Movement Communications Specialist, Africa (Contract)

Movement Communications Specialist, Africa (Contract)

Fixed Term Contract: 1 July 2026 - 30 June 2027

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Movement Communications Specialist, Africa (Contract), the ideal candidate is an experienced communicator, campaigner or community organizer with extensive experience connecting, convening and collaborating across Africa; someone who is passionate about bringing people together around a common cause.

Reporting to the Manager, Global Movement Communications, you will be part of the Movement Communications team and the wider Communications Department. You will help us build bridges and a shared understanding across our movement with a particular focus on the Africa region.

We are looking for an experienced communicator, campaigner or community organizer with extensive experience working across Africa.

The Movement Communications team, part of the Communications Department is uniquely skilled at bringing people together - whether through moments to celebrate or workshops to collaborate, and while working with other departments as strategic partners and problem solvers. We work to build bridges and understanding in the movement; to help people understand our mission and celebrate their role in its success. 

We are looking for a person based in the Sub Saharan Africa region.

Your Responsibilities:

• Connections & Dialogue: Support building connection, trust and understanding with our communities through two-way dialogue with our movement in Africa.
• Deploying software: Work closely with others in the team to help deployment of product and technology features onto relevant Wikis.
• Movement Pulse: Following the movement pulse, through monitoring the relevant community channels for news, incidents, and requests, and understanding the most relevant discussions.
• Mapping: Help in mapping the editor communities and Wikimedia movement in the African region, with a special focus on Product and Tech engagement, users with extended rights and the communities’ needs and priorities.
• Implementing insights: Help in informing the communities about  the Foundation work, in alignment with recommendations from the Movement Communications Insights 
• Support the Movement Communications team by taking up occasional assignments for other organizational priorities as per direct report’s manager's indications.

Skills & Experience: 

• Excellent written English and fluency with at least one other African language would be beneficial.
• Some knowledge of Wikimedia communities’ dynamics, policies, cultures, and channels.
• A natural collaborator, who enjoys working with others and brings a supportive attitude to team efforts
• Well organized, skilled at handling logistic tasks (scheduling, organizing, notetaking etc.), efficient and able to meet deadlines. 
• Ability to engage and facilitate dialogue with volunteers across a range of formats, including virtual meetings, on-wiki discussions, and in-person events.
• Experience working in a multilingual and multicultural environment

Additionally we would love:

• Experience of contributing to one of Wikimedia's projects.
• Familiarity or direct experience with free knowledge communities, the education sector, and/or open source culture.

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 c