Data Visualization Consultancy Opportunity

The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) seeks a Data Visualization Consultant for a short-term assignment.

Organization:

The Center for Victims of Torture works toward a future in which torture ceases to exist and its victims have hope for a new life. We are an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture. We provide direct care for those who have been tortured, train partners around the world who can prevent and treat torture, and advocate for an end to torture. We are headquartered in Minnesota with offices throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Purpose and Scope of the Evaluation

Consultancy Goals

This Consultancy aims to:

1. Provide guidance to project management, research, and clinical team members on available and relevant data visualization tools that could enhance representation of project concepts, activities, and outputs/outcomes
2. Apply expertise to demonstrate the potential added value of data visualization in project monitoring, reporting, and communications material
3. Identify 2-3 distinct and impactful data visualization outputs, and work closely with the project team to design and refine prototypes
4. Suggest learnings and considerations for future initiative design, objectives, and/or activities, keeping in mind the resource limitations of the organization

Approach

The Consultant should first collect and absorb information from project archives and documents, contextual news articles, public reports on relevant issues, CVT staff, partner organization staff, and beneficiaries or participants in activities (where it is appropriate to do so). In doing so, the Consultant should aim to understand the full scope of the project, how it is implemented, and the complex operating environment that affects its activities and performance. The Consultant should develop insights into how the project’s activities and partnerships inform direct and indirect outcomes, outputs, and impact, and the connections between these. Based on this, the Consultant should generate ideas on novel ways to represent the project design, growth, evolution, reach, and/or successes both cumulative and over-time. Representations may be static, interactive, or animated, and should accommodate Arabic language scripts to the extent possible.

Responsibilities

The Consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Work with the project team to understand a complex and dynamic project and to generate ideas about how to design meaningful, compelling, and impactful visualizations of its work;
• Provide guidance on how cutting-edge data visualization, data discovery, data sharing, and program engineering trends might help enhance project design, implementation, evaluation, and communication goals;
• Perform data analysis to understand project activities and outputs/outcomes, and to generate ideas for visual representation of the same;
• Develop data visualization products that accurately reflect project data as well as team ideas and feedback; and
• Advise and train project staff on how to use, present, and/or discuss data visualization products;
• Communicate with project team members professionally, respectfully, and collaboratively, and help them contribute to data visualization products in a creative and inclusive manner, even if the technical skills are outside of their expertise.

Key Deliverables

In addition to the 2-3 distinct data visualization outputs identified above, the consultant will be required to deliver a training session, a final report, and a final presentation to CVT’s project team. The final report should include: an executive summary; an overview of activities completed and corresponding timeline; details of any products or creations drafted or finalized during the consultancy; a discussion of any recommendations for future action, resources, or staffing to continue to build off consultancy findings and outputs; and any supporting information or documentation. Using material from this final report, the consultant will prepare a presentation to CVT staff, which, in addition to demonstrating visualization ouput(s), should be interactive, designed to facilitate interaction, feedback, and learning.

Competencies

The ideal applicant will have a passion for innovative approaches to data visualization and its creative applications. In addition to the ability to represent complex data and relationships into meaningful and compelling visual information, the applicant will show curiosity toward or knowledge of other relevant fields and technology that might enhance CVT projects. Strong interpersonal skills and a team-oriented approach will be required, as well as an ability to interact with project staff from a wide range of cultural, professional, and social backgrounds. The applicant should have a strong understanding of and practical experience working in sensitive contexts and subject areas. Experience working in social enterprise, human rights, humanitarian, and/or non-profit settings is desirable. Competency in Arabic language (written and oral) a plus.

Qualifications

In addition to the competencies described above, applicants should have:

• Academic or professional qualifications in quantitative sciences (e.g. computer science, information systems, data science, graphic design, or a related field), or comparable experience.
• Experience in data visualization and dashboard design; applicants should list all relevant software and tools for which they can demonstrate professional proficiency.
• Experience with data analysis languages and software required, including a working knowledge of SPSS.

Timeline

The timeline for this consultancy is to begin within the next 1-3 months. It is estimated to take approximately 60 working days, but this may be re-evaluated following preliminary discussions with the successful applicant. At that stage, the consultant will offer a tentative workplan with specific dates based on the deliverables. The overall consultancy should be completed no later than December 31, 2020.

Location and Required Travel

There is no travel required as part of this consultancy. The successful applicant will be expected to participate in team meetings either in-person (if local) and/or remotely (using video).

Additional Requirements

Prior to signing an agreement, the selected candidate will be required to undergo security vetting. Additional details about this process will be made available to finalists. The vetting process can take 2-3 weeks; wait time will not be compensated.