You'll join our expanding team, helping our clients (government agencies, civil society organisations and data standards initiatives) to open up data. We work on a wide range of themes, including international development, corporate ownership and control, public procurement, infrastructure, and grant-giving. This role supports our work with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).

Our IATI Support team provide a helpdesk that 

• supports new publishers from the point of registration to their initial publication. 

• helps existing publishers to improve the quality of the data that they publish to the IATI Standard. 

• gives expert advice to users of IATI data, who might be from governments, non-government organisations or academia, amongst others.

Through this role, publishers and users are supported through the process of publishing and improving IATI data from a technical perspective. 

Responsibilities:

• contribute towards the smooth running of the IATI Helpdesk. This requires both technical competency and strong communication skills. 

• take particular responsibility for processing the registration of new publishers to the IATI Standard.

• take particular responsibility for triaging new requests as they come into IATI support.

• learn and understand the IATI Standard and be able to advise publishers and data users on its application.

• learn and understand the data publication tools available to publishers and give advice on their use.

• learn and understand the tools available to data users and give advice on their use.

• identify bugs in the software tools supported by IATI and raise these with our development team.

You'll spend six to twelve months working almost exclusively on first and second-line Helpdesk support, in order to build up IATI-specific knowledge and to acquaint yourself with the tools that support its publication and use. 

During this time you'll have opportunities to develop your skills in areas of particular interest, aligned with the requirements of your role. 

Over time, you’ll get involved in the wider work of our co-operative, supporting communities and organisations across the world to understand open data, publish data using open standards, and reuse data in accessible, user-centred tools and services.

After your probationary period, you’ll have the option to become a co-operative member, and be involved in the running of the business: gaining a stake in its future, and the opportunity to develop new skills in co-operative business management.

We welcome and encourage applications from people who have not taken a traditional route to gain the skills they have today; we do not look for particular qualifications, education or employment histories.

Who we are

Open Data Services is a worker co-operative that helps organisations across the world to use data to make and measure change. We offer the technical know-how, community engagement and capacity building needed to create initiatives that are collaborative, impactful and sustainable.

Joining our team means you’ll contribute to our mission to help people use data to deliver social impact. Since 2015, we’ve worked on projects that have made a difference – like finding out who owns and controls companies, making public procurement more open, or tracking international aid spending.

We’re a worker’s co-operative, which means we’re owned and run by the people who work here. Together, we’re committed to building a world-class organisation that delivers benefits to our team, our clients, and the world we live in

We’re a remote team, working all across the UK. We care about creating a good work/life balance and work to build an environment where everyone’s unique experiences are welcomed, valued and appreciated.

Who you are

You have experience working in a technical support role and are comfortable using customer support software. You work collaboratively with other team members, including other data analysts and developers, to ensure that responses to issues raised are high quality and on time.

You're an excellent communicator, both written and verbal. You're confident in presenting complex technical information and analysis to groups with mixed levels of technical expertise. 

You understand different data formats and have had some exposure to schemas and data standards. You can check datasets against a standard and advise publishers on how to improve their data quality.

You would benefit from experience working with International Aid Transparency Initiative data, but this is not a requirement. If you don’t have this experience, you're keen to learn on the job, supported by your colleagues. A background in international and/or humanitarian aid is an advantage.

As part of a small and fully remote team, you’re confident working autonomously, managing and prioritising your workload, checking in and coordinating with others as needed. You’re able to understand and express your own training needs and are not afraid to ask for or offer help.

You believe strongly in co-operative principles of democratic working, equitability, and mutual support. You thrive in a non-hierarchical structure, are able to take initiative and work under your own steam, and understand the value of clear and thoughtful communication.

In addition to working on client projects, you’ll eventually be able to take part in collective decision-making and running the business. You should have a strong interest in co-operative working.

How we work

As a fully remote team, we collaborate using issue-tracking systems (including Zendesk and Github), kanban boards, and shared documents. We hold meetings via video calls, schedule things with a shared calendar, and message each other in a company-wide chat for quick questions, or to arrange ad-hoc calls. We work transparently and in the open: except for confidential or sensitive personal information, almost all company information is accessible to all staff.

