Thank you for this detailed update. On Oct 5, 2017 5:24 PM, "Nataliia Tymkiv" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dear all, > > Board recruiting has been demanding. We launched our first truly global > search. It was far more work than we expected. But I am glad to say that we > have significantly expanded our talent network and are engaged in > conversation with four, uniquely talented finalists. > > We have missed some deadlines given our focus on movement strategy and the > “all fronts” nature of the search for talent at the executive and board > level. > > Now, I am able to present you with the new timeline and process, as we > decide among final candidates. We hope they will be able to join the Board > for our November meeting (the original plan was to have them join the Board > for Wikimania 2017). > > Below is the last published timeline with comments and explanations at each > stage. > > 1) Application and referral submission period (January 23 - August) > > We asked applicants to apply online: > https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Work_with_us#Wikimedia_Careers. We > accepted applications and referrals by email at > [email protected]. > > The overview: We decided to start from our own networks and expand outward. > We reached far and wide, proactively, looking in Africa, Latin America, > Asia. In the course of our work, Katherine met a non-profit executive > recruiter. She volunteered to look for us. She delivered many very strong > and exciting candidates from multiple continents, one finalist. Slowly, our > networks then also produced three, very strong finalists as well. > > Initially we planned for this stage to be over by March 6 [1], but the > timeline was ambitious It took us longer to find the right fit. We decided > the right fit is worth the wait. So we extended the deadline to May 6 [2]. > > It took us longer. The process required more networking. > > At the end of May, Katherine was introduced to a non-profit recruiter. They > volunteered to look for us and they sourced a pool of very promising > additional candidates - 23 people with very diverse backgrounds - for the > BGC to evaluate on June 3. > > We accepted referrals until August 10. For the record: we should always be > constantly looking for potential candidates, so it would not take so much > time for us in the future. > > 2) Application and referral review, proactive candidate recruitment, and > interviews (January - ongoing) > > 2a) Initial application review and screenings (January - August) > > This stage was entirely conducted by Wikimedia Foundation staff. By > mid-April Katherine Maher and Anna Stillwell had spoken to 21 people, > either potential candidates themselves or people who could recommend > candidates. We also considered some of our former Trustees. They did not > have capacity, and required travel time seemed to be an issue. > > We identified 4 candidates for the Growing a Global Movement and 4 > candidates for Engaging New Communities, and 2 candidates for Social Sector > Governance. > > One of the tangible results for this stage was structuring an emerging > talent network and gathering a pool of potential candidates, that we can > reach out to in future searches. > > 2b) Board Governance Committee > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_ > Board_Governance_Committee> > (BGC) discussions with candidates > > The BGC (as a whole group) did not meet with the candidates. Instead, > people spoke one on one. > > 2c) BGC meets and makes short list (May - June) > > We all agreed to reach out to candidates consecutively.We did not want to > reach out to all of the potential candidates at once, because we do not > want to incentivize unhealthy competition. If we are talking to someone, we > are interested. We are not interested in playing people against each other. > > > The BGC prioritized the list, Katherine reached out to them in that order > to understand if they are interested, and take it from there. If they are > not interested in working with us, or they do not fit, we shall move to the > next candidate in the relevant pool. > > It turned out to require a lot more time than we planned for this stage: we > had to wait some time before we could assess genuine commitment and > interest in the position, so we could schedule further calls. And moving to > the next candidate seemed justified only after enough time passed between > our letters of offering this position and the response. This is not > uncommon. > > 2d) Second-round interviews (May - August) > > This stage was not conducted as a group interview. Rather, we organised > one on one meetings for all voting members of the BGC with the finalists. > > The meetings with a candidate from Engaging New Communities took place from > the end of May till the beginning of August, given the vacation / travel > times for some of us. > > We are still scheduling interviews for our top candidate for Growing a > Global Movement profile. > > After the meetings (interviews) with the voting members of the BGC, I wrote > a letter to the Board if there are any “red flags” they find in this > candidacy, and if they do not find any, the BGC recommends running a > background check. > > 2da) Background check conducted by BGC and Wikimedia Foundation staff > > 2daa) Criminal and financial background check conducted by outside firm > > 2dab) Thorough review of online and public coverage of candidates > > This background check was started in August 2017, after the Board meeting. > The results were ready at the end of September. It is not unusual, this > process takes from 1 to 2 months. > > 3) Executive Director and BGC meet to determine recommendations and provide > recommendations to the full Board (June) > > We did not have a special meeting for that, after the meeting on June 16, > 2017 [3] we coordinated our efforts via emails. > > 4) Board vote to confirm candidate (September) > > The draft resolution was posted on Board wiki on Thursday, September 28. > > 5) Announcement of new candidates (October) > > We plan to announce a candidate next week. And we are working on scheduling > meetings for voting members of the BGC for another potential candidate. > > I am aware that this letter is a bit long to read. Please ask questions if > something is confusing or not clear. > > [1] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2017-January/085978.html > > [2] https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2017- > March/086971.html > [3] > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_ > Board_Governance_Committee/Minutes_16-06-2017 > > Best regards, > antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv > > *NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working > hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You > should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in > advance!* > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
