Digital Democracy Research Officer - Maternity leave cover (m/f/d)

Background

Form of Employment: Full time (40 hours per week, Monday-Friday), Ma ternity Leave cover .Starting Date: 1 Jun 2026Application Deadline : 26 April 2026
* Please note that this position may be closed earlier than the deadline if a certain number of applications is received, therefore early applications are encouraged.Contract Duration: limited to ONE yearLocation : Berlin
Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organization registered in Berlin. DRI promotes the political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies, and the development of democratic institutions worldwide.
DRI’s Digital Democracy team works to protect and promote healthy democratic debate online. Through our offices and projects around the globe, women monitor the effects of social media and other evolving technologies on public discourse; engage with governments, experts, and tech companies for effective regulation; and train citizen groups on how to assess their local digital environment and debates. Our work touches on issues such as information manipulation, hate speech, platform regulation, generative artificial intelligence, and, most importantly, their impact on democratic discourse and society.
In collaboration with, and under the overall supervision of Research Coordinator of Digital Democracy, the Digital Democracy Research Officer will shape DRI’s work on online political discourse, with a focus on monitoring and analysing such discourse, while also contributing to policy debates on regulation, the rise of artificial intelligence, and providing training on these issues. In this role, the Digital Democracy Research Officer will collaborate and coordinate with the Manager of Digital Democracy, the Executive Director, and the Digital Democracy Team as well as different teams in DRI HQ in Berlin and DRI Country Offices and beyond. The Digital Democracy Research Officer will design and implement projects and think-tank style research to gain insights and analyse the use of tech and digital tools for propaganda and disinformation during elections, referendums, transition processes, following conflicts and other salient political events.

Your tasks

• Conduct quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods research independently or in cooperation with other team members in the Digital Democracy areas of focus (disinformation, hate speech, emerging threats to electoral discourse);
• Conduct social media monitoring using data from various platform APIs and social listening tools;
• Write, run and refine scripts for mid- to high-level statistics on social media data using Python;
• Data wrangling, cleaning and visualization of large datasets;
• Monitor new technologies and emerging threats for their impact to political discourse and electoral integrity online;
• Carry out desk research on existing methodologies to inform future analyses;
• Support capacity building activities through the development of curricula and delivering training to civil society organizations, journalists, and researchers;
• Contribute to drafting DRI publications that interpret and summarize findings;
• Provide input into the overall programmatic implementation and design;
• Support the drafting of effective external communications, including fundraising documents, backgrounders, policy papers and website content;
• Support Programme Manager / Research Coordinator in any aspects of their work required;
• Perform other tasks as can be reasonably expected in the role;
• Other relevant duties, as required.

Your skills and experience

• Previous experience in social media research, political communications, or election monitoring work
• University degree in political science, social sciences, data science, public policy, international relations, law or related fields
• At least 3 years' work experience with either international organisations or non-profits
• Working knowledge of social media research techniques including but not limited to natural language processing
• Previous experience of working on digital democracy issues (online election manipulation, spread of mis/disinformation, media literacy, digital policy)
• Solid knowledge working with Python
• Familiarity with data visualization tools
• Excellent writing and research skillsStrong communication skills and ability to work as part of a culturally diverse team
• Ability to be flexible, well-organised, and self-sufficient
• Full professional fluency in English
• Experience with developing and delivering training
• Demonstrable interest in emerging technologies, particularly as related to disinformation and electoral integrity
• Experience with generative AI (LLMs, Langchain, multimodal models)
• Previous publications (academic or otherwise) on a topic related to the focus area of the Digital Democracy team
• Right to work in Germany
• Fluent German would be a distinctive asset. Knowledge of other languages welcome

What we offer

DRI offers you:

• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid work model (depending on the role/team)
• 30 days of annual leave
• A contribution to public transport (company ticket with BVG/D-Ticket)
• Vocational training for every employee
• Comprehensive onboarding to help you settle easily and familiarize yourself with DRI
• Regular team events (yearly retreat, BBQ, etc.)
• Opportunity to work in a diverse team in the heart of Berlin, where everybody is on first name terms with each other.

Application Instructions

If you are interested in this position, please submit your application (cover letter and CV) here. This position is subject to funding.
Please note that this position is limited to one year maternity leave cover.
Closing date for applications: 26 April 2026 . The position may be closed before the deadline has been reached, so early applications are encouraged.
In the interest of transparency, the salary band for this position is 41,250 - 45,600 € (depending on former relevant experience).
DRI is committed to diversity and treats everybody equally, independent of gender identity, sex, pregnancy, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, socio-economic status, political opinion (as long as respectful of democratic principles), or any other status protected by the laws in the locations where we operate.