Wikimania Scholarships and Event Coordinator

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and our other free knowledge projects. We want to make it easier for everyone to share what they know. To do this, we keep Wikipedia and Wikimedia sites fast, reliable, and available to all. We protect the values and policies that allow free knowledge to thrive. We build new features and tools to make it easy to read, edit, and share from the Wikimedia sites. Above all, we support the communities of volunteers around the world who edit, improve, and add knowledge across Wikimedia projects. 

Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's annual conference, organized by volunteers and hosted by the Wikimedia  Foundation. 

Since 2011, the winner of the Wikimedian of the Year award (known as the "Wikipedian of the Year" until 2017) has been announced at Wikimania. 

Wikimania attracts Wikimedia project participants and volunteers from around the world, including writers, editors, programmers, and photographers; Wikimedia Foundation staff and trustees. Many researchers also attend and present. Attendance has ranged from 380 to 2,000 people (around 750 in person and 1250 online), with representation from more than 80 countries. The conference is typically held on a different continent each year and is organized by local volunteer teams, with support from international volunteers and the Wikimedia Foundation. 

The conference program consists of presentations and workshops from community members, speakers from related projects, and wiki researchers, as well as social activities and informal discussions. Some formal research is presented, in addition to "best practice" knowledge sharing and presentations of ongoing work. Wikimania also features formal reports from Wikimedia Foundation board members and staff, renowned keynote speakers, and opportunities to interact with dedicated Wikimedia contributors from all around the world.

This year the event will take place in Santiago and will be hosted by the Latin American (LATAM) community. 

We will be offering funded places at the event to people we call ‘scholars’. Their travel and accommodation costs will be paid for by the Wikimedia Foundation and this role will be helping to support, communicate with and coordinate with this group of people, from all over the world. 

This role will also support the Lead project manager and others in the Core organising team on event planning and logistics, helping to provide local knowledge and expertise. 

The role will also work with the Communications team on communications to our scholars, self funded attendees and general audiences through a range of communication channels.

Please note: This is an 8-month contractor position starting in December 2026 or January 2027 for candidates based in Chile (Santiago preferred), requiring a baseline of 35 hours per week that scales up to 40 hours per week during the 2–3 peak months leading up to the event.

The Contractor will be responsible for:

• Supporting the  Wikimania 2027 Core Organizing Team with the facilitation  and coordination of scholarships awarded to individuals for attending Wikimania 2027 in Santiago.
• Meeting with the Project manager and lead volunteer on a bi weekly or weekly basis to check progress
• Supporting communication with successful scholars on requirements needed for travel, visas and accommodation
• Communication and coordination with scholars on volunteer role opportunities at Wikimania. Previous experience working with volunteers is expected. 
• Attending Scholarship coordinating weekly call and the the weekly Core organizing team call
• Building the FAQ for guidance of answering potential inquiries
• Answering any ad hoc questions with guidance from the Senior manager and the  Core Organizing Team
• Collaborating in the making of and sending out a ‘Wikimania Guide for Attendees’ to give essential and helpful information about when they arrive, Chile customs and culture and their time at the event.
• Managing the registration process for our Pre conference day, which hosts sessions outside the main conference programme
• Support with the planning and organising of any tours offered by partners for our attendees
• Attendance at Wikimania 2027 to support scholars while they are at the event with queries and questions. Dates of the event are the week starting the 16th of August.
• Post event evaluation, reporting and review of the scholarship process. 

The Contractor will be expected to:

• Attend Core Organising Team or sub committee meetings sometimes at weekend and evening, to work through action items and updates
• Support the Scholarship sub committee with any necessary admin work and coordinating the committee’s work and facilitate some of the work including internal and external communications
• Support the Communications sub committee with the writing and publishing of communication materials and information. 
• Support the logistics process including working with designers and the event agency on branding production and goody bag items for on site at the event. 
• Contribute to post event surveys and debriefs
• Working with the event team to help develop the content for and facilitate training and information sessions
• Attend pre event training for all event support that will be on site at the event 
• Help manage documents via Google Docs and spreadsheets
• Work with volunteers on keeping information up to date on the Wikimania pages and communication channels regarding Scholarships 
• Help to liaise arrival and departure of volunteers with designated local agents.
• Help coordinate scholars volunteering activities during the event including helping to organize the volunteer rotas  during Wikimania  and being there at the event to help with any last minute changes or trouble shooting

Skills and experience

• Strong administration and record keeping skills
• Use of tools such as email campaign platforms and event management systems
• Good communicator with the ability to deal with people from all walks of life, good customer or audience facing skills
• Experience of working with a diverse set of volunteers across different regions
• Can do attitude to problem solving
• General Conference and Event organising experience 
• 3-5 years of experience with event coordination and attendee enquiry response
• Experience of working on logistics for medium to large scale events 
• Experience with coordinating a high volume communications
• Fluent in Spanish and English

Additionally, we would love it if you have experience of:

• The Wikimedia communities and how they communicate and connect
• Global working  
• Understanding of the LATAM regions events and conference industry 
• Mission Driven: You believe in the power of inclusive communication and movement building to make free knowledge accessible to everyone. 
• Openness and Curiosity: We work on new and interesting problems in public and collaborative ways.
• Resilience: Working together for outcomes, willingness to change course when warranted and motivated by high standards.
• Positivity: Sharing a culture of constructive criticism and respect.
• Team-oriented: Natural inclination for team collaboration and for helping colleagues succeed 
• Intentionally inclusive: Strong personal values related to participation, equity, and diversity in global movements

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 40+ countries*. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. 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:
US States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico*, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (*US Territory or Federal District)

Countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya*, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore*, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR) and must have current work authorization in their location. (*citizens/permanent residents only)

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 an 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.

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