Rapid-Response Data & Workflow Analyst (Standby Contractor)

We are a consulting firm that supports Indigenous and public-sector clients in understanding and negotiating the economics of large resource and infrastructure projects. Our analytical work depends on clean, accurate data and fast turnarounds, often pulled from messy surveys, PDFs, web sources, and translated documents. We are looking for a standby data and workflow support contractor who can sit on call, comfortable with long stretches of no work and respond quickly and accurately when urgent short-turnaround tasks come in. This is a part-time, ongoing standby arrangement, beginning with a paid test task. RESPONSIBILITIES - Acknowledge new task requests quickly during your stated availability window, and confirm whether you can meet the requested deadline - Work effectively under an irregular pattern: no work for weeks or months, then same-day or short-turnaround assignments - Clean, structure, and format Excel files for analysis - Extract or clean tables from PDFs using appropriate tools, including tools you may need to learn quickly - Capture web-based data into structured Excel tables with clear source links - Use DeepL or similar tools to support translation workflows and clean translated text - Compare versions of tables, documents, or data files and identify changes - Maintain careful file names, source notes, and version control in SharePoint or Teams - Take on occasional one-off tasks such as light web scraping, batch PDF extraction, or setting up simple repeatable Python-assisted workflows REQUIREMENTS - 1-3 years of applied experience with Excel, data cleanup, administrative analysis, consulting support, research support, technical operations support, or comparable freelance remote work - Strong Excel cleanup and formatting skills - Careful source tracking and file discipline - Comfortable working in Microsoft file-collaboration environments (SharePoint, Teams) - Ability to learn simple data-extraction tools quickly - Comfortable working from messy, imperfect source materials without inventing or guessing at missing information - Very good spoken and written English - Reliable, fast response time, even after long periods of inactivity - At least 2-3 hours of overlap with Eastern Time (Canada) on agreed working days - Own Microsoft Office licence and basic software setup (we do not cover licence costs) PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience with Tabula or other PDF table-extraction tools - DeepL-assisted translation workflows - Light web scraping experience - Working knowledge of Python - Background in public finance, economics, natural resources, legal documents, or government data - Prior experience with irregular, task-based, or on-call freelance arrangements - Experience supporting consultants, researchers, analysts, small firms, or international clients HOW TO APPLY Please submit your proposal with the following: - Which of these you can already do confidently: Excel cleanup/formatting, PDF table extraction, web data capture, DeepL-assisted translation cleanup, source tracking, SharePoint/Teams collaboration, light scraping, Python - The fastest realistic response time you could offer for acknowledging an urgent task, and how you'd decide whether to accept the deadline - Confirmation that you're comfortable with a standby model (no work for weeks or months, then short-notice urgent requests), and your normal availability in Eastern Time (Canada) - Your hourly rate and current availability