Disaster Recovery Research Team - Research Analyst

Social media has become a key source of information due to its prominence in modern cultures as a means to communicate. The information found online has the potential to positively impact a community’s ability to respond to and recover from disasters by: identifying gaps in information, creating jurisdictional summaries, identify potential hazards, identify unmet needs within a community, resources needed or being distributed, tracking donation avenues, identifying volunteer efforts, and identifying sheltering or feeding efforts not visible at the local or state-level governments.

This position is an unpaid internship with the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Disaster Recovery Task Force (DRTF) Disaster Recovery Research Team (DRRT). The mission of the DRRT is to support the State of Texas and local jurisdictions’ response to and recovery from disasters by monitoring and reporting online activity within affected communities to provide comprehensive situational awareness to decision-makers.

This position is 100% virtual. Students will be assigned an account to access the virtual workspace and all the available resources and programs. Students must be proficient in all Microsoft365 programs, capable of scrapping the internet for usable information and creating professional documentation.

Interns will be required to maintain productivity and communication with the rest of the team. Interns will also be required to be online, available, and working the assigned shifts and must have a reasonably flexible schedule to compensate for State Operations Center (SOC) and DRRT activations.

Interns must be enrolled at an accredited university during the time of the internship.

Interns must be taking courses in a relevant field.

Interns must be able to work in a remote, virtual, workspace.

Interns must be able to navigate Microsoft 365 products.

Interns must have access to a computer and a network.

Interns must be able to navigate various social media platforms.

Interns must be able to work in an environment that deals with sensitive information.

Interns must be able to analyze, prioritize, and compile data into reports.

Interns must be able to maintain communication with the VOST Program Manager.

Interns must be able to work and communicate professionally as a team.

Roles of interns may vary depending on their assignment. General positions within this group consist of; datamining response and reporting, computer science team, and analytics team. Responsibilities consist of; compiling reports for impacted communities, provide comprehensive situational awareness to deployed staff, vet information, conduct investigations of organizations, creating analytics reports, develop programs to streamline efforts.

Complete onboarding and orientation objectives.

Maintain assigned credentials for remote workspace and datamining programs.

Monitor various online sources for data pertaining to assigned objectives to aid the response to and recovery from disasters.

Understand and complete assigned objectives.

Communicate and collaborate as a team to analyze, track, record, and report discovered data.

1.1 When an opportunity for an internship is identified, a formal request is made through the individual’s chain of command up to the Deputy Chief, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief of Media and Communications. The formal request includes all of the following information:

a) Specific job duties and activities in which the intern would be engaged.

b) Specific individual(s) who would supervise the intern.

c) Types of skill sets that would be beneficial to be successful for the intern (i.e. writing, analytical skills, EM knowledge, grant training, software, etc).

d) Level of skills that would be needed (i.e. junior/senior undergrad/master’s).

e) Starting date and length of internship (Generally 15 weeks and a minimum of 48 hours in a semester).

f) Work location.

g) Whether a computer is available for the intern or will it need to be supplied through IT.

1.2 There are typically three opportunities to request interns within a given year: fall, spring and summer semesters. Generally, a request for an intern needs to be provided not later than 3 months prior to the start of a particular semester. This provides enough time to advertise the internship opportunity within the appropriate college or department within a variety of institutions.

2.1 Upon chain of command approval of the request, the Disaster Recovery Task Force (DRTF) will forward the request to the most appropriate colleges and departments of various higher education institutions in the state along with application instructions and have the position posted on the Division website.

2.2 Higher education institutions with interested intern candidates may provide student application and program information to the Policy and Research Division or interested students may individually apply. The Policy and Research Division will provide a list of interested intern candidates to the requestor for selection. Once the requestor selects an intern candidate who is approved by their chain of command and passes the required background check, the Policy and Research Division will inform the higher education institution representative or individual student and assist in coordinating further details.

