Wikimedia Deutschland – Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V. is a non-profit organisation based in Berlin, Germany. With over 150 employees and about 100,000 members, it is the oldest and largest of about 40 independent chapters of the international Wikimedia movement. The best known Wikimedia project, the free online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, is used by millions of people across the world every day and is continuously updated and improved by millions of users.

About the position and the team:

We are looking for an experienced Researcher (m/f/d) (full-time or part time) to join our Software & Development Department. The position is based in Germany, and we offer (hybrid) workplace options in our office in the heart of Berlin or on agreement remote setups. In this role you will focus on doing research activities for a worldwide community of users for one of Wikimedia Deutschland’s main products: Wikidata.

Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that provides human and machine readable information about the world. Similar to Wikipedia, all its content is created by a world-wide community of volunteer editors. If you want to take a closer look at what’s to come in the next years, take a look at the strategic direction developed for Wikidata and our vision of a Linked Open Data Web.

The role will report to the Head of Design and is part of the design team that currently counts 7 total UX designers and researchers.

Your Responsibilities:

• You are responsible for UX research activities in the Wikidata team, aligning your research plans with the product strategy, all in close cross functional collaboration.
• You will lay the foundation for future feature developments by facilitating and driving product discoveries.
• You will plan and execute primary user research to understand user behaviors, pain points, needs and aspirations of the different user groups in our community through methods like interviews, usability testing, ethnography, surveys, desk research, and fieldwork.
• You will analyze research results and develop actionable insights, bring your research results to life through stories, customer journey maps, scenarios, flows, service models, and clear presentations.
• You will partly work with external research agencies.
• You will closely collaborate with the product managers and community communication managers i.e. for research planning or recruitment and with other UX design team members for handover to design and prototype validation.

About you:

• You have experience in planning and conducting research.
• You are experienced in working in an interdisciplinary team with e.g. product managers, UX designers, community communication managers and engineers.
• You have experience with both qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as planning and conducting usability tests, interviews and surveys.
• You are an excellent communicator for presenting research to various stakeholders and facilitating workshops.
• You are familiar with participatory research methodologies.
• You are familiar with community driven projects.
• You are fluent in English.
• You are experienced with using remote collaboration tools.
• You studied Human-computer interaction (HCI), Social science, Psychology, Design, or similar fields

What we offer:

• The opportunity to work within a community-oriented development process
• A diverse, friendly and open minded team that looks forward working with you
• Varied and interesting challenges in an international environment, with a highly engaged global community
• We go to conferences, both as attendees and speakers
• All software we develop is open source and we contribute back to the various projects we use
• The opportunity to promote Free Knowledge in a unique movement

In addition to your salary we offer:

• A permanent contract
• Flexible working hours
• 30 days of holiday
• Public transport plan (BVG-Abo) Public transport allowance
• A modern and centrally located office space in Kreuzberg as well as the flexibility to work from home
• An agile and dynamic organization with room for professional and personal development
• Learning budget to support career development
• Access to complementary pension benefits
• Continued salary in the event of sick children
• Access to free-of-cost counseling service, which includes coaching on work-related and personal matters

Our hiring process:

Please send us your resume, cover letter (yes, we read them) and your portfolio via our job portal. We kindly ask you to refrain from application photos and information on date of birth, marital status and parents.

The hiring process for the Researcher position typically follows three stages. We start with a remote interview, then send out a task to work on at home and later present it to the teams in a second interview meeting setup. The third step follows the format of an insight day that is intended for you to get a better understanding of how we work and for all of us to get to know each other in a less formal way.

Wikimedia Germany is committed to equal opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of, for example, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or belief, political or other convictions, gender, age, disability or sexual identity or orientation.

In light of an underrepresentation of women in our software teams, we very much welcome a broad diversity of candidates.

Why Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.?

Wikimedia Deutschland promotes these ideals even beyond the free encyclopaedia; it is our aim to establish and advocate for the creation, collection, and distribution of free knowledge in all parts of society. The Wikimedia vision is to create a world in which the sum of all human knowledge is freely accessible for everyone. The main focus of our activities is the support of volunteers, the development of technology and software, and the cooperation with cultural and scientific institutions. Furthermore, we advocate on both the national and EU-level a legal framework which allows for free knowledge to become part of our everyday life.