We offer a flexible working policy to promote good work-life balance, so you can adjust your working pattern to accommodate your personal circumstances. Around half our workers are part-time. We sometimes require flexibility about hours worked to accommodate colleagues or organisations based in other time zones. 

This role is part of a team that supports the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). We are contracted for this work under a five-year Long Term Agreement with the United Nations Development Programme. It is part of a Helpdesk support function of up to five members and a wider team, including software developers, a product manager and a delivery manager of up to twelve people.

You will work closely with other people on the helpdesk, liaise and work with other members of the wider team and also have regular contact with all members of the co-operative, which is currently 25 people strong. 

We have regular, quarterly meetings in the UK and some international travel is required.

What the job involves

First week:

You’ll meet your team in person or online. You’ll be set up with accounts and familiarise yourself with the software and systems we use. We will set you up with the equipment needed for a comfortable home working environment or coworking space. 

You’ll join standups with your delivery team and start to get a sense of how we work. You’ll start to familiarise yourself with the issues being raised in our helpdesk system.  

You’ll be introduced to an initial task to work on. 

First month:

You'll start replying to tickets in our helpdesk system. At first, this will involve triaging new tickets as they come in, so you get a feel for the range of queries we answer, and taking responsibility for the administration of new registrations to the IATI Registry.

You’ll have introductory calls with other staff so that you can understand our co-op and start getting to know the team. You’ll start to learn about our co-op’s internal structure, groups and governance processes.

We'll work with you to identify any specific training or support you may need and put a plan in place.

First six months:

You’ll continue to work on tasks related to IATI Support, expanding the types of tickets you work with to include more detailed queries relating to publication and data use. You will gain a more thorough understanding of the IATI Standard, both in its technical detail and in best practices with respect to publication

You may have the opportunity to contribute towards project-based work as well. 

You’ll observe your first Ordinary General Meeting, and be invited to attend at least one in-person event with your colleagues.

First year:

We’ll develop your role together, according to your interests and the needs of our co-op. This may involve taking responsibility for representing IATI Support in the product development of one of IATI’s software tools 

You’ll have the opportunity to become a co-op Member and Company Director, completing appropriate training as needed, and getting involved in other aspects of running the business according to your abilities and interests.

Benefits

• We operate a flat rate of pay for all staff, currently set at £46,526 per calendar year. The Members may also decide to distribute a portion of company profits between all staff at the end of the financial year.

• We provide a 4% pension contribution to our Workplace Pension scheme.

• We provide all of the hardware, tools and software required for the job, including a laptop or desktop computer and any equipment or furniture required for a safe and comfortable home-working setup. Staff are also free to use their own devices.

• We pay for a local co-working space if you don't want to work from home.

• We offer a training budget of £1,000 and 5 paid days per year, and are committed to supporting appropriate staff development and training.

• Our benefits package includes a health cash plan, group life insurance, generous parental leave, a health and wellbeing service that includes GP consultations and counselling, a cycle-to-work scheme, and an allowance for eye tests.

Further details

• As we’re a remote working organisation we will consider applications from anywhere in the UK. You must have the right to live and work in the UK.

• Full-time hours are set at 37.5 hours a week with 33 days' holiday (inclusive of bank holidays). We welcome applications for part-time working.

• This role requires occasional national travel to meet with colleagues in person. We’re committed to the safety and well-being of our members and employees and offer a range of support for employees, to ensure that work travel complements your life situation, particularly during the ongoing pandemic.

Next steps

You can start the application process by clicking on the apply button.

You’ll answer some questions that are related to your day-to-day job. After the job closes, your answers will go through our de-biased sift process: all answers will be anonymised, randomised and then scored by members of our team. Without revealing personally identifying information, your answers should also help us to know you as a person, and what experiences led you to develop your skills in this area.

If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to the next step, which includes a remote interview. At the end of the application process, we'll provide some feedback and let you know how well you performed.

Interviews are expected to take place in early January 2024.

If we can do anything to facilitate your application please get in touch via jobs@opendataservices.coop. Your application will still remain anonymous to people involved in the hiring process.

We're an equal opportunities employer

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, belief, disability, gender, marital status, religion, race, sex, or sexual orientation, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

We particularly welcome applications from women, disabled, and ethnic minority candidates as these groups are underrepresented in our organisation.