Data Vis Evangelist
We’re still accepting applications until Sunday, July 17.
We at Datawrapper want to help everyone create better charts, maps, and tables. To achieve this, we offer a data visualization tool that individuals and organizations all over the world rely on to quickly and easily create beautiful visualizations for their online and printed publications.
But offering a great tool is not enough. We also want to teach others how to use it — and how to create beautiful data visualizations in general. Our goal is to make everyone more skilled at working with data. We already have a successful blog that pursues that goal, but we want to provide similarly useful information in the form of YouTube videos, conference talks, and specialized training. Which is why:
We’re looking for a data vis evangelist to join our communications team, 4–5 days a week.
You can join remotely. You’ll often train data vis interested people in North America or Europe, so please only apply if you can work in or between the time zones EDT (U.S. East Coast) and EET (Eastern Europe). You can also join us in Berlin and get a desk in our office here. We’re looking for someone who can start as soon as possible (before October).
What you’ll be doing
You’ll tell potential, new, and long-term Datawrapper users, as well as people just interested in data vis, what they should know about Datawrapper and data visualization. You’ll work on the following:
- Produce informative and helpful data vis content, specifically in video, webinar, and online course format. For example:
- Short video tutorials on Datawrapper features for our Academy and YouTube (example), after brainstorming with the support team about which content is most needed.
- Longer video courses (example) that cover general data vis topics, like an “Introduction to data vis with Datawrapper,” or a video on “Design tricks for line charts”
- Later on: Advanced content, like using our API/Python/R to set up automation workflows, reporting on elections, etc.
- Give advanced/specialized trainings to Datawrapper customers and other interested parties.
- Be a Datawrapper representative in the data visualization community, speak at conferences about topics that interest you, and start community initiatives like the Data Vis Book Club.
- Help the support team to give better webinars by providing them with feedback, better slides, good data vis examples, interesting data sets, etc.
You’ll be a data vis trainer and a Datawrapper trainer. You’ll also be the voice of Datawrapper in the community, and the voice of the community at Datawrapper.
You won’t be a salesperson. We don’t want you to sell more Datawrapper licenses, but to be generally helpful to the Datawrapper and data vis communities. We also won’t ask you to give our onboarding training for new customers on a regular basis.
This could be you:
As a speaker, you’ll work together with me, Lisa, the head of communication. I’ve given lots of talks and workshops about data vis and Datawrapper, and am happy to provide feedback on any content you create. You’ll also work together with Elana, our head of customer support, to better understand the needs of Datawrapper users.
Who are we looking for?
To make it worthwhile for you to apply, here are the must-haves:
- You have great English speaking skills. You’ve given talks before, and have gotten compliments for it. You enjoy standing on a stage (and looking into your webcam) and making others excited about a topic you’re excited about.
- You’re great at explaining things. You think a lot about communication and how best to put something into words so that your audience gets it — be it a data vis principle or a software feature.
- You have a passion for data vis. You love to learn, talk about, and create data vis — and you’ve done so for quite some time already. You know arguments not just against but also for pie charts.
- You’re tech-savvy. You don’t necessarily know how to code (yet), but you’d love to learn it. And you can find your way around software you haven’t used before. What happens when you click on that icon? You simply try it out.
- You’re a self-starter. You have lots of ideas and carry them through to execution without needing to be micro-managed. You know that our feedback will make your work better — but you wouldn’t need it to get your content out.
- You’re a flexible, happy traveler. More and more conferences and meetups are offline again; when you visit them, you won’t have a strict 9 to 5 working schedule. You don’t mind occasionally giving Meetup talks at 7 p.m. or conference talks on a Saturday.
Nice-to-haves:
- Design skills. We’re a company that enables others to create beautiful charts. Our content should look beautiful too. If you have an eye for design, then that’s a plus.
- Video editing skills. You’ve already recorded videos and know how to use some video editing software.
- Coding skills. You can find your way around R or Python and quickly get started with our API.
- Community ties. You already know people in the data vis community, and they know you.
What to expect from working at Datawrapper
A happy work life! Datawrapper team members appreciate a shared feeling of doing meaningful work, a high degree of freedom, helpful coworkers, and a nice work environment.
What we believe in
- People do a great job when they’re excited about something. Our head of customer success, Elana, fixes bugs herself; our developer Marten tried his hand on the support team; our CTO writes blog posts. We let people work on things they’re motivated to work on. (So please don’t apply if you’re not excited about speaking!)
- Few meetings. We try to keep meetings infrequent and short. Instead, we believe in written discussions, good meeting preparation, and short 1:1 check-ins.
- Good work-life balance and flexibility. We let you set and revisit many deadlines yourself, and we don’t expect you to work overtime.
- A kind and collaborative work environment. You’re not expected to excel from day one. We’ll work together closely and help each other out with whatever challenges come our way.
What you’ll get from us and this role
- A competitive salary and 30 days of vacation (24 days for a four-day week).
- A yearly education budget of 2000 euros to visit conferences (the ones you aren’t speaking at!), hire consultants, pay for language courses, or buy books and online seminars that make you smarter (1600 euros for a four-day week).
- The newest MacBook, a big external monitor, and whatever hardware you need to create great videos.
- If you join us in our Berlin office: unlimited coffee, tea, and any sweets you like. Plus a big data vis library.
- The flexibility to work from home or from the office — whatever you decide each morning.
- Nice and talented coworkers.
In addition, you’ll learn how to create better data visualizations and become a Datawrapper expert. You’ll also get many insights into the world of product development and explore the life and culture of a friendly young software company.
What is Datawrapper?
Datawrapper’s tool enables people worldwide to build great charts, maps, and tables. We’re used by:
- Print and online news publications like The New York Times, Quartz, SPIEGEL, and The Times;
- News agencies like Reuters and The Associated Press;
- Governmental institutions and NGOs like the United Nations, the European Commission, and the World Economic Forum;
- Think tanks like KFF, CFR, and ECFR;
- Financial institutions like Fitch Ratings and Moody’s;
- Cities and municipalities like Madrid, London, and New York City;
- And many more, including statistical offices, market research firms, and design agencies.
How to apply
Does all of this sound like something you’d like to do? Great! We’re looking forward to hearing from you. To hire the best possible person for the job, please send a link to one of the following:
- a video recording of you giving a talk or workshop (e.g. at a conference or Meetup)
- or a recording of you talking about a data vis topic of your choice for 2-5min
- or your solution to this task:
Task: Explain how to improve annotations with formatting
Record a 2-5min video of yourself explaining how to use the formatting options of our annotations in Datawrapper line charts. Click on “Reuse this chart” here, then prepare the chart for your recording by adding annotations. In the video, please explain only the formatting options described in this Academy article section – don’t mention HTML tags, anchor points, positioning, the mobile view, etc. Show your audience how to use these formatting options to make this a better chart. Upload your video (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) and send us a link.
Please understand that we don’t have time to answer emails that don’t include a link to a video recording or at least mention the task. (If you’re strongly opposed to speculative work for applications, get in touch and we’ll work it out.) Besides showing us how you speak, talk a bit about yourself and how your skills and experience could be a good fit for this job. An attached CV won’t hurt. Other speaking samples won’t, either. And if you have questions for us, don’t hold back.
→ Send it all to jobs@datawrapper.de with the subject line “Data Vis Evangelist”
We hope you apply, especially if you’re from a group that’s underrepresented in our office.
We’re excited to hear from you!
Lisa and the Datawrapper team