Poland: Web Design Expert

Organization: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Country: Poland
Closing date: 05 Nov 2014

Background:

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. Within its access to law and democratic lawmaking portfolio, ODIHR assists participating States in bringing their legislation in line with international human rights standards and OSCE commitments. ODIHR’s legislative online database Legislationline.org provides direct, free-of-charge access to international norms and standards relating to specific human dimension issues. Legislation collected and available on legislationline.org is available in OSCE official languages and can be accessed through English and Russian interfaces of the website. All information available from the site is intended, among others, for lawmakers, academics and law practitioners from across the OSCE region and beyond.

Legislationline.org was created in 2002 by a web-development company and is managed via a privately developed content-management system (CMS). Since 2002, the website has already been restructured twice and, and has undergone some improvement, by adjusting the current CMS to serve different needs of the website. The CMS may be altered by any web developer expert who has the skills to understand and alter the code in which the website was developed.

At the moment Legislationline.org needs to be restructured to better respond to the needs of its users. A usability survey will be sent out to a wide selection of users, the results of which will inform the restructuring process. OSCE/ODIHR aims to make the website more user-friendly, and provide easy access to all its materials and information. Legislationline.org should be fully operational also on mobile internet devices, which means that users of such devices should also be able to access all information in an easy and quick manner.

In order to initiate the process of restructuring the website and to receive expert guidance on how to manage this process, ODIHR is now inviting persons with relevant expertise to apply for this consultancy.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the ODIHR Democratisation Department, the expert should undertake the following tasks:

1. Formulate a ‘road map’, i.e. a detailed action plan outlining the entire process of restructuring the website. The action plan should include all relevant steps that will need to be undertaken by the OSCE/ODIHR Democratization department, external experts/consultants and other parties which should be included in this process. The action plan shall include a detailed timeline, from the initiation to the conclusion of the restructuring process, with the new website up and running. The action plan should also include a financial assessment in relation to each action that needs to be taken, and should reflect the results of the survey conducted among Legislationline.org’s users.
2. Prepare a list of tasks for a web-developer who will be tasked to maintain/fix the website according to the suggestions made by the web-design expert in the action plan. The expert should make sure that all the tasks listed are clear and that the instructions are easy to follow.
3. Prepare a draft layout of how the website should look after it has been restructured.
4. Prepare a short paper on possible ways of measuring web traffic. The paper should include information about suggested ways of measuring and analysing traffic on the website and the estimated yearly cost of different proposed solutions.

Requested areas of expertise:

Web design

A comprehensive approach to the development of a new web design for the existing website should be based on experience in working with full-text, preferably on-line databases. Familiarity with the information available on Legislationline.org, and knowledge of OSCE’s institutional structure and/or that of other international organisations dealing with human rights, or similar topics, would be of added value. Knowledge of web design patterns for mobile devices would also be an asset.

Information architecture

The expert should have in-depth knowledge of information architecture. He/she should be able to organize, structure and label content in an effective and coherent way and should have a good understanding of the functioning of full-text databases and of structuring information which is available online. The expert should have a good knowledge of the main components of web navigations systems (how users browse and pass from one information to the other), and of web search systems (how users look for information). Finally, he/she should have experience in designing web design strategies and knowledge of how suggested changes and innovations to the website can be implemented.

Information Management

Legislationline.org is a comprehensive database with a collection of documents categorised by many different topics and types of documents. The expert should know information management techniques so that he/she is capable of making proposals on how to structure the information published on a website in a systematic way. Information should be easily accessible to the users and structured in a systematic and clear manner.

Deliverables:

1. A detailed action plan outlining the entire process of restructuring of the website (maximum 20 pages). The action plan should include all relevant steps that will need to be undertaken by the OSCE/ODIHR Democratization department, external experts/consultants and other parties which should be included in this process. The action plan shall include a detailed timeline, from the initiation to the conclusion of the restructuring process, with the new website up and running. The action plan should also include a financial assessment in relation to each action that needs to be taken, and should reflect the results of the survey conducted among Legislationline.org’s users. Delivery deadline: 3 December 2014.
2. List of tasks for a web-developer who will be tasked to maintain/fix the website according to the suggestions made by the web-design expert in the action plan. All the tasks listed should be clear and instructions should be easy to follow. Delivery deadline: 1 December 2014.
3. A draft layout of how the website should look after it has been restructured. Delivery deadline: 3 December 2014.
4. A paper on possible ways of measuring traffic reaching Legislationline.org. (maximum 6 pages). The paper should include information about suggested ways of measuring and analysing traffic on the website and the estimated yearly cost of different proposed solutions. Delivery deadline: 3 December 2014.

Necessary Qualifications:

Qualifications

• University degree in information technology, computer science, web development or related field is an advantage;
• Five or more years’ relevant professional experience in web design and information management, preferably in an advisory capacity;
• Extensive knowledge of PHP, MySQL, server-side hosting environments, XHTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript;
• Meticulous attention to detail, good analytical skills, and development in accordance with industry best practices and W3C standards;
• Ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple tasks to meet aggressive deadlines and experience working as part of a team;
• Strong written and oral communication skills;
• English language fluency.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate. The expert is expected to work for 10 working days.
Location: home-based.

How to apply:

If you wish to apply for this position, please send your complete CV along with a cover letter in English to recruit@odihr.pl. A sample of web design / web link to the completed web design project should be attached to the application. Deadline for submitting applications: 5 November 2014.

The selection of successful candidates will be based on the application and interview.

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.