Kimetrica (www.kimetrica.com) seeks dynamic and committed candidates for the position of “Data and Software Documentation Specialist (Documentation Specialist)” to support USAID’s FEWS NET Project. The Documentation Specialist is responsible for planning, developing, delivering, and maintaining knowledge products and processes for an innovative data management platform supporting analysis and visualizations for decision making in food security. The Documentation Specialist will focus on technical writing data documentation, help systems and operational procedures as well as support to the FEWS NET Exchange intranet.
OBJECTIVE:
The Documentation Specialist’s main objective is to refine and extend documentation for operational procedures, systems documentation, and metadata to build greater use of the Hub’s data and data systems. In addition to supporting specific systems within the FEWS NET data platforms, the Documentation Specialist continues development and management of the FEWS NET Exchange intranet site as a central repository of materials important to project knowledge management and performance. The Documentation Specialist achieves this through expertise in documentation and knowledge management practices, technical writing, and software applications supporting online documentation development and distribution.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Documentation Specialist is responsible for technical writing for data and web platform documentation used for help systems, operational procedures, and manuals. In addition, the Documentation Specialist is responsible for day-to-day operation and management of the FEWS NET Exchange intranet including maintaining the visual design, site navigation and site content. The Documentation Specialist is also responsible for coordinating key stakeholders, engaging and training users, and monitoring the health of the supporting software applications. Specific responsibilities include:
1. Data and systems documentation
· Plan, develop, deliver and maintain operational guidance, data documentation, help files, and online manuals for FEWS NET Hub data systems
· Work with the Technical Communications Specialist to develop traditional and multimedia training content for data systems through presentations, brief video tutorials, help systems and online user guides
· Write in explanatory and procedural styles for multiple audiences
· Consult with stakeholders to assist in implementing updates to software documentation
· Oversee external consultants for surge support and translation of systems-level documentation and help files for the FEWS NET data platform
2. FEWS NET Exchange intranet
· Work with the K&L Manager to develop procedures, policies and other strategic documents
· Manage and maintain the intranet Content Management System application and user accounts
· Co-ordinate, write and maintain information and knowledge resources to ensure the intranet is kept up to date and supports users of the system
· Manage and maintain future document management applications hosted through the Exchange
· Evaluate the usability of the current intranet, identify opportunities to improve for a more effective knowledge management tool
REPORTING:
The Documentation Specialist reports to the FEWS NET Knowledge & Learning Manager. The Knowledge & Learning Manager leads FEWS NET’s knowledge and learning agenda to ensure that external communications, data and information products meet the project’s advisory, knowledge and learning objectives. The Knowledge and Learning Manager provides management and oversight of all knowledge and communication products.
QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:
· Bachelor’s degree in knowledge management, computer science, data analytics, international development, communications or related field and 3 to 5 years relevant experience
· Proven experience in technical writing with a focus on data and analysis a plus
· Excellent communication planning skills
· Knowledge of software documentation tools such as Markdown, Sphinx and Transifex
· Familiarity with Mayan or similar document management platforms
· 2 to 5 years implementing or managing web sites or intranets
· Proficiency with GSuite, Google Sites or comparable collaboration and intranet applications.
· Excellent written and verbal communications skills
· Strong attention to detail
· Skilled at prioritization and multitasking
· Background in international development and government contracting a plus
SALARY RANGE: $80,000.00 to $95,000.00 Yearly
JOB LOCATION: Washington DC (Currently, we all are indefinitely working from home due to the Covid situation)
(Address: 910 17th Street Suite 200 Washington DC, 20006)
BENEFITS:
We offer the following benefits:
· Competitive salary package
· Health and Life Insurance
· Generous vacation, holidays and sick leave
· 401K with match
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and celebrate our employees’ differences, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and national origin.
BACKGROUND TO FEWS NET:
The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) comprises a 30-year-old set of integrated activities that produce credible, evidence-driven and timely analysis of food insecurity around the world. It was created by USAID in 1985 under the name Famine Early Warning System (FEWS), in response to a need for better and earlier warning of potential famines. This was immediately following famines that claimed over a million lives in East and West Africa from 1983 to 1985.
FEWS NET continues to serve the same basic goal for which the project was founded: Sustainably prevent food insecurity and famine. FEWS NET is a complex, global activity. The following provides detailed background, which helps to situate where the FEWS NET Learning and Data Hub sits within the broader program.
FEWS NET, includes four pillars of activities. These are managed by different contractors.
They are as follows:
Pillar 1: Emergency Food Insecurity Analysis: This pillar provides timely, accurate and evidence-based analysis of current and future acute food insecurity worldwide. This pillar requires field office presence in locations of known, or likely, acute food insecurity, as well as the flexibility to respond to unanticipated crises in other locations. It utilizes advanced tools and skills to forecast future acute food insecurity and constantly innovate to incorporate new technologies and methods for assessing current and future food insecurity. This pillar supports the development of local capacities to monitor and assess food security, and provide early warning for decision-making.
Pillar 2: Management of a FEWS NET Learning and Data Hub: FEWS NET is fundamentally an information system and achieving its goal and objectives requires its information to be useful, timely, accessible, and utilized for decision-making. Pillar 2 ensures FEWS NET data and analysis are captured, documented, and made widely accessible for all users through the FEWS NET website and other delivery channels, and develops new methods for delivering FEWS NET data, tools, information, knowledge, and learning to both FEWS NET Team members, and to users and for uses which may extend beyond FEWS NET’s immediate focus on current and chronic food security. The pillar stays abreast of advances in technology and methods and identifies and incorporate innovations that can strengthen and enhance project implementation.
Pillar 3: Analysis of the Dynamics of Food, Nutrition and Livelihood Security: Work under Pillar 3 is intended to deepen an understanding of the causes of persistent or recurrent food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition, vulnerability to food insecurity, and lack of resilience. This pillar utilizes and expands on FEWS NET’s rich understanding of livelihoods, markets, agroclimatology, nutrition, and other physical and socio-economic phenomena - including gender and intra-household dynamics – and applies this understanding to identify solutions which sustainably enhance food, nutrition and livelihood security, and build resilience.
Implementers of Pillar 3 search for more effective ways to create and build sustainable local capacities to understand and address the root causes of food insecurity and vulnerability to food
insecurity with innovation in tools and methods for analyzing the dynamics of food, nutrition and livelihoods security.
Pillar 4: Technology and Innovation: This cross-cutting pillar emphasizes the need for FEWS NET activities to continuously identify and incorporate new technologies and innovations, which increase the efficiency, effectiveness, insight, timeliness, and impact of FEWS NET products and services. This pillar is intended to ensure FEWS NET activities keep pace with the rapid evolution of applied information technologies, methodological breakthroughs, and new analytic tools, which may deliver significant added-value to activities within the FEWS NET IDIQ. Some of these innovations and methods may not have been invented yet, or may not be in widespread use, but FEWS NET implementers must stay abreast of advances in technology and methods so relevant advances can be rapidly and appropriately assimilated into the project. Offerors, including those for Pillar 2, should incorporate how they will include this cross-cutting pillar when proposing on all activities.
Formed by a group of former humanitarian and development workers in 2006, Kimetrica is a social enterprise focused on providing policy makers and project managers with the tools and skills they need to do their jobs well. Our work centers on providing knowledge management solutions for governments, bilateral, and multilateral donors, and not-for-profit organizations in the areas of performance management and disaster risk reduction. With offices in the United States and East Africa, Kimetrica employs 80 full-time professional staff and an extensive network of sector specialists with expertise ranging from early warning and contingency planning to social protection and research and data analysis.