Job openings/Research Analyst (Strategic Plan)
- Job Title
Research Analyst
- Employment Duration
July 2009 to July 2010.
This is a one year contract position with the possibility of extension.
- Reports To
Project Manager (Strategic Plan)
- About the Collaborative Strategy Development Process
In July 2009, the Wikimedia Foundation will kick off a completely open, collaborative and transparent strategy development process aimed at maximizing the social impact of the Wikimedia movement world-wide over the coming years. The project will run from July 2009 until July 2010, and will draw upon the experiences and knowledge of a wide range of contributors including Wikimedia volunteers, specialists providing pro bono support, Wikimedia staff and board members, and an external strategy consulting firm. The strategy will be primarily developed through wikis and other online tools, and all planning outputs will be publicly available for review and free re-use.
The Wikimedia Foundation is hiring three positions to support this process: a Project Manager, a Facilitator, and a Research Analyst.
- Job description
The Research Analyst acts as a first point of contact for other parties involved in the strategic planning process to provide reports and analysis helping to answer specific questions, such as: Which geographic regions that are currently performing poorly present real opportunities for growth in reach and participation in the next five years? Based on surveys, what are the major drivers of, and barriers to, people becoming active contributors to Wikipedia and our other projects? Which measures of content quality currently exist or could be developed?
The Research Analyst will commission and/or create reports, charts, graphs, maps and tables, designed to concisely, clearly and meaningfully convey information for a lay audience. They will support the strategic planning process by helping to navigate a jungle of available data, providing a clear focus on useful information.
The Research Analyst will work closely with the Wikimedia Foundation's part-time Data Analyst, and with the strategic planning project team.
- Responsibilities
- Develop a database of appropriate primary and secondary information sources (e.g., comScore, Pew);
- Collect, categorize and prioritize information requests from working groups;
- Respond to requests as appropriate, by providing links or a synthesis of existing research, or by creating custom reports;
- Assist in survey/questionnaire design as requested by the Project Manager;
- Where data does not yet exist, facilitate the process of obtaining it, by working with technical staff, hiring contractor support if needed, and/or reaching out to and working with external research organizations.
- Requirements
- 5+ years experience as an analyst or researcher, preferably in a company that analyzes media/Internet usage data;
- Strong ability to analyze and synthesize quantitative and qualitative research data from primary and secondary sources, and proven ability to create simple, meaningful reports;
- Experience working with statistical analysis software such as SPSS is a major plus;
- Must be willing to solicit ideas and discuss methodology and conclusions beyond direct contacts, notably the Wikimedia community;
- Experience designing questionnaires and surveys is a plus;
- Ability to work in a collaborative, consensus-oriented environment;
- International experience or ability to speak multiple languages is a plus;
- Must be able to set priorities and work independently;
- Must be comfortable using a wide variety of communications/collaboration tools including wikis, mailing lists and IRC;
- Experience with the Wikimedia projects is a plus.
- Salary
The salary is in the range of $70,000 to $85,000, commensurate with experience.