Partnerships Specialist (Remote) at Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that hosts and 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, free of interference. We host 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 financial support 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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Partnerships Specialist

Location: Remote
Job Type: Part-time, Contract

Job Summary

• The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Partnerships Specialist to join our team, reporting to the Wikipedia Library Product Manager.
• As the Partnerships Specialist, you will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining The Wikipedia Library’s partnerships with external organisations who provide free access to Wikipedia editors.
• In this role, you will work closely with the Wikimedia community to identify, prioritise, and secure new library partnerships, focusing your efforts on high impact databases and requests from underserved communities.

You are responsible for:

• Identifying and prioritising partnership opportunities for The Wikipedia Library by evaluating community requests, potential for impact, and gaps in existing coverage.
• Using available data and resources to develop and maintain engaging pitch materials.
• Pursuing new partnerships with leading publishers/aggregators of reliable sources of information by creating and enacting outreach strategies.
• Coordinating with external stakeholders including Wikimedia affiliates and user groups to support regional and topical needs from the community.
• Maintaining ongoing partnerships, ensuring organisations remain engaged with the program and access downtime and waitlists are minimized.
• Sharing data with external partners to communicate successes of the program.
• Writing blog posts and other communications to highlight the library’s partnerships for both internal and external audiences.

Skills and Experience

• Mission-driven individual with a passion for reducing barriers to knowledge for the Wikimedia community and alignment with Wikimedia’s values
• Capable of managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills to pitch and secure partnerships opportunities for local and global audiences.
• Be a true team player; enjoying working with a small and highly collaborative team in a highly transparent, collaborative, and remote/distributed environment.
• Partnerships and/or business development experience: ability to formulate business cases, and cultivate and manage relationships with external organizations
• Familiarity with the scholarly publishing space and/or libraries
• Problem-solving skills and flexibility to work cross-functionally with multiple internal teams and stakeholders (e.g., Legal, Marketing/Communications, Partnerships).

Qualities that are important to us:

• Experience working in a global business environment and/or openness to learning global business practices and cross-cultural contexts.
• Experience working with multilingual and multicultural online communities; passion for online collaboration and constructive public discussion.

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

• Experience contributing to Wikimedia projects, particularly writing content for Wikipedia
• Experience using The Wikipedia Library
• Familiarity with multiple languages

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online