Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/Metrics and reporting assistant 2016/Proposal

See updated announcement on position opening.

Metrics and Reporting Position 2016

Wikimedia New York City (WM NYC) is an official chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, known for being the parent organization behind Wikipedia. The goal of the chapter is to support the New York tri-state area with educational initiatives, development of free culture, providing free central knowledge, and advocating for the best interests of the community.

The organization is seeking applications to fill a role for metrics and reporting assistant from individuals who can assist with processing and reporting data generated by volunteer engagement in Wikimedia projects. The job will work like this -

1. There are Wikipedia events in New York City.
2. Volunteers attend these events, and contribute to Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects when they do.
3. Every action taken on Wikipedia generates a digital record.
4. The metrics and reporting assistant will collect these digital records, combine them into datasets, process the collective data, then publish outcomes in human-readable reports

WMNYC Metrics Hiring Committee Input

The Metrics committee is considering splitting the position in two:

1. Software Development Consultant. (See job description in progress.)
2. Metrics and reporting assistant (See job description below.)
3. Tentative search timeline

Offer description

WM NYC offers

• One year contract ending April 2017
• Preferably residing in the tri-state area
• Metrics hiring committee is considering making this job a flat fee TBD. Aliceba (talk) 21:19, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

Job description

Wikimedia New York City (WM NYC) is an official chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, known for being the parent organization behind Wikipedia. The goal of the chapter is to support the New York tri-state area with educational initiatives, development of free culture, providing free central knowledge, and advocating for the best interests of the community.

The organizations seeks a Metrics and Reporting Assistant to manage the reporting process for WMNYC events. This position reports to and works in collaboration with the Metrics & Reporting Committee, which represents key stakeholders in these initiatives. We expect the position to evolve over the first year, and thus the explicit list of responsibilities may change. However, the person in this position will:

1. Collect Wikipedia account names from the attendance record on Wikipedia event pages, including those listed at Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/Event_archive. (see example with 17 names)
2. Put those names and the time of the event into the Wikimetrics tool and/or "Magic button" tool and generate a report which gives the Wikimedia global metricsor whatever the foundation is asking for at the time of reporting deadline.
3. Collect a list of article created and edited for each event so impact can be tracked over time.
4. All potential wikipedia language sites and WikiCommons must be consulted.
5. For each report from the Wikimetrics tool, process that data into a meaningful human-readable report. The report might say, "17 people edited 10 Wikipedia articles. Here is a chart presenting other data..."
6. As multiple reports are generated for multiple events, propose ways to combine data from multiple events to develop one annual report and multiple specialized reports. For example, one report might be for events targeting people of African descent or the Afrocrowd program, one for Art + Feminism, another might be for all events at a particular library, and the annual report would summarize all events in some way.
7. Generate report for other impact measures required by the foundation, including oral stories of prolific applicants, as needed.

Job requirements

Necessary

1. Experience with collecting and processing data
2. Experience or skill with prose summaries writing of the outcomes of data processing
3. Ability to communicate with event organizers and the WMNYC community in a clear and respectful manner
4. Be willing to communicate with the Wikipedia community in the Wikipedia website and beyond
5. Willingness to spend time studying the existing wikimetrics processing tools
6. Some prior experience with Wikipedia or attendance at editathons is a plus, but not required (?)

Useful

There is no way any applicant would have all of these skills. Potential applicants should not be shy about applying and requesting an interview even if they cannot do the below.

1. From the beginning, the role requires use of the Wikimetrics tool to generate the Wikimedia Global metrics. No specific experience with this tool or system is required.
2. There are a few people in the world with experience using the Wikimetrics tool and the Wikimedia Global metrics model. It is not anticipated that anyone with prior experience will apply for this assistant job, but just the same, it would be interesting if anyone with experience did.
3. Present data in an attractive and meaningful way
4. Have design experience - make data presentations accessible to the general public
5. From the beginning format outcomes in a way that anticipates reporting to external partners in the organization's annual report and special reports. Data processing skills are nice; good presentation and reader satisfaction are the priority.
6. Start and participate in online text discussions about Wikipedia event data quality
7. Start and participate in online text discussions about the relative value of different metrics to report
8. Propose reporting other data beyond the Wikimedia global metrics. A massive amount of data is available, and processing or reporting more than the minimum is useful.
9. Develop surveys or in-person data collection processes to get off-wiki data, like for example, demographic data including gender, race, educational background, and other data which is sensitive and difficult to collect
10. Be able to occasionally attend in-person Wikipedia events in New York City
11. Have experience posting in public discussion forums to get feedback - Wikipedia's own forums have people who would respond
12. Have understanding of Wikipedia community culture
13. Bring your own ideas - this is a pilot project that could be done in different ways

Apply

Persons interested in the position may apply by emailing a resume to hiringwikimedianyc.org. The chapter will follow up with voice interviews. A cover letter is not required, but it is encouraged.

Persons who wish to ask questions about the position in a permanent, public forum may do so at Wikipedia talk:Meetup/NYC/Metrics and reporting assistant 2016.