Summary
The Director of Learning & Evaluation is responsible for researching, guiding, analysing, actively managing and communicating the outcomes of the financial and other investments made by the WMF. L&E Director will guide internal team and establish organisational processes to optimize the work of Wikimedia communities on the ground and online. The Director of Learning & Evaluation is a member of WMF Grantmaking’s senior leadership team and will lead the continued development and execution of a learning and funding strategy.
This position will work closely with volunteers and staff to discover how WMF can best support Wikimedian grantees and programs. It will be responsible for day-to-day management over internal and external evaluation. Working collaboratively with volunteers and staff, this role provides an exciting opportunity for someone with a deep background in data analysis, research management, impact evaluation and a demonstrated commitment to free knowledge to contribute to the continued success of the Wikimedia movement. This position currently manages four full time staff and a few short term consultants.
Description
- Lead, design, and implement grant criteria including efficient KPIs that allow accurate, reliable information collection and reporting for grants and other initiatives
- Support and update grant strategy aligned with WMF’s strategic initiatives through industry research, attendance at select conferences, collaboration with partner organizations and field work
- Prepare reports on global socio-economic and technology trends and status of grants under management. Develop operating models and perform ad hoc financial forecasting and analyses
- Manage all administrative aspects of research and evaluation, including budget, staffing, data collection logistics and other related duties as necessary; manage team of researchers, developers, and analysts
- Communicate work of the grantmaking team to all WMF and the Wikimedia community (primarily volunteers), including developing presentation on grant performance
- Cross-coordinate amongst grantmaking and other WMF departments on high priority items, including leading Grantmaking team meetings, orchestrating knowledge sharing, and supporting key organizational research areas
- Lead and coordinate skills building training with staff, grants committees, and grantees on evaluation procedures and tools
- Guide, supervise, and participate in joint evaluations, including the design and implementation of strategic longitudinal evaluations and grantmaking campaigns
- Advise the team’s program officers on observed best practices across funded organizations and individuals; lead knowledge sharing with staff, partners, and grants committees the design, implementation, and results of outcome and impact studies
- Participate in the WMF’s strategic planning process, representing the views of the grantmaking community and strategic opportunities for growth
What we need...
The right person is better than the right set of experiences; these are the traits we’ve identified that will make great additions to our team:
- A strategic thinker, with a strong ability to link qualitative and quantitative information to make actionable recommendations to the Wikimedia Foundation and the community at large.
- A great community organizer and communicator, who can gain momentum behind impact driven decision and conduct effective trainings in various formats (in-person, in writing, on video…) for both staff, grantees, and community members at large
- An evaluation and learning expert, who has 10+ years experience with quantitative skills, survey analysis, qualitative analysis, program design, development and valuation, with strong technical fluency
- A manager, who can lead a team of researchers and network across the foundation with other teams, effectively managing timelines, budgets, and work priorities (5+ years management experience)
- A global citizen, with considerable experience personally and professionally with international volunteer communities, including the ability to empathize with and understand different viewpoints
- An advocate for free knowledge, who will passionately advance free knowledge globally and will uphold the values of the Wikimedia movement
How to set yourself apart …
In addition to the basic skills needed for being successful in this position, these skills could set you apart:
- Speak more than one of the 286 languages of the users you will work with!
- Familiarity with Free and Open Source communities.
- Experience in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with a strong focus on data-driven decision making
- Knowledge of research and current trends in network analysis and design
- Experience as a Wikimedia contributor
- Experience with data processing, analysis, visualization, and/or statistical software (SQL, Python, stata/R, JavaScript, JSON, D3, MediaWiki)
We’d like to see your work!
If possible, we would love to see an example of how you have explained evaluation concepts or used evaluation to inform decision making. Examples could include:
- A website
- A presentation
- A blog post
- A social media channel
- Anything else you’d suggest...
About the Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California that operates Wikipedia and its sister projects in 285 languages. Together they receive nearly 500 million unique visitors per month making it the 5th most popular Web property. Wikimedia’s globally-distributed staff of 150 interact with a community of more than 100,000 people worldwide and remains committed to creating a world in which every single human being can freely and easily share in the sum of all knowledge.
The Grantmaking division of the Wikimedia Foundation is focused on extending the reach of the Wikimedia free knowledge projects through partners around the world. Our partners use a variety of offline and online initiatives and range from independent individuals to incorporated nonprofits, but all are driven to find ways to expand free knowledge. We use an unprecedented participatory, transparent grantmaking model.
We are particularly invested in seeing the diversity of our communities - language, gender and geography - as a key strategic driver for expanding the reach of our communities and the quality of our content. We see ourselves as supporting Wikimedian communities across the world with resources of multiple kinds: connecting ideas and initiatives, providing money and mentorship, creating and facilitating self-assessment tools and impact analyses. In the last year, we have given over 200 grants to individuals, groups and established organizations in over 60 countries worldwide, totalling more than $7.8 million.
More Information
http://wikimediafoundation.org