutions; loves learning from others and expanding intellectual horizons
 * Open and transparent: Comfortable working in a highly transparent fashion, open to input and feedback, proactive candid communicator who wants people to know what she/he is doing and isn't afraid to bring others in when things are off-track or when you need help
 * Community oriented: Essential that the leader see her/himself as a part of the Wikimedia community and as a facilitator of a vibrant global research community around Wikimedia
 * Action-oriented: Focused on generating research results that are high quality and support real-world decision-making and action in a timely fashion; able to problem solve around imperfect data and make appropriate methodological judgment
 * Strong cultural competency: Ability to bridge cultures and geographic differences; Able to navigate in a truly global movement
 * Willing to travel: Periodic travel to attend global Wikimedia events and engage with research community (3-5 international trips per year)

Candidate background:

 * Masters or PhD in a field with strong quantitative analysis components
 * 5-10 years of work or research experience conducting data analysis and evaluation that informs programmatic decision-making
 * Experience designing and managing analysis with large data sets and/or sample size with multi-national, multi-lingual components
 * Demonstrated experience working in a global, multi-cultural team; Experience working outside of your home country environment preferred
 * Experience as a leader or organizer in a collaborative community setting, ideally within the Wikimedia community
 * Wikimedians are strongly encouraged to apply

Location
San Francisco