Job openings/Head of Community Fellowship Program

YOU ARE ...

.. a passionate, brilliant, deep thinker who wants to make the world a better place. You are aware and excited by the social potential Wikimedia's projects represent and the nearly limitless possibilities for research. You are comfortable context-switching between an online conversation with volunteers, a research deep dive, a presentation to colleagues and roll-up your sleeves, management, reporting and recruiting work.

You wish to work with cross-functional teams to tackle really complex questions and help translate them into insights that support the Wikimedia movement. You are collaborative, but action-oriented; you are mission-driven and pragmatic; you're open, honest, and you are driven by the relentless pursuit of the social impact that your work contributes to.

You love people — especially people who are brilliant, quirky, young, old, awkward, self-assured, arrogant, self-effacing, shy, expert, passionate, ecstatic and sometimes deeply depressed.

Position Title

Head of Community Fellowship Program

Reports to

Chief Community Officer

Position Summary

The Head of Community Fellowship Program will coordinate the recruitment and support of Wikimedia Foundation community department fellows. Most Community Fellows work independently on self-chosen and self-directed projects. Community Fellows work remotely all over the world and in the Foundation's San Francisco headquarters. The Program Head can be located anywhere in the world, but will spend time regularly in San Francisco.

The Program Head's role is to support Fellows by:

• connecting them with resources (e.g. data, software developers, collaborators, professional researchers)
• helping them set benchmarks and track their progress
• helping them report their results back to the community on a regular basis

The Program Head will also streamline and communicate Fellow work by:

• recruiting new Fellows by scouring Wikimedia projects, gatherings and conferences for candidates — as well as academia and other worlds
• encouraging independent community processes for identifying qualified candidates
• consistently reporting to the Wikimedia community and wider world about Fellows' accomplishments and challenges
• supporting Fellows in reporting on their individual projects

Position Responsibilities

• Check in regularly with all Community Fellows
• Write regular updates about their work for public consumption
• Identify Fellows' resource needs and try to help meet them
• Help Fellows complete their public reporting requirements
• Develop a thorough understanding of how a range of Wikimedia projects are actually operating now, and contributors' current experience in them
• Develop relationships with innovative and leading Wikimedians — both widely recognized and hidden
• Develop relationships with members of the academic research community who want to help Wikimedia projects succeed

Candidate Characteristics

• High energy for, drive and commitment to the mission: Deeply believes in the value of Wikimedia, exudes enthusiasm for the mission and can powerfully embody and communicate the mission
• Intellectual curiosity and flexibility: Enjoy tackling difficult, ambiguous problems and able to incorporate new knowledge into how one approaches situations and generates solutions; loves learning from others and expanding intellectual horizons
• Open and transparent: Comfortable working in a highly transparent fashion, open to input and feedback, proactive candid communicator who wants people to know what she/he is doing and isn't afraid to bring others in when things are off-track or when you need help
• Community oriented: Essential that the candidate see her/himself as a part of the Wikimedia community and as a colleague working alongside our thousands of volunteer contributors
• Strong cultural competency: Ability to bridge cultures and geographic differences; Able to navigate in a truly global movement
• Willing to travel: Periodic travel to attend global Wikimedia events and engage with the Wikimedia and other communities in person

Candidate Qualifications:

• Several years experience leading and developing teams
• Experience in the Free/Open Source software movement is ideal, or experience working in a community or social movement-oriented world
• Demonstrated experience working in a global, multi-cultural team; Experience working outside of your home country environment preferred
• Experience as a leader or organizer in a collaborative community setting, ideally within the Wikimedia community
• Wikimedians are strongly encouraged to apply

Location

San Francisco — can possibly work remotely

About the Community Department at the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation consists of three operating departments advancing the organization's mission: to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop free educational content, and to disseminate it effectively and globally.

• The Global Development department expands Wikimedia's presence and programmatic activities world-wide, with special focus on disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. This includes support for Wikimedia's chapter organizations such as grantmaking, on-the-ground programs in key regions, and development of partnerships to expand mobile and offline access.
• The Technology department operates the Wikimedia Foundation websites, including Wikipedia, and it maintains and improves the underlying open source software (for example, by improving usability for entry-level volunteers or simplifying media uploading).
• The Community Department collaborates with and serves the broad Wikimedia community — including readers, donors and editors/contributors — to encourage the health and growth of Wikimedia communities and the projects they create and manage.

All Community Department positions involve collaborating and communicating with community stakeholders intensively and publicly, grappling with problems that no one has ever solved before, navigating technological and social challenges and opportunities, and dealing with a high level of complexity and uncertainty. Candidates should have extremely high levels of skill and comfort in communication (especially writing), qualitative and quantitative analysis, management and self-management. Candidates who are not already deeply immersed online collaborative communities will have to show an aptitude for quickly gaining deep understanding of our communities' technologies, practices, traditions and culture — and to become trusted and productive members of the Wikimedia community and movement.

Apply

Please send a CV and cover letter to jobswikimedia.org before May 13, 2011. Please put the position title (Head of Community Fellowship Program) in your subject line.

Applications that do not include a cover letter will not be considered.

Please copy and paste the text of your CV into the e-mail, in addition to attaching the file.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we regret that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.