CONSULTANT
TITLE:Vibrant Information Barometer Moderator and Author - Turkmenistan
REPORTS TO:Senior Technical Advisor/VIBE Managing Editor
LOCATION:Teleworking is possible
DEADLINE: September 23, 2022
ABOUT IREX
IREX is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world by empowering youth, cultivating leaders, strengthening institutions, and extending access to quality education and information. Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $100 million, offices in 20 countries, and a global staff of 600. We work in more than 100 countries worldwide.
POSITION SUMMARY
IREX seeks a Vibrant Information Barometer Panel Moderator and Author for its Turkmenistan study. The Vibrant Information Barometer (VIBE) is an annual index to track how information is produced, spread, consumed, and used. It is based on four principles of information vibrancy:
- Information Quality: How information is produced by both professional and nonprofessional producers. This includes content quality, content diversity, and economic resources.
- Multiple Channels—How Information Flows: How information is transmitted or spread by both formal and informal information channels. This includes the legal framework for free speech, protection of journalists, and access to diverse channels and types of information.
- Information Consumption and Engagement: How information is consumed by users. This includes looking at freedom of expression, media and information literacy, digital privacy and security, the relevance of information to consumers, and public trust in media and information.
- Transformative Action—How Information Drives Behavior: How information is used and put into action. This includes how governments, corporations, and civil society use information to inform decisions and actions; whether information is spread across ideological lines; and whether individuals or groups feel empowered to use information to enact change.
Duties and Responsibilities
IREX expects that each study takes 8-10 days total, with many partial days spread across the consulting period of approximately 5 months or less. Implementing VIBE involves:
- Training in VIBE methodology and processes;
- Selecting 12 to 15 panelists from the media and civil society sector including but not limited to: editors, journalists, media managers or owners, bloggers, advertising and marketing specialists, pollsters, lawyers, professors or teachers, or human rights observers;
- Coordinating and conducting a virtual panel discussion or interviews with all panelists, and providing them with IREX materials for scoring and narrative inputs;
- Collecting and compiling panelists’ scores;
- Preparing a 10 to 20-page written report of the panel discussion and questionnaire responses. Consultant will be required to answer multiple rounds of questions from editors;
- Providing other information for the study including relevant photos and data and providing overall recommendations for improving the country’s media sector and/or engagement within the information sphere; and
- Other duties as assigned.
Contracts will be granted for one study with the option to renew based upon performance.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Understanding and knowledge of Turkmenistan’s operating environment and context
- Extensive in-country contacts with all levels of media, information, and civil society professionals
- Professional level fluency in written and spoken Turkmen/Russian, and/or English, required
- Previous experience conducting analyses and studies of the media or civil society sectors
- Ability to convene participants and hold interviews virtually
- Familiarity with use of secure communications protocols
- Professional level familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel
- Skills and techniques to conduct relevant desk research
- Relevant bachelor’s degree in a related field, preferred.
All applicants should submit a resume and a cover letter that includes a daily rate in USD. IREX has the right to withdraw this posting at any time.