The Wikimedia Foundation seeks a highly collaborative and goal oriented Education Program Officer to play a critical role in pushing forward a new vision for the Education Team. This is a great opportunity for a candidate who is looking to better understand the role of the Open Knowledge Movement in achieving global education goals, and who wants to use their skill-set to develop educational materials that reach a global audience of program leaders and educators. This is the right opportunity for someone who adapts to quick change, loves to acquire new knowledge and skills, and thrives on a team that is diverse and globally distributed.

The appointment of this role comes at a time when the Wikimedia community is undertaking a vast participatory strategic planning process asking what we want to build or achieve by the year 2030. As part of this, we are rethinking the Foundation’s role in supporting education activities in the Wikimedia movement, with a particular eye toward one of the new 2030 strategy’s core pillars: “knowledge equity”.

We see Wikipedia as just one of many projects in the Wikimedia ecosystem (along with Commons, Wikidata, Wikisource, Wiktionary, and others) used in innovative ways to spur student learning and contribution to open knowledge. We see policy being shaped, at the local and international level, by Wikimedians and education professionals who advocate for the value of Wikimedia projects in building digital literacy and other critical 21st century skills. The education team at the Wikimedia Foundation is poised for a new iteration based in a more holistic model which: 1) prioritizes capacity development in emerging Wikimedia communities; 2) advocates for Wikimedia’s value in education across a diverse spectrum of approaches; and 3) helps build the international networks, partnerships, and policies that will create an enduring space for Wikimedia in global education.

We’d like you to do these things:

Develop educational materials that reach a global audience of program leaders and educators
- Use best practices for instructional design to develop resources and materials that help both Wikimedians and education professionals use Wikimedia projects to promote student learning and contribution to open knowledge
Develop and manage new projects that help meet our goals
- Communicate and collaborate with the Wikimedia & Education community
- Ensure projects have clear outcomes, and can be evaluated for impact
Help us develop our understanding of the uses of the Wikimedia projects in education & their impact
- Develop documentation, communications, advocacy and educational materials which increase understanding of one or more focus areas such as higher education, secondary education, language in education issues, TVET, STEM, teacher education and development, etc.
Collaborate closely with GLAM and library units in the broader Community Programs team, and work closely with other Foundation teams — e.g. communications, product development, global partnerships — to increase the impact of education initiatives across the movement.
Support community events and engage with the international education sector through frequent travel (10 +% of the time)

We’d like you to have these skills:

Passion for Open knowledge and the mission of the Wikimedia movement
Demonstrated teaching experience, knowledge of pedagogy and instructional design, and an understanding of global policy issues in education
Knowledge of the culture, communities and education systems of one or more regions of focus (Africa, Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, East and Southeast Asia & the Pacific)
Fluency in English and excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience communicating to a diverse range of audiences with different backgrounds and needs, such as international audiences, volunteers, and professional partners
Experience with community service-focused, volunteer-based, and/or international initiatives

And it would be even more awesome if you have this:

Experience working with the Wikimedia communities or other online communities
Significant experience living or working internationally
Fluency in languages other than English
Nonprofit, NGO or INGO experience
An existing network of collaborators and contacts in the international education sector, open education, or Wikimedia communities
Comfort with web-based markup languages (e.g. wiki markup, html, css), or a willingness to learn
Passion for or experience contributing to Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects

A cover letter is required. We want to hear from you about why you want to work with us at Wikimedia. We would also like you to answer this question: Why do Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects belong in education?

The Wikimedia Foundation is…

…the nonprofit organization that supports 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, free of interference. We host 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 financial support 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.

The Wikimedia Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply

Benefits & Perks *

Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible families (yes, fully paid premiums!)
The Wellness Program provides reimbursement for mind, body and soul activities such as fitness memberships, baby sitting, continuing education and much more
The 401(k) retirement plan offers matched contributions at 4% of annual salary
Flexible and generous time off – vacation, sick and volunteer days, plus 19 paid holidays – including the last week of the year.
Family friendly! 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy, flexible options to phase back in after leave, fully equipped lactation room.
For those emergency moments – long and short term disability, life insurance (2x salary) and an employee assistance program
Pre-tax savings plans for health care, child care, elder care, public transportation and parking expenses
Telecommuting and flexible work schedules available
Appropriate fuel for thinking and coding (aka, a pantry full of treats) and monthly massages to help staff relax
Great colleagues – diverse staff and contractors speaking dozens of languages from around the world, fantastic intellectual discourse, mission-driven and intensely passionate people

* for benefits eligible staff, benefits may vary by location

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