3.1 When an intern is identified, the designated intern supervisor will be notified by the Policy and Research Division.

a. The intern supervisor will make contact with the intern to confirm starting date, location, and discuss the intern’s duties and responsibilities.

b. The intern supervisor will prepare an onboarding program for the intern including scheduling them in the next available TDEM Newcomer Orientation.

c. Upon arrival, the intern supervisor will discuss the duties, responsibilities, working hours and location, appearance standards, standards of conduct, and expectations with the intern.

Interns will be assigned credentials to access TDEM's virtual workspace. Interns will operate remotely, but report to the VOST Program Manager, who is a full-time employee with the Disaster Recovery Task Force (DRTF), at TDEM. While there will be no direct supervision, online activity using assigned credentials may be monitored for quality and safety purposes, and interns will be required to maintain communication with the VOST Program Manager.

4.1.1 Assisting Human Resources with onboarding the intern;

4.1.2 Providing work schedules and work location;

4.1.3 Providing necessary equipment, such as computers and/or telephones to carry out internship responsibilities;

4.1.4 Ensuring that the intern completes the necessary harassment and Equal Employment Opportunity training as determined by the Chief Human Resources Officer;

4.1.5 Assigning and supervising work tasks;

4.1.6 Inspecting completed work tasks and providing feedback to the intern;

4.1.7 Providing written feedback at the end of the internship both to the intern and to the college or department of the institution at which the intern is studying; and

4.1.8 Providing additional education and training as available and appropriate.

5.1 Upon completion of the internship, the supervisor should provide feedback to the intern regarding their performance and provide recommendations for improvement of specific skills or knowledge to assist them in future positions.

5.2 The supervisor will also provide the higher education institution with written feedback about the intern’s performance no later than one week prior to the end of the semester in which the intern serves. It is important that the intern supervisor provide this feedback in a timely manner so that the intern can receive appropriate course credit.

6.1 If, at any time, the intern or the intern supervisor determine that the internship must be terminated prior to completion, the supervisor will notify the chain of command and provide documentation of the reason(s) for the termination to the Policy and Research Division. The Policy and Research Division will notify the institution’s college or departmental representative.

6.2 It should be noted that the termination can occur for a great variety of reasons including disciplinary issues, intern family matters, etc. and great care should be taken in describing and handling the situation.

The Division is dedicated to minimizing injuries to personnel and damage to property through sound safety practices. Although many employees are exposed to unsafe conditions because of the nature of their jobs; proper equipment, training in and use of proper safety techniques, and good judgment can reduce the hazards significantly.

It is the responsibility of each employee to learn to operate assigned equipment properly, to use all safeguards available, to perform in a safe manner consistent with the requirements of the job, and to correct or report any unsafe condition.

The Division will develop and maintain a comprehensive health and safety program.

Pursuant to state law and Board of Regents Policy, employees of the Division, while acting on behalf of the agency or in an official capacity, will take no actions which may be construed to support or oppose any legislation, political issue, or candidate for office.

Pursuant to state law and Board of Regents Policy, Division resources will not be expended for any purpose which could be construed to support or oppose any legislation, political issue, or candidate for office unless such expenditure is specifically authorized by statute.

All documents and data compiled or maintained by the Division are releasable to the public unless exempted by law from disclosure. All Division employees must provide all responsive documents related to the Division’s official business, including emails and texts, whether stored on Division electronic devices or on personal electronic devices. Responsive emails related to the Division’s official business which are not contained in Division systems must also be provided.

The Chief will identify an individual to serve as the Public Information Officer (PIO) to compile and coordinate responses to all public information requests. The Chief or designee shall serve as the alternate Public Information Officer. Division employees who receive a request for information should immediately provide the request to the Public Information Officer.

