Code for Africa (CfA) uses technology and #OpenData to empower citizens. We give citizens actionable information for better-informed decision making and digital tools to amplify their voices, so that they can hold the authorities (both governmental and corporate) to account.

About this role

The successful candidate will help CfA grow the African Wikipedian Alliance (AWA) community in Anglophone and Francophone African countries, specialising in editing, fact-checking and verification of information on Wikipedia and its sister’s project as well as help build sustainable relationships with AWA’s partners, Wikimedia communities, and other open knowledge groups in Africa.

You will contribute to the development and growth of a community of volunteer Wikimedia editors by organising events, facilitating technical training, securing resources, and forging partnerships with research institutions, media outlets, statistical organisations, and Wikimedia communities. Additionally, you will help pioneer new approaches for the broader Wikimedia communities in Africa to address and mobilise around key issues, such as climate denialism, gender gaps, political challenges, and combating related misinformation and disinformation.

The ideal candidates will have strong strategic analysis and critical thinking skills, as our projects are varied and fast-paced, so you need to quickly understand and learn new things. You will need to possess keen attention to detail. You should be comfortable handling multiple tasks with multiple ongoing deadlines and should have previous experience working on the digital collaboration tools that CfA uses, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Trello.

Responsibilities:

Your daily responsibilities will include:

• Grow and manage the AWA community of Wikimedians across 30 or more countries in Africa.
• Organise AWA community events including monthly meetups, edit-a-thons, online international conferences, which will focus on researching specific topics that are relevant and impactful to members.
• Forge partnerships with research, media, statistical organisations and Wikimedia communities.
• Facilitate technical training on how to edit Wikipedia and its sister’s project on topical issues such as climate, gender, and politics/election.
• Work with new and existing Wikimedia affiliates to replicate or develop new programs that combat mis/disinformation on Wikipedia.
• Create publicity content on diff and other mediums covering AWA’s work on Wikipedia and its sisters project as well as within the Wikimedia communities.
• Conceptualise and develop varieties of Wikimedia projects online courses on the CfA’s MOOC for different categories of editors.
• Track and compile data collected about participants and the impact of AWA programs,  sessions, and events.
• Create weekly and monthly AWA community engagement plans and project reports.

Requirements

Required minimum requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree in any relevant field
• Active Wikimedian in good standing.
• Substantial, practical experience working as a Wikimedian in Residence (WiR) for Wikimedia projects.
• Advanced hands-on experience in creating/editing Wikimedia projects that align with the core content policies and General Notability Guidelines (GNG).
• Ability to coordinate Wikimedia programs, edit-a-thons, and campaigns, including planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluation, and timely reporting.
• Ability to create and implement online learning materials and workshops on Wikipedia and its sister projects’ toolkits and culture.
• Comfortable with training, skills coaching, and mentoring.
• Experience in online community engagement, organising, and outreach.
• Ability to work across a diverse network of Wikimedians, editors, and researchers.
• Excellent leadership, team-building, and self-management skills.
• Excellent partnership engagement and stakeholder management skills.
• Organised and able to create, manage, and oversee multiple timelines and schedules.
• Ability to work creatively and accurately under pressure with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to multitask, prioritise, and manage time efficiently.
• Experience working with online-first tools such as Google Product Suite.
• Proficient in English language (spoken and written).

Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:

• Familiarity with the intersection of open knowledge with  issues related to climate, gender, and politics.
• Advanced experience in using on-Wiki tools for identifying knowledge gaps, tracking contributions, carrying out research, and other work done by Wikimedians.
• Familiarity with data analysis and data visualisation tools such as spreadsheets, R, Flourish will be an added advantage.
• Relationships with existing Wikimedia communities in Africa and media houses.
• Bilingual in English and French (spoken and written).
• Digital-first workplace skill-sets, including proficiency in collaborative work solutions such as Google Workspace (Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.), Slack (or equivalents such as Teams, etc), and project management tools like Trello (or equivalents such as AirTable, etc).

Language and Location Requirements:

• Location: Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa or Uganda. Exceptional candidates from elsewhere in Africa will be considered.
• Languages: English
• Preferred but not required: Arabic, French, KiSwahili or any other major language spoken in Africa.