Job openings/Project Manager Bookshelf

Job Title

Project Manager [CLOSED]

Employment Duration

August 2009 to September 2010.

Reports to

Head of Public Outreach

About the “Bookshelf Project”

In 2009–2010, the Wikimedia Foundation will be developing a slate of basic educational materials –print, online and video– to attract new authors and editors to Wikipedia. The collective set of these resources is internally being called “The Bookshelf.”

As a collaborative project, Wikipedia's success is based on the steady contributions of a global volunteer community of active contributors. The more people share their knowledge with others, the better and more diverse Wikipedia's content gets. We believe that raising and broadening participation is one of the keys to improve Wikipedia's overall quality and to eliminate cultural perspective gaps.

Currently, there are limited resources to attract new contributors and to teach them how to get involved. Most of them lack consistency and are often out of date. There are therefore still many basic educational resources that need to be developed. These materials will teach people about Wikipedia and how to edit Wikipedia; provide teachers with lesson plans (to use Wikipedia in the classroom); provide volunteers and local Wikimedia chapters with training resources to do their own outreach; and to enable people to be skillful and responsible creators and producers of encyclopedic content.

Job Summary

The Project Manager is responsible for successfully executing the Bookshelf project: for ensuring high quality outputs are developed on time and inside the project budget. The Project Manager will need a prior demonstrated experience in managing a complex print and media project, excellent communications skills, and a passion for doing high-quality work. Part of this job will include actively moderating volunteer and external expert discussions to help them be focused and productive.

Responsibilities

• Create and get sign-off for the project plan, including review-and-refine cycles
• Recruit and manage the dedicated project team and identify suitable outside contractors for video production
• Plan and execute internal project communication (encompassing the project team, senior management, other departments, external expert groups, outside contractors and community stakeholders)
• Keep the project on track: on time and on budget
• Ensure all deliverables are of appropriate quality level, and success measures are met or exceeded

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of project management experience
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative, consensus-oriented, highly-diverse environment
• Ability to work effectively within Wikimedia's values and mission. Must be emotionally committed to free knowledge and willing to attune oneself to the larger Wikimedia community's norms and expectations
• Passion for doing high-quality work
• Ability to work effectively with graphic designers, writers, and outside contractors to ensure deadlines are met
• Experience prioritizing and creating accountability towards critical milestones and deadlines
• Ability to assess and report project status, and escalating risks to senior management
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to interpret and translate information to teams and individuals and to report effectively to senior management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in education
• Experience with non-profit
• Prior demonstrated experience working in print and media production
• Experience working with translations and/or international clientele

Salary

The salary is in the range of $74,000 to $85,000, commensurate with experience.