Wikimedia UK is hiring its first ever Chief Executive.
We are looking for a high-calibre individual who will play a key role in the growth and development of a rapidly expanding organisation. The successful candidate will work closely with the Board to shape the future of Wikimedia UK.
For more details please see the advertisement.
Hi,
What age do you have to be?
thanks,
Conor O Hare
There are no specific age requirements, but you should make sure you match up with the person specification in the application pack.
Please note that we cannot accept applications or submissions through the blog comment system – you must apply as specified in the advertisement linked to above.
I am interested in becoming Wikimedia’s Chief Executive. I will do the job that needs doing without fail.
Thanks.
“How old do you have to be ?”
More to the point : which Oxbridge college did you go to; and who are your friends in power (and with money)?
It was ever thus in this country.
[Me, I’m a graduate of the University of Paris. But wandering scholars don’t have the cachet they used to.]
Remind me why Wikipedia/media of the UK or anywhere else needs a Chief Executive? Maybe if you didn’t have to pay some person 50 grand a year to do that, your founder wouldn’t have to run a begging drive every year…
hey, if this is true and position is real then I am definitely interested.Please tell me more thanks.
With the greatest of respect to Conor, if you feel the need to ask questions such as that, then perhaps considering an executive level appointment isn’t quite for you just yet!
@Jack McCree – great to hear, please refer to the advert for the application form. Note that applications close 10am on Monday.
@MartinWheeler: We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, regardless of whether they went to Oxbridge, another university or indeed no university. When deciding on the position we are looking for the right mix of skills, enthusiasm and experience – existing contacts will not play a role in this decision.
@Talim – more details are shown in the advert with the details of how to apply. It is indeed a real position!
@Dan Abels: This is a good question which mnay people have asked and there has been extensive discussions about it within Wikimedia UK. I know it needs a fuller answer than this, but let me just be brief: firstly, wikipedia is a fantastic project which achives an enormous amount. We could never replace that with paid staff, and would never seek to do so. However, when organisations like national museums, universities or indeed governments want to collaborate, for instance through mass image donations, they feel more comfortable to see an established organisation on the groud they can talk to and which has permanent things like a bank account, charity status and contact people. Chapters can play a role in the movement, complementing the work of volunteers building Wikipedia, by playing this role.
This is a big role. There are tens of thousands of universities, museums, libraries and so on just in the UK. If we want to reach our full potential, we need full time staff and we need a Chief Executive who has the skills and experience to grow us, to professionalise us and turn us into a well run organisation. I’m afraid £52,000 is the going rate for that kind of person. Given that our budget this year is £600,000, if they increase our effectiveness by just 20% it will be money well spent.
I would love to be interviewed for the position. It seems like a challenging role. With both legal minefields, policy-making and server management, it seems like a really challenging role.
How would I get to be on the interview list?
@Alastair Carr, full details of how to apply are given in the job advert at http://www.prospect-us.co.uk/executive/job/hq00112253 (you’ll probably need to click on “Job specification” to download the full application details).
Those links don’t work now. I found a copy from Guardian jobs in Google’s cache which gives the closing date as 1 August and so such sites won’t give details now. For the record, here’s what was said:
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Wikimedia UK is a not-for-profit association set up to promote and support Wikipedia, its sister projects, and other open educational resources in the UK. We were established in 2008 and are one of around thirty similar associations in countries, working with museums, universities, businesses and media companies to make more freely licensed content available and to help other people re-use open content. We are a volunteer-led organisation and we see volunteers continuing to play a central role in all our activities.
Wikimedia UK has applied to the Charity Commission to be recognised as a UK charity. Our income is over £600,000 and we have over 200 members. There are approximately 15,000,000 people in the UK who regularly use Wikimedia projects and 10,000 people who regularly contribute to them.
Chief Executive Location: Flexible (within the UK)
Salary circa £52,000
With ambitious plans for growth and an active Board of Trustees, we are now entering an exciting new phase and are seeking to appoint our first Chief Executive.
Working collaboratively with the Board, you will strategically lead and grow our reach significantly in the UK to enable greater access to information, developing the organisation from its earliest stages including implementing sound systems and processes, facilitating the contribution of volunteers and building a high performing team to deliver our vision.
Acting as our ambassador, you will maintain a positive profile of Wikimedia UK with the media and network with organisations across all sectors, developing further partnerships as well as relationships with funding bodies. Building on our current projects, you will also lead the team in investigating and developing opportunities to diversify our work, utilising your knowledge of the online community.
With exceptional communication and relationship building abilities, you are experienced at leading effectively at senior level and working collaboratively with a non-executive board, and will thrive in a small and high-growth, start-up environment.
A commitment to the ethos of Wikimedia UK and the centrality of volunteers is essential.
Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK.
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A copy of the advert has also been uploaded to the UK Wikimedia wiki at http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chief_Executive_Advert.pdf. See also the recruitment section of http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Finances