The Carter Center is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.
The Carter Center is seeking a highly qualified individual to serve as the Social Media Analyst on an election observation mission for the 2023 Zimbabwe harmonized elections. This position will be remote, and relocation to Zimbabwe will be contingent on an invitation and accreditation from the Government of Zimbabwe to the Center to observe the elections. Relocation to Zimbabwe for a period of up to three months may be required. The analyst will begin work remotely conducting a social media landscape assessment, including how social media in Zimbabwe may affect and shape the electoral campaign and process, existing laws and regulations surrounding the use of digital media platforms during the campaign period, and the application of these laws in practice.
This consultancy position is scheduled from March 2023, and pending accreditation, will continue through approximately September 20, 2023; applicants must confirm their availability for deployment for the entire duration of the project.
Responsibilities:
- With oversight by the Chief of Party and support from headquarters in Atlanta, provide day-to-day management of data collection, analysis, and visualization, as well as digital threats and social media monitoring activities conducted in Zimbabwe.
- Provide training and technical assistance to facilitate implementation of project activities, including guidance and support on data collection and analysis.
- Produce a report analyzing the social media landscape in Zimbabwe, during the pre-election period, including:
- background information on the legal and regulatory framework governing freedom of expression, disinformation, hate speech, data protection and privacy, political party financing, and campaign and online advertising;
- identity of principal social media platforms in terms of penetration and reach;
- feasibility and scope of monitoring social network sites;
- manner in which social media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.) are utilized during the elections; and
- capabilities of existing Zimbabwe organizations conducting social media monitoring.
- The landscape report should be completed within three weeks of the consultant beginning work with the Center and should include specific recommendations as to how the Center can best monitor social media in anticipation of Zimbabwe’s harmonized elections.
- Lead the team’s effort to implement a holistic social media analysis strategy.
- Lead the Carter Center’s use of qualitative and quantitative tools to analyze social media use in campaign advertising.
- Pending Government of Zimbabwe invitation and accreditation, create social media monitoring databases to track main political and social discourses on main media platforms, prior to, during, and after specific election events.
- Analyze and visualize data in collaborating with the Atlanta digital threats team.
- Pending Government of Zimbabwe invitation and accreditation, undertake comprehensive legal analysis of internet regulation in Zimbabwe.
- Draft a post-election, internal lessons-learned document, including recommendations and guidelines for future election observation missions.
- Participate in meetings on behalf of the Center with stakeholders active in the protection of digital rights and social network monitoring.
- Contribute to the observation mission’s press releases, public statements, and final reports, and remain available for consultation until the final report is published.
- Complete other mission duties as needed.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in political science, journalism, international relations, or related field.
- At least five years of experience working on election observation missions or democracy and governance programs with a focus on social media analysis.
- Experience conducting social media monitoring activities, notably with a focus on disinformation, hate speech, online harassment, computational propaganda, and dark political advertising.
- Experience working in countries transitioning to a democratic government or within the sub-Sahara Africa region.
- Understanding of Democratic Election Standards and International Human Rights Law, particularly related to Freedom of Expression, Opinion and Participation.
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
- Understanding of R and /or Python and familiarity with APIs.
- Knowledge of data science and / or statistical principles a plus.
- Experience with CrowdTangle a plus.
- Fast learner, self-starter, adaptable.
- Fluency in English is required.
To be considered for this position, provide your application details, and upload a CV/resume and cover letter in support of your application in the following website: https://airtable.com/shrNNfl0Juqt9vtjl
Only applications received through this link will be considered.
Due to the large volume of applicants, only those candidates selected for an interview or additional consideration will be notified by the Center, no phone calls please. Deadline for submissions: February 20, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position filled as soon as possible.