Are you an experienced digital protector (digital security trainer, auditor, technologist, etc.) interested in mentoring others? Want to help your fellow digital protectors gain specialized technical expertise and better protect at-risk organizations and individuals in their community? Or do you know someone else who would be interested?

We are looking for Mentors to participate in the new Infuse framework! You can either nominate yourself or share this opportunity with someone else.

Internews, in partnership with Conexo, DefendDefenders, the Jordan Open Source Association, and a wider network of global protectors, is building Infuse, a framework which aims to assist digital protectors (Learners) in their efforts to upskill in areas of specialized technical expertise and offer them opportunities to apply newly gained skills. The project is seeking Mentors, experts in provided areas of specialized technical expertise, who will support and guide Learners and help them verify their newly gained skills. Each Mentor works with one or more Learners and supports them by using verification methods included in the Infuse learning paths.

Infuse is currently seeking Mentors for the following areas of specialized technical expertise.

• Detecting, Investigating, and Tracking Malicious Infrastructure
• Malware Detection
• Malware Analysis
• Web Application Security Fundamentals
• Web Application Assessment
• Web Application Attack Preparation, Forensics, and Incident Response

Mentor responsibilities include:

• Providing direct support for Learners as they navigate the learning paths and help them verify their skills
  • Learning paths provide guidance for how one can upskills in an area of specialized technical expertise. This can be self-guided or completed with help from peers and/or Mentors. Learning paths include a subject matter overview, recommendations for resources and tools and context for using them, practice exercises, and options for Learners to verify their new skills.
• Giving feedback to the Internews team on the learning paths, online platform, and overall process (including the skill verification methods)
• Recommending resources that need to be developed or translated to improve the learning paths
• Helping recruit Learners and other Mentors to participate in the pilot program
• Estimated time commitment: Approximately between 5 and 25 hours per Learner per learning path (duration of Mentorship per Learner dependent on pace of Learner). Mentors can work with more than one Learner. The duration of performance per Learner will depend on how quickly the Learner completes the learning path; however, a period of 2-8 months is expected (could encompass mentoring one or more Learners within that period of time).

As part of this pilot and to launch the Mentor community, Internews in coordination with its partners will support a select number of Mentors to receive modest compensation (contracted as personal service contractors (consultants)). Funding will be limited by a variety of factors including available funds, physical location of the Mentor, area of expertise, etc. The Internews team will inform you if you are eligible for funding. Others who do not receive funding (either because they are not eligible or because they do not want it) are still encouraged to be a Mentor and follow the same self-nomination instructions provided below. If you are interested in being a Mentor and also have existing resources available to cover the time and effort involved in being a Mentor (e.g., a full time job coverage which could include the scope of being a Mentor), we ask that you disclose this in the self-nomination form.

Eligibility and Self-Nomination Instructions:

To participate in this pilot as a Mentor, you must meet the following criteria:

Required

• A solid track record in a skillset included in the provided learning paths
• Being a trustworthy member of the community and readiness to uphold the integrity of verification requirements (as rated by a reference(s))
• Readiness to objectively verify Learners’ skill sets upon completion of learning paths

Preferred

• Preference will be given to those who are based in or work closely with communities based in the following regions: Latin American & the Caribbean, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa. However, we encourage candidates based in and/or working in other parts of the world to still apply! Please note that there are some countries in which Internews may not be able to hire Mentors. If you have questions about this, please contact [email protected]
• Demonstration of existing trust relationships with at-risk/marginalized communities. This may include being an ally to these communities (goal is to identify Mentors who are already engaging with, embedded within, or serving at-risk/marginalized communities)
• Ability and willingness to contribute additional learning resources and verification criteria
• Willingness to invite verified Learners to join as Mentors

Language Proficiency

• English-language reading comprehension skills, while not required, will likely be useful in understanding the learning paths as they utilize many English-language resources. Some learning path content will eventually be translated into Arabic, French, and Spanish, but many resources linked out are not available in these languages. If you have questions or concerns about language, please do not hesitate to reach out (see contact information at the end of this document).

To nominate yourself as a Mentor, please complete the self-nomination form: https://forms.gle/xY8WsKySLSVPfVc5A

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but preference will be given to applicants who complete the form by December 27.

If you move forward in the process, you may be requested to participate in an interview and to provide contact information (email address) for two references who can speak to your experience as a digital protector.

Contact us with any questions!

Contact the Infuse team at Internews at [email protected]