Wikimedia Foundation Board noticeboard/Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee - 2023 Call for New Members

This message, "Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee: Call for New Members", was sent by Nataliia Tymkiv on 10 April 2023.

Wikimedia Foundation Elections Committee: Call for New Members

Dear all,

The Wikimedia Foundation elections committee (Elections Committee) is, from today until April 24, seeking an additional 2–4 members to help facilitate the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustee (Board) selection process.

The Elections Committee oversees the Board Community- and Affiliate seat selection process. This is a volunteer role, and the appointment is for three years. Please note that while you are a member of the Committee, you will not be able to run for any election overseen by the Committee – this includes the upcoming 2024 Wikimedia Foundation Board elections and any other election for 18 months following the end of your term on the Committee. You will also be restricted in your ability to publicly advocate for community members running in those elections. You can read more in the Elections Charter, recently updated by the Wikimedia Foundation Governance Committee (GC) based on the lessons learnt from the previous Elections and the feedback received.

The term of the previous members of the Elections Committee expired on March 31, 2023, and some of them confirmed their willingness to continue. After their paperwork is done (if needed), they will be reappointed by the GC along with the new members.

Please read carefully the information below before applying or recommending that somebody applies.

Duties and time commitment

The purpose of the Elections Committee is to assist with the design and implementation of the process to select Board Community- and Affiliate-Selected Trustees. The Committee may also assist with similar community-selected positions as determined by the Board.

The Committee has responsibilities throughout every phase of the selection process for Community- and Affiliate-Selected Trustees, as established in Article IV, Section 3(C) in the Foundation Bylaws, including:

• Timeline – Work with Foundation staff to determine and communicate election timeline specifics, based on target end date set by the Board.

• Candidacy – Working with Foundation staff and in consultation with the Board, design the process for collecting and reviewing candidate declarations.

• Outreach – Work with Foundation staff to reach the various Wikimedia communities with information about the election, including voting and the call for candidates.

• Volunteers – Determine whether additional volunteers are needed to assist with election administration, and work with Foundation staff to recruit and coordinate those volunteers.

• Communications – Review communications about the election drafted by Foundation staff and collaborate in determining when communications should be issued by the Committee, by staff, or by the Board.

• Evaluation – Assist in reviewing candidates based on criteria set by the Board.

• Campaigning – Set and enforce rules regarding how candidates can campaign, and oversee the process of asking candidates to answer campaign questions.

• Voting – Determine the voting method and voter eligibility criteria, and work with Foundation staff to determine the voting platform and review voter eligibility requests.

• Results – Review and announce vote results.

You can see a more detailed matrix of responsibilities for different groups organising the Elections here.

Elections Committee members sign up for three-year terms and will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Members can expect to contribute 2–5 hours per week before the selection process and 5–8 hours per week during the selection process.

As an Elections Committee member, you will be responsible for:

• Attending online meetings between now and the next election (mid-2024)

• Attending onboarding and online training in May–June 2023

• Working with the Committee to fulfill its other responsibilities

The wider Wikimedia community votes for candidates to be considered for community-and-affiliate selected seats of the Wikimedia Foundation Board. In 2024, the Elections Committee will oversee this selection process for the four community-selected seats with expiring terms. This process will be supported by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Requirements

New members should have the following qualities:

• Fluency in English
• Responsiveness to email collaboration
• Knowledge of the movement and movement governance

Application Process

If you would like to volunteer for this role, please submit your candidacy by April 24, 2023, at 23:59 AoE (anywhere on Earth) on Meta at Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/Nominations/2023.

After this the shortlisted candidates will be asked to participate in an interview with members from the Governance Committee. The interview will be approximately one hour, and a member of Foundation staff will likely be present for note taking purposes. The Governance Committee (GC) will most likely appoint new members at its meeting on May 15, 2023.

Given the private information that committee members handle, you must be 18 years of age or older, and be willing to sign the confidentiality agreement for nonpublic information if you haven't already. You can view information on how to sign this on Meta-Wiki. You will need to submit proof of your identity and age to the Wikimedia Foundation at secure-info@wikimedia.org. You would be able to hold this position on the Committee under a pseudonym, but the Foundation needs to confirm your age and identity.

To sum it up:

• Please carefully read the information in this letter, and follow the links in it, pay attention to the time commitment requirements
• Submit your application by Apr 24, 2023 at 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth) on Meta at Wikimedia_Foundation_elections_committee/Nominations/2023
• Submit proof of your identity and age to the Wikimedia Foundation at secure-info@wikimedia.org
• If you are shortlisted, please attend an 1 hour interview with the GC members
• Sign the documents needed if appointed

Thank you in advance for your interest! If you are not interested, but know someone who might be, share this message with them. Please let me know if you have questions.

Links:

Best regards,

antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv

Elections Committee Board Liaison

Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees