Wikimania Scholarships and Volunteer Coordinator

Wikimania Scholarships and Volunteer Coordinator - 6 month contract

Introduction and context  

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and our other free knowledge projects. We want to make it  easier for everyone to share what they know. To do this, we keep Wikipedia and Wikimedia sites fast, reliable, and available to all. We protect the values and policies that allow free knowledge to thrive. We build new features and tools to make it easy to read, edit, and share from the Wikimedia sites. Above all, we support the communities of volunteers around the world who edit, improve, and add knowledge across Wikimedia projects. 

Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's annual conference, organized by volunteers and hosted by the Wikimedia  Foundation. Topics of presentations and discussions include Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, other wikis, open-source software, free knowledge and free content, and social and technical aspects related to these topics. 

Since 2011, the winner of the Wikimedian of the Year award (known as the "Wikipedian of the Year" until 2017) has been announced at Wikimania. 

The first conference was organized by volunteers in 2005, and since then, the event has grown in size and scale. Due to the pandemic, the event in 2020, due to happen in Bangkok, was canceled. In 2021, the event had its first-ever completely virtual edition. This event saw an increase in participation, both in the number of participants and also more equitable attendance from different regions across the globe. The event is a key point in many Wikipedians' calendars, and it is a place and time for people to connect, learn ,and be part of a truly global community.  In 2022, Wikimania took place as a Hybrid event - with participants online and also at satellite events across the world.

In 2023, Wikimania returned to being largely in person in Singapore, with some hybrid elements. This year, the event will take place in Paris and will be hosted by the Wikimedia Francophone community. 

We will be offering funded places at the event to people we call ‘scholars’. Their travel and accommodation costs will be paid for by the Wikimedia Foundation and this role will be helping to support, communicate with and coordinate with this group of people, from all over the world. 

The Contractor will be responsible for:

• Supporting the  Wikimania 2026 Core Organizing Team with the facilitation and coordination of scholarships awarded to individuals for attending Wikimania 2026 in Paris. 
• Supporting communication with successful scholars on the requirements needed for travel, visas, and accommodation
• Communication and coordination with scholars on volunteer role opportunities at Wikimania. Previous experience working with volunteers is expected. 
• Attending Scholarship coordinating weekly call on every Monday, 5 pm to 6 pm CEST, and Core Organizing Team weekly call on every Monday, 6 pm to 7 pm CEST 
• Building the FAQ for guidance of answering potential inquiries
• Answering any ad hoc questions with guidance from the Senior Manager and the  Core Organizing Team
•  Collaborating in the making of and sending out a ‘Wikimania Guide for Attendees’ to give essential and helpful information about when they arrive, France customs and culture and their time at the event.
• Attendance at Wikimania 2026 to support scholars while they are at the event with queries and questions. Dates are the last week of July.
• Post-event evaluation, reporting, and review of the scholarship process

The Contractor will be expected to:

• Attend Core Organising Team or subcommittee meetings, sometimes on weekends and evenings, to work through action items and updates
• Support the Scholarship subcommittee with any necessary admin work and coordinate the committee’s work, and facilitate some of the wor,k including internal and external communications
• Contribute to post-event surveys and debriefs
• Working with the event team to help develop the content for and facilitate training and information sessions
• Attend pre-event training for all event support that will be on-site at the event 
• Help manage documents via Google Docs and spreadsheets
• Work with volunteers on keeping information up to date on the Wikimania pages and communication channels regarding Scholarships 
• Help to liaise arrival and departure of volunteers with designated local agents.
• Help coordinate scholars' volunteering activities during the event, including helping to organize the volunteer rotas during Wikimania and being there at the event to help with any last-minute changes or troubleshooting

Skills and experience:

• Strong administration and record-keeping skills
• Use of tools such as email campaign platforms and records systems
• Good communicator with the ability to deal with people from all walks of life, good customer or audience-facing skills
• Experience of working with a diverse range of people
• Can do attitude to problem solving
• General Conference and Event experience 
• 3-5 years of experience with event coordination and attendee enquiry response
• Experience working directly with a diverse set of volunteers across different regions
• Experience in managing the use of tools such as email campaign platforms and records systems
• Experience with coordinating high-volume communications
• Fluent in French and English

Additionally:

• Global working  
• Understanding of the European regions' events and conference industry 
• Mission Driven: You believe in the power of inclusive communication and movement building to make free knowledge accessible to everyone. 
• Openness and Curiosity: We work on new and interesting problems in public and collaborative ways.
• Resilience: Working together for outcomes, willingness to change course when warranted and motivated by high standards.
• Positivity: Sharing a culture of constructive criticism and respect.
• Team-oriented: Natural inclination for team collaboration and for helping colleagues succeed 
• Intentionally inclusive: Strong personal values related to participation, equity, and diversity in global movements

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location. 

*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay.  Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR). 

We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements. 

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected] or +1 (415) 839-6885.

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