Overview

The Director of Global Data & Insights is a seasoned monitoring and evaluation leader who will develop and implement the strategy for delivering data and insights about the Wikimedia Movement to inform practices at the Wikimedia Foundation. This position will lead the Global Data & Insights (GDI) team, currently composed of five applied researchers and analysts, who are together responsible for providing data and insights to support executive decision-making regarding Foundation program funding, growth, and future planning. Specifically, this monitoring and evaluation leader and their team lead four portfolios of work:

  1. Internal Program Effectiveness – Evaluating the effectiveness and impact of movement-building Foundation programs (e.g. community events, grantmaking, capacity building, equity initiatives, etc.).
  2. Community Insights – Collecting representative data to understand the demographics, needs, attitudes, and practices of our movement-building participants.
  3. Landscape Analysis – Keeping a pulse on the world for external factors that may impact the movement and guide our decisions.
  4. Cross-Departmental Insights – Collating data from across the organization into a central database and dashboard, guiding a data strategy for the organization, and fostering a culture of data use.

The Director should be a generalist who is comfortable guiding monitoring and evaluation efforts for the variety of sectors that come together to shape the Wikimedia Movement, including open technology, education, human rights, international development, philanthropy, and policy. We are looking for an individual who can use their experience and passion for data to shape executive decision-making aligned within the portfolios listed above, and will build capacity within the Foundation to engage in monitoring and evaluation. The Director will collaborate closely with leads of the other analytics and research teams at the Foundation to align data practices and systems and build a data-informed culture. The Director will lead the work to collaboratively create a central data strategy at the Foundation, compiling data from other analytics teams and the Global Data & Insights Team to create a cohesive story about the impact of the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia Movement.

You are responsible for:

  • Lead the Global Data & Insights team to execute the vision, goals, and strategy for gathering community insights, conducting program evaluation, and collating data across departments at the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Model and develop a culture of data across a globally distributed, diverse organization, influencing practice at multiple levels of leadership through accessible data analysis and reports. Build the ability of leaders to assess their impact and use data to improve their strategy based on evolving needs, successes, and challenges.
  • Design and execute the process for collecting metrics, reports, and analysis from across the Foundation into one central repository, and compile high-level reports and dashboards that Foundation leaders can use to reflect on progress and make planning decisions. Ultimately, develop the strategy and a set of tools and frameworks that lead to a data playbook for the organization.
  • Provide data intelligence briefings to senior executives and staff. Advise CEO, COO, and COS on reporting and data content for the Board of Trustees.
  • Lead the system and approach for evaluating the social impact of community-based initiatives at the Wikimedia Foundation. This includes ensuring all movement-building initiatives have and use a theory of change and evaluation plan that is aligned to Foundation-wide strategies and goals.
  • Oversee the implementation of a community of practice for analysts and data practitioners at the Wikimedia Foundation to exchange best practices and implement improvement projects together.
  • Model the use of evaluation best practices and foster a culture of evaluation for Foundation colleagues and Wikimedia movement stakeholders by ensuring that data are shared internally and externally to inform stakeholders of best practices, lessons learned, and to facilitate strategic learning.
  • Establish and maintain strong relationships with leaders and evaluators within the Wikimedia movement and foundation; provide assistance and guidance when it comes to implementing evaluation frameworks and contextualizing evaluation results.
  • Mentor and build the capacity of junior evaluation staff, direct reports, contractors, and interns. Coach colleagues on best practices related to identifying metrics, indicators, and objectives.
  • Manage all administrative aspects of the GDI team, including budget, staffing, data collection systems, reporting, communications, and other related duties as necessary; manage a team of strategists, analysts, contractors, and interns.
  • Advise on the Foundation’s strategic planning process.

Skills and Experience:

  • 10+ years of hands-on experience developing and implementing a data strategy at other organizations. This can include a combination of experiences such as building a monitoring and evaluation system, database development, data management, setting data privacy and protection policies, overseeing data collection and quality, data dictionary design, dashboard design and development, database health reporting, etc.
  • 6+ years leading collaborative, cross-functional teams or creating networks across functions.
  • 3+ years people management experience, with the ability to lead/grow a team of evaluators, collaborate across the foundation and with other teams, and effectively manage timelines, budgets, and identify priorities.
  • A strong background in quantitative and qualitative research design, analysis, reporting, and use of results plus an advanced degree in a social science, research, or business discipline with academic training in statistics and mixed methods research.
  • Ability to distill the key takeaways from large datasets so that implications are clear to organizational leaders to support organizational solutions, scenario planning and growth decisions.
  • Experience collaborating with other senior managers & directors to establish strategic plans and objectives. Experience making final decisions on administrative or operational matters to ensure effective achievement of objectives.
  • Ability to develop methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for projects, programs, and people to ensure the greatest impact for an organization.
  • Experience ensuring budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements.
  • Ability to link qualitative and quantitative information to make actionable recommendations to the Wikimedia Foundation and the community at large.
  • Experience leading the design and implementation of data dashboards.
  • Comfortable working remotely using a wide range of tools for distributed collaborative work (e.g. Google docs, Sheets, Slides, Slack, Asana, Mural, etc).
  • Strong writing and presentation skills in English, for all levels, including peers, technical audiences, executive leaders, and community activists.
  • Experience working in a cross-cultural setting and across time zones.

Qualities that are important to us:

  • Ability to effectively communicate complex technical information to a wide variety of stakeholders including lay audiences and analytics audiences.
  • A leader with cultural humility, professional experience in international spaces, the ability to understand different viewpoints, and the ability to communicate clearly with non-native English speakers.
  • A commitment to equity, and proven experience using data to challenge established norms and speak truth to power.
  • Ability to influence organizational and community culture to embrace evaluation and data-driven decision-making.
  • A bold decision maker, confident in partnering to build a new data strategy within the Foundation.

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

  • A strong facilitation background, to conduct effective workshops in various formats (in-person, on video, etc.) for a wide variety of stakeholders including staff, grantees, and community members at large.
  • Interest or experience with Wikimedia projects, the free knowledge movement, global education and/or international development.

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.

The Wikimedia Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply.

U.S. Benefits & Perks*

  • Fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible families (yes, fully paid premiums!)
  • The Wellness Program provides reimbursement for mind, body and soul activities such as fitness memberships, baby sitting, continuing education and much more
  • The 401(k) retirement plan offers matched contributions at 4% of annual salary
  • Flexible and generous time off – vacation, sick and volunteer days, plus 19 paid holidays – including the last week of the year.
  • Family friendly! 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy, flexible options to phase back in after leave, fully equipped lactation room.
  • For those emergency moments – long and short term disability, life insurance (2x salary) and an employee assistance program
  • Pre-tax savings plans for health care, child care, elder care, public transportation and parking expenses
  • Telecommuting and flexible work schedules available
  • Appropriate fuel for thinking and coding (aka, a pantry full of treats) and monthly massages to help staff relax
  • Great colleagues – diverse staff and contractors speaking dozens of languages from around the world, fantastic intellectual discourse, mission-driven and intensely passionate people

*Eligible international workers’ benefits are specific to their location and dependent on their employer of record