The Data Verification and Cataloguing Officer

ABOUT THE WHITE HELMETS

The Stichting White Helmets Foundation (SWHF) is an independent, international not for profit organisation that aims to provide aid to communities and persons recovering from conflicts and disasters; provide support and orientation to refugees and communities in hosting countries; and support justice and human rights efforts. The SWHF works in partnership with WH offices in Syria, Turkey and Canada. The Visual Documentation Team (VDT) is based in The Netherlands. The VDT project is a justice and accountability project that addresses relevant issues in Syria and aims at assisting transitional justice mechanisms and other research processes.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Data Verification and Cataloguing Officer (DO) is responsible for cataloguing and analysing visual documentation data, processing information, and uploading it in the VDT system, as well as supporting the VDT Archive Manager in technical tasks. Due to the nature of the project, DOs will be required to work with potentially graphic and violent content on a regular basis.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

• Duty station: The Hague, Netherlands
• Line manager: Archive Manager
• Line management Responsibility: N/A
• Full-time/Part-time: Full-time

Tasks and activities:

• Review White Helmet visual and audio documentation (videos, pictures, reports, sound files, etc.) which may include graphic content (such as human remains, dead bodies etc.) and scenes of violence (destruction, air-strikes, shelling, shooting etc.)
• Analyse the content (outlined above). Accurately tag and label information according to the initial analysis and SWHF guidelines, methodology, and standards.
• Produce tape summaries and transcripts of oral recordings by listening to the content.
• Collaborate with team members to address and resolve complex issues encountered during information review and analysis.
• Identify problematic areas and gaps in data and report to supervisors.
• Participate in recommending improvements to the quality and efficiency of the work, including to the archive methodology and associated documents.
• Undertake the review and analysis of relevant materials and draft reports in a variety of formats as required.
• Understand the context and background in which the content was created.
• Be able to aggregate different pieces of information into groups and categories.
• Train new team members on the archive methodology.
• The ability to talk about any psychological problems resulting from work and address them with the specialists provided by the SWHF.
• Participate in meetings and workshops as relevant.

Required qualifications: Education, Experience and Competencies:

• 2 years of professional experience, preferably in data entry, information management or in open-source intelligence research.
• University degree preferred in media, journalism, security studies, social sciences, political science, information and communication, or information systems.
• Knowledge of Syria and the Syrian conflict (including Syrian Arabic dialects).
• Ability to work under stressful conditions including a willingness to watch and handle graphic content.
• Proficiency with software and online user interfaces.
• Strong work ethic and commitment to accuracy and detail.
• Ability to function professionally and effectively with co-workers and supervisors.
• Ability to handle complex/large amounts of information.
• Fluent in Arabic and English (spoken and written). Dutch is a plus.
• Strong work ethic and commitment to delivering work with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• High standards of confidentiality, reliability, and discretion.
• Integrity and sharing of SWHF’s values and ethical standards.