[Hiring] Digital Methods Consultant @Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)

Role Description

We are seeking a Digital Methods Consultant to design and oversee the digital research and survey components of the project, working alongside the qualitative analysts to:

• Operationalise the narrative salience and relative traction frameworks across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in the three target countries (Brazil, India, and South Africa).
• Translate ethnographic findings into structured survey instruments.
• Oversee survey design, fielding, and analysis with local partners.

The consultant will need to be available to start as soon as possible, for a maximum of 50-65 days until 30 June 2027. The consultant will be expected to fully integrate with the project team on working days and keep regular working hours (9am – 5pm CET).

Key Responsibilities

• Digital research methods & data collection oversight (35%)
  • Support the qualitative analysts in collecting public social media data, including via platform research APIs and other appropriate tools, and troubleshoot platform-specific access constraints as they emerge.
  • Operationalise the narrative salience and relative traction frameworks set out in the project design, ensuring measurement is consistent and defensible across the three country contexts.
  • Contribute to the actor and narrative mapping during the initial ethnographic phase, and oversee the methodological consistency of the three-month longitudinal monitoring phase.
  • Maintain project-specific keyword lists, actor lists, and codebooks, and ensure these are documented for reproducibility and audit.
• Survey design, fielding & analysis (45%)
  • Translate qualitative findings from the ethnographic phases into structured survey instruments, in coordination with the project research team.
  • Specify sampling, weighting, translation, and cognitive pre-testing requirements and develop quality-assurance protocols for fielding.
  • Manage relationships with local survey partners in India, Brazil, and South Africa, including tendering, contracting support, and ongoing oversight.
  • Lead the analysis of weighted survey data, including subgroup analysis and basic inferential statistics, to assess correlations between exposure to manipulated narratives and economic perceptions, trust, and migration intentions.
  • Ensure survey data handling complies with applicable data protection requirements and ethical standards.
• Triangulation, reporting & stakeholder support (20%)
  • Triangulate quantitative survey findings with qualitative ethnographic evidence to produce robust, policy-relevant insights.
  • Contribute methodological sections and analytical content to the project's two core deliverables: the Monitoring Report and the Impact Assessment.
  • Support the preparation and delivery of the validation roundtable with German ministries, economic stakeholders, and business associations, including by presenting methodological choices and findings in accessible terms.
  • Escalate project challenges and methodological risks to the project lead in a timely manner, and contribute to adaptive course-correction where needed.

Qualifications

• Methodological rigour in digital research methods.
• Hands-on experience in survey design, fielding, and analysis.

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted by 7th June 2026. ISD reserves the right to conduct interviews and make appointments prior to the stated deadline. Applications may be submitted in English.

If you have any further questions about this vacancy or want to speak to a member of our recruitment team, please contact [email protected] .