Opportunity: Data Curators (Jr and Mid-level Consultants)

The Land Portal Foundation is seeking 2 dynamic and highly motivated Data Curators - one junior and one intermediate level - to join our open data team in charge of moving the main functions of the Land Governance Programme Map to Land Portal’s Projects Database. Specifically, the Data Curators will be responsible for selecting and curating land governance project data to be sourced from the IATI Registry. The Data Curators will ensure all project data harvested and published by the Land Portal meets the IATI Standard, as well as open data standards and FAIR principles. 

The successful candidates will also be welcomed into a small, dedicated and disbursed team of international professionals that make up the Land Portal. The Land Portal is an inclusive space and we encourage applications from women, and candidates from the Global South.

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Job Description

The Data Curators will contribute to the migration of the main functions of the Land Governance Programme Map to Land Portal’s Projects Database.

Principal Tasks & Responsibilities:

1. Assess expectations for a revamped Projects Database tool, and select & curate project data accordingly and in coordination with specific team members. This includes:

   
   

   • Liaising with specific data providers to assess user behaviour of tools about project data and their expectations for a revamped Projects Database (short user research);

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     Documenting the results of the short user research and, together with LP’s team, prioritize actions to accommodate user preferences;

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     Selecting project data to be ingested in Land Portal. Data will be selected from the IATI Registry according to Land Portal’s priority themes;

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     Comparing the IATI Registry datasets with datasets from the Land Governance Programme Map and from the Land Portal’s Projects Database to find matches, then merging and eliminating duplicates;

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     Together with the Knowledge Engineer, map the datasets to Land Portal’s data structure for project data;

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     Add any missing metadata in .csv or .xlsx files;

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     Communicate with data providers to clarify issues, incl. on metadata accuracy, and fill any information gaps;

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     Provide any information required by the Knowledge Engineer to proceed with ingestion of datasets

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     Check the quality of the ingested data, correct any errors and fill any information gaps directly in Drupal, Land Portal’s content management system
     
      

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   Contribute to the ingestion of new statistical, bibliographic and spatial data that are relevant and will be linked to specific land governance projects to be displayed in the revamped Projects Database. This includes:

   
   

   • Collaborating with the Knowledge Network Coordinator and Information Management & Advocacy Officer to develop quarterly data plans and prioritize sources for ingestion; 

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     Select datasets for ingestion

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     Together with the Knowledge Engineer, map the datasets to Land Portal’s data structures according to different data types (statistical, bibliographic, spatial);

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     Add any missing metadata in .csv or .xlsx files;

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     Communicate with data providers to clarify issues, incl. on metadata accuracy, and fill any information gaps;

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     Provide any information required by the Knowledge Engineer to proceed with ingestion of datasets

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     Check the quality of the ingested data, correct any errors and fill any information gaps directly in Drupal, Land Portal’s content management system

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   Keep documentation of the curation work up-to-date;

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Qualifications and skills

 

The successful candidate will be selected against the following:

Required:

• University Education (Masters level or higher, or equivalent) in Land Governance, Economics, Land Administration, Development Studies or any other relevant fields;

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  At least 2 years of proven experience with data analysis (qualitative and quantitative data);

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  Proven experience working with .csv files and/or Excel spreadsheets

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  Knowledge of land governance related issues and land data;

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  Ability to understand different data architectures and match data fields by two or more different systems;

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  Ability to document the curation steps;

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  Fluency in English;

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  Superior attention to detail;

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  Good drafting, communicating and presenting abilities;

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  Experience working as part of an international, remote team; 

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  Strong capacity to work autonomously and respect tight deadlines.

Desirable, as a plus:

• Knowledge about data and metadata standards;

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  Experience with web content management system, preferably Drupal;

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  Knowledge about open data, semantic web, linked data, controlled vocabularies and data sharing technologies; 

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  Experience working with Jira for project management;

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  Knowledge of other languages besides English

The seniority level will be taken into account for selecting candidates to either the junior or intermediate level positions.

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Personal and Professional Attributes

• Inclusive and effective communication skills and techniques with an ability to respectfully engage with, and communicate concepts to others;

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  High standard of ethics and integrity which inspires trust and confidence; 

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  Enthusiasm and commitment to sustained effort through diligence and pursuit of high standards; 

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  Commitment to ongoing personal and professional development which drives best practice;

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  Strong diplomacy and collaborative skills which enable effective engagement within a high functioning, cohesive team; 

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  Ability to employ sound judgement and decision making amongst competing demands; 

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  Ability to show initiative in planning and developing new ideas and approaches, and to implement and communicate change effectively;

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  Problem-solving attitude;

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  Ability to meet strict deadlines. 

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Reporting

The Data Curators will report directly to the Land Portal Team Leader and will be accountable to the Board of the Land Portal Foundation. She/he will work under the supervision of the Knowledge Network Coordinator and Land Information Management & Advocacy Officer and will report time spent against these Terms of Reference every month in the Land Portal Foundation’s Timesheets.

Position

This position is home-based and will be staffed on a part-time consultancy basis. Time requirements are as follows:

• Intermediate-level Data Curator: ca. 4-6 days/month

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  Junior-level Data Curator: ca. 8 days/month

The official language for this position is English. The consultancy fee will depend on experience and seniority. The consultancy starts with an agreement for one year (including a probationary period for the first three months) and has the option of prolongation for another year.

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How to apply?

Please send your curriculum vitae (CV) and a cover letter explaining your interests and qualifications (addressed to Laura Meggiolaro, Land Portal Team Leader) no later than 9 September 2022 midnight CET and email your cover letter and CV to jobs@landportal.info. Candidates will be selected on a rolling basis.

Please write “Data Curator – Job Application” as the subject of the email, and indicate whether you are interested in the intermediate or junior level position

Include two references for similar work who can be contacted. University references are also accepted.