Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia – one of the most popular websites in the world, accessed by over 1.8 billion unique devices every month. It is the only non-profit in the top 50 websites, supported by a community of millions of individual donors around the world. Because of its contribution to the knowledge ecosystem globally, it is important that Wikipedia and other projects capture the full diversity of content that exists across societies today. For this reason, the inclusion of women and non-binary contributors, and efforts to grow encyclopaedic content to better reflect gender-diverse topics and perspectives, is critically important. However, much like for our society, gender inequality continues to be a challenge in our movement where:

To address these disparities, organizers across the Wikimedia movement are working to close knowledge gaps in gender by supporting established and newcomer editors to join the movement. Community-led content campaigns focused on addressing the gender gap — like Whose Knowledge, Art + Feminism, Women in Red, She Said and the Women’s Health Project — represent some of the efforts to make the Wikimedia movement more equitable.

The Community Programs team seeks to contract a Lead Program Officer - Gender, to aid our efforts at strengthening our support to campaign organizers working on gender equity in the Wikimedia Movement. The Lead Program Officer will be responsible for leading coordination of the movement and the Foundation in gender-related programming, research and campaigning; helping to ramp up and scale existing campaigns focused on the gender gap. This is a one-year contract with the strong possibility of extension. 

You are responsible for:

  • Leading the co-creation, implementation and monitoring of innovative solutions and processes that edify the movement’s efforts at closing the gender gap, including through collaboration with Product and technology innovations;
  • Overseeing learning experiences and pathways with the movement to support newcomer retention and existing editor participation in content campaigns related to gender;
  • Coordinating global partnerships, including with multilateral agencies, related to gender equity and the Wikimedia movement; 
  • Coordinating and developing programming for events and solidarity spaces with diverse actors; 
  • Coordinating learning and shared goal-making infrastructure within the Wikimedia Foundation and movement; 
  • Developing a communication and advocacy strategy that helps amplify the work of organizers and editors working on gender to attract meaningful partnerships and editors to our movement; and 
  • Supporting cross-departmental learning about knowledge equity and knowledge gaps.

Skills and Experience:

  • 8+ years professional experience in addition to a Masters degree, or 12+ years experience with a Bachelor’s degree, with a focus on gender, social justice, inclusion or another relevant field
  • Familiarity with the Wikimedia movement, including experience in organizing campaigns and/or using Product tools on Wikimedia projects;
  • Experience developing, monitoring and adapting strategy related to gender mainstreaming and inclusive practices; 
  • Experience overseeing the development of learning materials, workshops and processes in multicultural settings;
  • Experience managing high-level partnerships, including with multilateral agencies; 
  • A track record of promoting skills development and shared practices through documentation and storytelling, conference presentations, and/or workshop facilitation.
  • Experience working with a distributed and remote team with people of diverse skill sets and backgrounds.
  • Strong written and spoken English. Non-native English speakers are welcomed.

Qualities that are important to us:

  • A passion for free and open knowledge, and a willingness to get involved in the complex, decentralized process of creating it.
  • An understanding of and passion for diversity, equity and inclusion practices and power-sharing practices.
  • Self motivated with a curiosity to learn and experiment.
  • Collaborative, flexible, and interested in feedback from people with diverse skills,  experiences, and perspectives.

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

  • Experience working with professional networks or communities in South/Central America and/or Africa.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates 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 freely. We host Wikipedia and 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 donations 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.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based in 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated hourly pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is up to US$40/hour with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience, and location. 

*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay.  Our non-US employees are hired through a local third-party Employer of Record (EOR). 

We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements. 

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.

More information

Wikimedia Foundation
Applicant Privacy Policy
News from across the Wikimedia movement
Wikimedia 2030
Our Commitment to Equity
This is Wikimedia Foundation 
Facts Matter
Our Projects
Our Tech Stack

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
Dropbox
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
cover_letter chosen  
Dropbox
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Wikimedia Foundation’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Our system has flagged this application as potentially being associated with bot traffic. Please turn off any VPNs, clear your browser cache and cookies, or try submitting your application in a different browser. If this issue persists, please reach out to our support team via our help center.
Please complete the reCAPTCHA above.