Puerto Rico: Project Lead – Humanitarian Social Science Data Analyst

Background

As the winter holiday season came to an end, Puerto Rico experienced a second wave of COVID-19 contagions. Cases have been on the rise since November, and they are expected to continue rising in the upcoming weeks. The government is implementing new efforts to stop the spread, including the massive vaccination efforts from which 70% of the population is expected to benefit by the summer. Even though the government has ordered the implementation of a massive education campaign, as of this moment, information efforts remain fragmented, and Puerto Rico still lacks a comprehensive communication campaign that targets both the general population and those most vulnerable, marginalized groups. Therefore, misinformation about COVID-19 has been rampant, and rumors have come out since the very beginning of the pandemic. A wider spread of misconceptions is expected as vaccine rollout begins.

With this in mind, Internews and Mercy Corps Puerto Rico are partnering to inform an evidence-based communication campaign that will address the most common rumors and false narratives surrounding COVID-19 and vaccination efforts.

Summary

The Humanitarian Data Analyst will help partners and/or team members ensure that qualitative data is collected in a consistent and continuous way, through community engagement activities like call-in radio shows, social media interactions, face-to-face interactions, including those by frontline aid workers, media, and other channels as deemed relevant. The Humanitarian Data Analyst will also be responsible for collating, cleaning, processing, and analyzing feedback with a focus on the concerns, fears and hopes that are behind the rumors and drive misinformation. The Humanitarian Data Analyst will support the Internews team and its partners to address misinformation and provide feedback for humanitarian partners at national and regional levels to inform decision-making and improve the information provision with timely, locally-relevant and reliable information people trust.

Logistics

This is a short-term, remote-first consultancy approximately 2.5 months in duration. We will review applications on a rolling basis; therefore, it is to our benefit to apply as soon as possible if the position is of interest. While work may be conducted remotely, we are seeking a candidate based in Puerto Rico.

Scope of Work

• Support feedback gathering by Internews staff and partners by evaluating methodology and suggesting improvements where necessary;
• Produce regular Humanitarian Feedback Bulletins for humanitarian partners to improve their understanding of the concerns and questions among the affected population;
• Provide input into the editorial process by providing regular updates on recurrent or emerging topics and trends;
• Supporting monitoring and evaluation activities to assess impact, reach and quality of the ongoing project;
• Additional activities as agreed upon with program team;
• Understanding of and demonstrated commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values.

Qualifications We’re Looking For:

• Strong qualitative data analysis, research and information management experience in fast-changing humanitarian contexts and with variable datasets;
• Experience and/or understanding of sentiment analysis and/or social media listening tools a plus;
• Strong understanding of the humanitarian system to ensure data collection and provision follows the Core Humanitarian Standards and information can be sourced in a timely manner among partners on the ground;
• Strong writing skills to ensure Humanitarian Bulletins are accurate and incorporate humanitarian principles and editorial guidelines;
• Experience working in humanitarian and/or health emergencies;
• Monitoring, evaluation, and learning experience a plus;
• Strong understanding of the local context;
• Data visualization skills and knowledge of relevant software to produce info graphics is a plus;
• Strong skills in using Google Sheet macros and Excel; familiarity with Kobo collect;
• Fluency in Spanish and English;
• Based in Puerto Rico;
• Strong understanding of, and experience with, Puerto Rico context;
• Strong understanding of, and commitment towards, editorial values of the project;
• Self-motivated and able to work in a fast-paced environment;
• Must be self-reliant, resourceful, good problem-solver, good humored and flexible.