Job openings/Online facilitator (Public Policy)

JOB TITLE

Online Facilitator [CLOSED]

REPORTS TO

Education Program Manager

EMPLOYMENT DURATION

June 2010 to September 2011. The Wikimedia Foundation is currently expanding. As as we grow we are likely to have frequent positions open up. Though limited in duration, this grant based position is a potential opportunity to explore mutual fit for continued employment.

About Wikimedia's Public Outreach department and the Public Policy Initiative

With more than 100,000 active contributors globally, Wikipedia is one of the world's most successful experiments in peer production. Volunteers have always made a collective effort to recruit new contributors, by welcoming new users, developing tutorials and help pages, creating promotional materials, meeting face-to-face, and so on. The Public Outreach department of the Wikimedia Foundation works in collaboration with volunteers and with the Foundation's 20+ worldwide chapters to determine and foster the most effective approaches to public outreach.

With our Public Policy Initiative, we are developing a flexible model for reaching out to one specific target group: subject matter experts. Professors and students of U.S. public policy will be solicited to participate in writing and improving articles on the English language Wikipedia, and actively supported in their efforts throughout the 2010–2011 academic year. We will thoroughly evaluate and document the initiative, providing a template for our volunteers to replicate its approach in other disciplines and other geographic areas.

JOB PURPOSE

The Online Facilitator will be responsible for directing the set-up of a working platform on the English Wikipedia, for recruiting and directing volunteers for all wiki-related support measures, and for facilitating the communication between the existing editor community and all other stakeholders.

The purpose of the Facilitator role is to support project participants and their interactions. We have several groups of stakeholders: professors and students who are actively participating in the projects, Wikimedia trainers working with both parties, and Wikimedians who are working on the same content, and/or those who elect to join the working group of their own accord.

The Online Facilitator will be responsible for establishing and maintaining a friendly, collaborative production-oriented tone on the working platform throughout the Public Policy Initiative, and for establishing a project that will live on once the initiative is complete. In partnerships with other positions, the Online Facilitator will orient new participants and help existing participants contribute to the project's goals. Part of this job will include actively moderating various online platforms including Wikipedia project pages, mailing lists, and chat channels.

RESPONSIBILITIES


 * Set up and moderate project mailing lists and wiki pages.
 * Develop and maintain FAQs, Glossary pages, Guiding Principles, and other communications/transparency materials documenting and explaining the project process.
 * Welcome new project participants and assist them in their orientation to the initiative.
 * Respond to questions from project participants.
 * Seek clarity from project team as required by participants.
 * Actively facilitate key discussions (e.g., paraphrasing, summarizing, reflecting back, keeping on task, keeping on time).
 * Promote constructive dialogue, mediate conflict and encourage creativity and participation.
 * Carry information (particularly best practices) among working groups and sub-groups.
 * Other duties as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS


 * 3+ years of online community facilitation or leadership experience.
 * Exceptional verbal and written communication skills and interpersonal skills are a must.
 * Experience with Wikimedia goals, policies and social norms.
 * Experience in professional development, coaching, facilitation and/or working with volunteers is a plus.
 * Friendly, diplomatic and helpful.
 * Comfortable working with a diverse array of people including Wikimedians, academics, consultants, and professionals offering pro bono support.
 * Must be able to set priorities and work independently.
 * Must be highly skilled using a wide variety of communications/collaboration tools including wikis, mailing lists and online chat.