RFP/Consultant, Indic Initiatives - India Programs

 YOU are ...preferably an existing Wikipedian, want to make the world a better place and are aware and excited by the incredible potential of Wikimedia's projects. …passionate, intelligent, communicative and hard-working. You like to travel and meet new and different people. ...are comfortable switching between research deep dives, presenting to colleagues, online chats with volunteers, implementing a project to time plans and rolling up your sleeves. ...intellectually curious, creative and can apply your mind to solving problems. You are collaborative but also action-oriented; mission-driven and pragmatic; honest and open. ...not afraid to ask, “I don't know this; can you help me out?”, are a fast learner and learn from your mistakes. You work well in teams, and are a clear communicator – using both spoken and written words. You can convince and motivate.

Statement of Purpose
Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Consultant, Indic Initiatives for the India Programs unit of the [//office.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_Development Global Development] department. As Consultant, Indic Initiatives, your job will be to drive the growth of Indic languages projects. This will include supporting Indic language project till they reach 100,000 articles of a reasonable quality.

Background Information
The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, a top-ten internet property. The Foundation undertook a strategic planning process to understand and address the critical challenges and opportunities facing the Wikimedia movement through 2015. The  Strategic Plan defined a series of priorities and goals, as well as specific operational initiatives for the Wikimedia Foundation, that will define the movement’s continued success. An important outcome was a push for participation in the Global South – and the identification of India as a critical geography for this. As part of this, the India Programs unit has been established to drive this push the push in India. India Programs is tasked with designing and implementing pilot programs that encourage many more Indians to become contributors to projects in Indic languages as well as English.

Scope of Work
Duties include, but are not limited to the following:
 * Design & roll-out PR/on-ground outreach plan to promote Indic language awareness & editors
 * Recruitment, training & management of Online Ambassadors for Indic language Wikipedias.
 * Co-ordinate with Foundation to provide technical solutions to resolve current (& potential) issues on Indic languages
 * Working in cross-functional teams within India Programs, and with others in the Foundation to drive the Movement's priorities.
 * Providing ad hoc support to the Community on all aspects of Indic languages as may be deemed necessary.

Team Structure
You will report to the Consultant, India Programs. You will be part of a team that is currently envisaged to be 5 strong, and there may also be Fellows who may report into you.

Location
The position is based in the upcoming office in India. (The location will be announced shortly. See discussion at Office Location)

Compensation & Other Benefits
Compensation structure will be determined by level of expertise, experience and current remuneration.

Term of Contract
Your initial contract will be for a duration of 12 months, and will commence as soon as possible, and latest by July 1st 2011. The contract will be renewed every year, based on mutually agreed terms.

Desired Qualifications & Experience
Ideally, you should have at least 3 years of experience in online communities, outreach and basic web technology. You should have a deep understanding of the varied cultural context of India. You should be able to conduct software requirements gathering and documentation. You should understand the basics of program design and management. You should be comfortable with data. Please note that relevant hands-on experience, a high level of motivation and an eagerness to learn and try new concepts is more important than having certificates or years of experience. It's particularly critical to have high personal standards of quality for one's work.

Process
Please prepare a 1-page personal statement and a 1-page resume. The personal statement should answer the questions, “How & why I think I can contribute to Wikimedia in India?” and "What can Wikimedia do to promote the growth of Indic language Wikipedias?"

Please send these to indiateam@wikimedia.org before May 20, 2011. Please put “APPLICATION FOR CONSULTANT, INDIC INITIATIVES” in the subject-line."

The selection process will include short-listing of resumes, video/phone interviews and face-to-face interviews. We regret that we will not be able to personally communicate with all applicants, but we will acknowledge receipt of all applications.