Job openings/Director of Human Resources

JOB TITLE

Director of Human Resources [CLOSED]

REPORTS TO

Chief Talent and Culture Officer

BACKGROUND

The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) is a nonprofit organization committed to building a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. WMF provides the operating and managerial infrastructure required to sustain Wikimedia’s free knowledge projects.

Wikimedia's flagship project, Wikipedia, has become the largest general reference work ever compiled in human history. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers (the Community) have contributed more than 14 million encyclopedia articles in 250 languages, all of which can be freely shared and used for any purpose. It is consulted by more than 400 million people every month, making it the 5th most popular web property world-wide.

Established in 2003 by Jimmy Wales two years after creating Wikipedia, the WMF ensures Wikipedia's continued operation under the stewardship of a nonprofit organization, funded primarily through direct support from the general public. All of Wikimedia's projects are free of charge and free of advertising. The Wikimedia movement is supported by volunteer-run chapters in 30 countries. These chapters, which operate independently of the Wikimedia Foundation, are important partners in increasing awareness of the Wikimedia projects and advancing the goals of the movement in a defined geographic area.

The WMF maintains the technical infrastructure to support these online volunteer communities and pursues a permanent agenda of technical and programmatic innovation. It also supports an incredibly diverse international community of editors and readers through conferences, public outreach activities, and strategic relationships which support the cause of free knowledge.

The senior management team, staff and community function in a highly transparent, collaborative and unconventional environment. The Foundation recently completed a year-long strategic planning process that included input from over 1,000 community members, and identified goals and areas of development and expansion over the coming years.

BASIC FUNCTION

The Director of Human Resources (DHR) will lead practices and objectives that will provide an employee-oriented, high performance culture which emphasizes empowerment, quality, productivity and standards, goal attainment and the recruiting and ongoing development of a superior organization. The Director of Human Resources reports to the Chief Talent and Culture Officer and serves on the senior management team.

The major areas directed are:

Organizational Development

Recruiting Retention, Evaluation and Professional Development
 * Oversee all recruiting for Wikimedia Foundation; hire in accordance with Wikimedia values, being mindful of seeking international and culturally diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and genders into the professional staff mix;
 * Work closely with hiring managers to determine positions to be filled; develop and coach hiring managers on interviewing techniques and identifying high-potential new hires;
 * Maintain standards driving excellence in recruitment, including a robust selection and hiring process; establish and outwardly communicate consistent standards for staff titles, compensation and benefits, etc.
 * Develop and oversee an innovative, cross-departmental onboarding process; in conjunction with hiring managers, provide orientation procedures to help new employees to align to Wikimedia’s mission and values, and equip them to be effective in their roles;
 * Review and refresh the performance evaluation system to encourage behavior that advances the mission;
 * Continue individual staff learning and development, including coaching, mentoring, independent study, etc.; support the collective learning and thought leadership programs like brown bag lunches, meet-ups, and other convening opportunities;
 * Continually evaluate the development and progress of key staff, and provide coaching and guidance for those individuals.

Human Resource Operations
 * Ensure that Wikimedia’s human resources infrastructure, including HR and benefit systems, are maintained and scalable in a manner appropriate to the Foundation’s values;
 * Annually review the Foundation’s compensation terms, programs, and benefits for fairness and impact while maintaining appropriate compensation levels during the recruiting process throughout the year;
 * Maintain the personnel management processes and handbooks; continue ongoing training to managers and staff to ensure compliance with relevant practices and pertinent immigration and labor laws;
 * Review and refresh HR policies as appropriate;
 * Oversee negotiations of employee benefits programs;
 * Coordinate legal matters related to human resources and personnel, working with legal counsel as needed;
 * Provide consistent administrative oversight of all other personnel matters, including retention or release of probationary employees and staff disciplinary actions; ensure the privacy and safety of staff is protected, and take appropriate actions to ensure that a positive work environment is established and maintained.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE

The Director of Human Resources should have the following experience and qualifications:
 * HR leadership and management experience (with at least five years at the director level), preferably in a complex international nonprofit organization, start-up technology environment, or a business that includes both professional staff and important volunteer constituencies;
 * Experience working with international teams or people from non-American cultural backgrounds; experience handling immigration issues and HR issues in other countries;
 * Extensive knowledge of payroll, benefits and human resource management systems and practices;
 * Excellent management, written and verbal communications skills.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The successful candidate should be:
 * An independent and open-minded individual who seeks and values diversity, input and collaboration from various constituencies; able to make unpopular decisions when necessary and explain them; a good listener who is comfortable receiving input from many sources;
 * A facilitator who will be viewed by members of the senior management team as a strong ally and partner; a hard worker with a high energy level; a “doer” with a willingness to work hands-on with other staff, community members and members of the management team;
 * Emotionally mature and self-reliant; someone who will thrive working in a small but growing office; able to tolerate a high degree of ambiguity, and to negotiate with people having sharply defined opinions while maintaining positive, respectful relationships;
 * Someone who can consistently convey the value proposition; a bridge builder between staff and departments;
 * Able to understand international cultures and customs for both US and non-US staff and be respectful and flexible of those distinctions; the ability to speak multiple languages is a plus as is having lived or worked outside the United States;
 * Positive, upbeat with a sense of humor.