New subject: Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee: Call for New Members [closed]

10 Apr 2023

Dear all,

The Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee>
(Elections Committee) [1] is, from today until April 24, seeking an
additional 2–4 members to help facilitate the Wikimedia Foundation Board of
Trustee (Board) selection process.

The Elections Committee oversees the Board Community- and Affiliate seat
selection process. This is a volunteer role, and the appointment is for
three years. Please note that while you are a member of the Committee, you
will not be able to run for any election overseen by the Committee – this
includes the upcoming 2024 Wikimedia Foundation Board elections and any
other election for 18 months following the end of your term on the
Committee. You will also be restricted in your ability to publicly advocate
for community members running in those elections. You can read more in the
Elections Charter [2], recently updated by the Wikimedia Foundation
Governance Committee (GC) based on the lessons learnt from the previous
Elections and the feedback received.

The term of the previous members of the Elections Committee expired on
March 31, 2023, and some of them confirmed their willingness to continue.
After their paperwork is done (if needed), they will be reappointed by the
GC along with the new members.

Please read carefully the information below before applying or recommending
that somebody applies.

== Duties and time commitment ==

The purpose of the Elections Committee is to assist with the design and
implementation of the process to select Board Community- and
Affiliate-Selected Trustees. The Committee may also assist with similar
community-selected positions as determined by the Board.

The Committee has responsibilities throughout every phase of the selection
process for Community- and Affiliate-Selected Trustees, as established
in Article
IV, Section 3(C) in the Foundation Bylaws
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Bylaws#(C)_Community-_and_Affiliate-selected_Trustees.>,
including:

   -

   Timeline – Work with Foundation staff to determine and communicate
   election timeline specifics, based on target end date set by the Board.
   -

   Candidacy – Working with Foundation staff and in consultation with the
   Board, design the process for collecting and reviewing candidate
   declarations.
   -

   Outreach – Work with Foundation staff to reach the various Wikimedia
   communities with information about the election, including voting and the
   call for candidates.
   -

   Volunteers – Determine whether additional volunteers are needed to
   assist with election administration, and work with Foundation staff to
   recruit and coordinate those volunteers.
   -

   Communications – Review communications about the election drafted by
   Foundation staff and collaborate in determining when communications should
   be issued by the Committee, by staff, or by the Board.
   -

   Evaluation – Assist in reviewing candidates based on criteria set by the
   Board.
   -

   Campaigning – Set and enforce rules regarding how candidates can
   campaign, and oversee the process of asking candidates to answer campaign
   questions.
   -

   Voting – Determine the voting method and voter eligibility criteria, and
   work with Foundation staff to determine the voting platform and review
   voter eligibility requests.
   -

   Results – Review and announce vote results.

You can see a more detailed matrix of responsibilities for different groups
organising the Elections here [3].

Elections Committee members sign up for three-year terms and will be asked
to sign a confidentiality agreement. Members can expect to contribute 2–5
hours per week before the selection process and 5–8 hours per week during
the selection process.

As an Elections Committee member, you will be responsible for:

   -

   Attending online meetings between now and the next election (mid-2024)
   -

   Attending onboarding and online training in May–June 2023
   -

   Working with the Committee to fulfill its other responsibilities [2]

The wider Wikimedia community votes for candidates to be considered for
community-and-affiliate selected seats of the Wikimedia Foundation Board
[4]. In 2024, the Elections Committee will oversee this selection process
for the four community-selected seats with expiring terms. This process
will be supported by the Wikimedia Foundation.

== Requirements ==

New members should have the following qualities:

   -

   Fluency in English
   -

   Responsiveness to email collaboration
   -

   Knowledge of the movement and movement governance

== Application Process ==

If you would like to volunteer for this role, please submit your candidacy
by  April 24, 2023, at 23:59 AoE (anywhere on Earth) on Meta at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/No…

After this the shortlisted candidates will be asked to participate in an
interview with members from the Governance Committee. The interview will be
approximately one hour, and a member of Foundation staff will likely be
present for note taking purposes. The Governance Committee (GC) will most
likely appoint new members at its meeting on May 15, 2023.

Given the private information that committee members handle, you must be 18
years of age or older, and be willing to sign the confidentiality agreement
for nonpublic information [5] if you haven't already. You can view
information on how to sign this on Meta-Wiki [6]. You will need to submit
proof of your identity and age to the Wikimedia Foundation at
secure-info(a)wikimedia.org. You would be able to hold this position on the
Committee under a pseudonym, but the Foundation needs to confirm your age
and identity.

To sum it up:

   -

   Please carefully read the information in this letter, and follow the
   links in it, pay attention to the time commitment requirements
   -

   Submit your application by Apr 24, 2023 at 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth)
   on Meta at

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/No…
   [7]
   -

   Submit proof of your identity and age to the Wikimedia Foundation at
   secure-info(a)wikimedia.org
   -

   If you are shortlisted, please attend an 1 hour interview with the GC
   members
   -

   Sign the documents needed if appointed

Thank you in advance for your interest! If you are not interested, but know
someone who might be, share this message with them. Please let me know if
you have questions.

Best regards,

antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv

Elections Committee Board Liaison

Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee

[2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Elections_Committee_Charter

[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/Ro…

[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees

[5]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_inf…

[6]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_inf…
[7]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/No…

*NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working
hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You
should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in
advance!*