Social media and social media networking sites are umbrella terms encompassing various activities that integrate technology social interaction, and content creation. This includes blogs microblogs (Pinterest, Twitter, The Daily Beast), wikis, media sharing sites (Instagram, YouTube, SlideShare), podcasts, social networking sites (Facebook, Tik-Tok, LinkedIn, etc.), mashups, and virtual worlds (gaming programs and sites, etc.), as well as similar applications or technologies currently in existence or which may be developed in the future.

All Division members shall be aware that social media content is subject to the same standards as other kinds of public statements or behavior. Members shall ensure that any content they contribute via their own personal social media or networking accounts will not cause undue embarrassment to the Division, damage the reputation of the Division, or erode the public’s confidence in the Division. Members will be held accountable to the fullest extent permitted by the Constitution for material which has a detrimental impact on the workplace or the functions of the Division.

Additionally, employees of the Division shall not, unless expressly authorized in writing by the Division’s Chief of Media & Communications, maintain or operate social media or social networking site accounts on behalf of the Division or create or maintain an account that could reasonably appear to be operated by the Division or any of its services as an official site.

The Division must comply with state and federal law regarding the retention of state records. The Division records retention policy provides the necessary information for employees to determine whether a document must be retained or may be destroyed.

A state record may not be destroyed if any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit, open records request, administrative review or other action involving the record is initiated before the expiration of the retention period. The record must be retained until completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it, or until the expiration of the retention period, whichever is later. Each member records officer will coordinate with that member’s designated public information officer, the RMO and, as necessary, the System Office of General Counsel (OGC), to ensure compliance with this section.

All employees are required to follow the records retention policy. Any questions regarding this policy may be referred to the employee’s supervisor.

An employee of the Division shall not use state time, property, facilities, or equipment (For Telecommunications Services, See Section 3.6.4) for any purpose other than official state business, unless such use is for non-commercial purposes, reasonable and incidental and does not: 1) result in direct cost to the state or Division, 2) interfere with the employee’s official duties, 3) violate state or federal law, TAMUS Policies or Regulations, or Division Rules or Procedures, or 4) interfere with Division’s functions.

Workplace telecommunication services; including mobile phones, land-line phones, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones, iPads, tablets, facsimile devices, scanners, laptops, and desktops; used for personal use must not (1) result in additional expense incurred by the system; (2) be more than incidental in nature; (3) impede normal business functions; (4) be for non-approved private commercial purposes; (5) be used for illegal activity; (6) be used to intentionally access, create, store or transmit obscene or patently offensive materials; or (7) be used to compete unfairly with private sector entities or private consultants. Workplace telecommunication services include land line and system-owned cellular telephones and facsimiles.

If it is necessary for an employee to incur an additional charge from a system telephone or facsimile for non-business use, it is strongly encouraged that a personal cell phone, calling card, collect or third-party charge be used. If long distance calls are made from member phones, reimbursement must be made by the individual to the member. No non-business collect calls will be charged to a system telephone. If the non-business usage of telecommunication services results in a direct cost to the state for any reason, it is the employee’s responsibility to reimburse the member as shown in Section 2 of this regulation. The use of telecommunication services for any illegal activity or to intentionally access, create, store or transmit patently offensive or obscene materials, as defined in Texas Penal Code § 43.21 (other than in the course of academic research), is strictly prohibited regardless of whether or not it results in an additional charge to the state.

Information created, stored, or transmitted on Division equipment carries no expectation of privacy except that which is explicitly provided by applicable privacy laws. This information may also be subject to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act or through legal or administrative proceedings. Any information created, stored, or transmitted on Division equipment may be reviewed at any time.

An employee of the Division shall not disclose confidential information, information that is excepted from public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act (Government Code Chapter 552), or information that has been ordered sealed by a court, that was acquired by reason of the employee’s official position. A Division employee shall not accept other employment, including self-employment, or engage in a business, charity, nonprofit organization, or professional activity that the employee might reasonably expect would require or induce the employee to disclose confidential information, information that is excepted from public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act, or information that has been ordered sealed by a court, that was acquired by reason of the employee’s official position.