Global Voices seeks an Executive Director

Originally published on Global Voices

Global Voices is looking for a dynamic and thoughtful leader to lead our unique and pathbreaking organization. Our next Executive Director will guide the organization as we enter our 20th year, and plan the next chapter of our work. The candidate will succeed Ivan Sigal, who is stepping down from his role as founding Executive Director after more than 15 years.

Global Voices is a respected international, multilingual community of writers, translators, digital activists and researchers around the world, with a large network of partners in media, digital rights and information access communities. 

Founded during a period of optimism about the possibilities for open, participatory, online media, Global Voices was created by a community of bloggers, translators and online rights activists seeking to expand access to narratives and perspectives rooted in local knowledge and expertise. Through this work, Global Voices has acquired deep knowledge about the threats and possibilities in the social and informational spaces of today’s media.

The Executive Director should embrace Global Voices’ core values. Crucially, the successful candidate will be committed to sustaining an environment of mutual support, kindness, and willingness to see people as complex, with the potential for multiple identities, unique histories, and diverse affiliations. Candidates for this role should be passionate about the vision articulated in our mission statement: building understanding between communities, cultures and languages; creating trustworthy information in a contested and complex world; and supporting spaces for people to represent themselves and assert power in media environments.

The next Executive Director will ideally: 

• Be an inspirational leader who listens well and is empathetic and responsive to Global Voices’ diverse community 
• Be effective in promoting and amplifying the organization’s work, and representing the organization at public events and in community conversations
• Be an entrepreneurial thinker, adept at creating programs and designing initiatives
• Demonstrate a strategic mindset to conceive, fund, and operationalize projects and activities that further the Global Voices mission, while working collaboratively with the Global Voices team and community
• Be a skilled fundraiser, with experience in grant writing, direct fundraising, navigating philanthropic missions, and exploring possibilities for private, corporate and governmental funding streams and other approaches to earning revenue
• Be a strong writer and editor, and have written and verbal fluency in English and at least one other language
• Have significant experience in at least some of Global Voices’ core activities, including community-based journalism, digital and online human rights advocacy and research, internet and online research methods, and network and community mobilization for under-represented communities. Newsroom leadership experience is a bonus, but not required
• Be enthusiastic and effective in supporting, motivating, and mentoring the Global Voices team and community to take on roles of progressive responsibility and commitment
• Be skilled and experienced in organizational planning and growth, managing teams, designing processes, and configuring resources to support a healthy and strong team and community
• Have substantial international experience and be comfortable working in distributed, global, multilingual contexts with diverse values
• Be able to travel internationally
• Be able to work on a flexible schedule to accommodate meetings with team and volunteers in different time zones, including evenings, mornings, and weekends 

There is no geographic requirement associated with this position; Global Voices has no office or physical headquarters. Candidates must have consistent, reliable access to broadband internet connectivity, be comfortable working in a wholly virtual environment, and be able to travel internationally when necessary. The Executive Director will report to the Global Voices board.

We strongly welcome candidates from outside North America and Western Europe and encourage people currently contributing to Global Voices to apply.

Compensation: The position will be treated as a freelance contract. The rate for the position will be determined by our compensation policies together with the skills and experience of the candidate. Because Global Voices is wholly virtual, our rates are applied independent of location.

To apply: Email the following items to execsearch@globalvoices.org, with the subject line Global Voices Executive Director: [your name]:

• A cover letter in English that highlights your work and explains why you would be a good fit for the position
• Your CV

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. 

Originally published in Global Voices.