[cross-posting to reach pan-India; apologies if you have got it from some
other mailing list.]
As you might be aware, the Consultant, Team Support position is to be
filled as part of the India Programs team. (
http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-September/004251.html.)
I am really
pleased and excited to announce that Subhashish Panigrahi has agreed to join
as Consultant, Community & Program Support.
Some of you might know
Subhashish (or Subha as he's also called.) He is all of 23 and a wonderful
Wikimedian from Odisha. He has a BE in Biotechnology from Sapthagiri
College of Engineering, Bangalore. He has worked for about 1 1/2 years
in business development and is currently based in Bangalore. He's
been an active Wikimedian since a friend of his attended a Wikipedia 10th
event in Bangalore in January and told Subha about Wikipedia. Subha then
spent considerable time - quite a bit of it in Shiju Alex's living room
apparently :-) - learning about Wikipedia. Since then, he's been on
fire! He's helped the Bangalore community organise the monthly meet-ups,
been a central figure in building community & momentum for Odia Wikipedia
and has conducted outreach programs for Odia projects back home in Odisha as
well as in Bangalore. He's also been helping out other projects and
communities; a couple of weekends ago he was in Chennai conducting a
WikiAcademy there. He is a fantastically inspiring example of a complete
outsider being welcomed into the family, having his hand held in his growth as
a newbie, charging forward taking responsibility & ownership and then
spreading his skills & knowledge to others. He is also one of the sweetest
human beings I have ever met. He is a perfect example of the Wikimedia
Dream.
His interests (outside of Wikimedia) are cooking, graphic design and
handwriting analysis. (I bet most of you who know Subha don't know that
last bit about him. So the next time you see him, show him your writing
and get him to reveal your deep dark secrets!)
He has also been
involved with campaigns for social work during the floods and cholera outbreak
in Odisha and been involved with a Odisha community
organisation, eOdissa.com.
Originally, the Consultant, Team Support position (
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_-_India_Programs#Team_Structure) was
to manage the back-end aspects of India Programs (basic accounting, basic
personnel management, office administration, travel support, expense statement
management, logistics support for the community, etc.) I have been looking at
the actual work load involved and I do not think this is a full time role.
The functions listed are essential and need to be done - but there is an
opportunity to improve the richness of the position and it's value to the
community. I'm therefore proposing that the Consultant, Team Support be
redesignated to Consultant, Community & Program Support. I envisage
this position to have about 1/3 of time spent on the back-end work listed
above but 2/3 of time can be very productively utilised supporting community
efforts - such as helping community building & outreach and supporting
community-led initiatives. An important consideration I have for this
redesignation is after looking at the specific skills that Subha brings to the
table; I want to make sure that he has the required space to realise his
potential and to support the community and movement.
Subha will of course continue
to pursue his personal voluntary work for and as part of the Wikimedia
community. The one question that he emphasized during the selection
process was whether he would retain the flexibility to continue to pursue his
personal passions on Wikimedia; the answer he got was a loud Y-E-S!!!
:-) I'm delighted to have another community member joining the
team.
He'll formally
start in Delhi on January 9th 2012.
Do join me in welcoming him.
Warmest Regards,