Communications Lead, Wikimedia Enterprise (Contract)

COMMUNICATIONS LEAD, [Employer] (CONTRACT)

Contract terms: 40 hours/week, initial 6-month contract, with potential to extend based on organizational needs

Reports to: Communications Manager (dotted line to President of [Employer])

Summary

The [Employer] is the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and the other [Employer] free knowledge projects. Our mission is to bring free educational content to the world.

[Employer] is the [Employer]'s commercial product for large-scale reusers and distributors of [Employer] content. Through [Employer] agreements, companies gain improved, commercial-grade access to [Employer] content at a volume and scale they need,  while directly supporting the [Employer]'s free knowledge mission. As AI systems increasingly scrape Wikipedia at scale, [Employer] has become critical to a sustainable model for [Employer] projects and the open knowledge ecosystem.

We're looking for an experienced communications lead to serve as the primary communications partner to the [Employer] team — shaping external messaging, media relations, and thought leadership to drive organic demand for [Employer] services, while ensuring narrative and strategic alignment with the [Employer]'s broader communications priorities.  This role sits in the Media Relations team, within the [Employer]’s Communications Department, with a dotted line to the President of [Employer].

Responsibilities

• Develop and own the external communications strategy for [Employer] across media/trade press, speaking engagements, and other channels that build visibility and organic demand for [Employer] offerings.
• Build relationships with reporters (mainstream and B2B tech trade press) and conference organizers to secure speaking opportunities and position [Employer] as the go-to product for commercial content reusers.
• Serve as a primary media liaison for [Employer], working with the wider media relations team to manage daily press inquiries, prepping spokespeople/staffing interviews, information requests, and speaking engagement requests in a timely manner. This includes leading rapid response media efforts — triaging sensitive, fast-moving situations with sound judgment.
• Partner with internal teams to develop narratives and thought leadership that strengthens [Employer]'s brand relevance and positioning.
• Guide, produce, and review marketing and communications materials — press statements, blogs, pitch notes and lists, briefing docs, and more — ensuring key messages about [Employer] are shaped consistently and clearly for public audiences.
• Coordinate  the end-to-end communications workflow for major external launches and announcements together with the [Employer] Growth team, from drafting through internal review, stakeholder approvals, and release.
• Ensure alignment between the [Employer] growth plan and the [Employer]'s annual communications calendar.
• Build relationships and lead cooperative efforts with internal and external stakeholders — [Employer] colleagues, [Employer] volunteers and affiliates, and external partners — to enable the successful delivery of communications plans.
• Manage relationships with external vendors (such as PR agencies) as directed to deliver on goals.
• Use data and customer insights to refine messaging, content, and strategy for [Employer] across business audiences.
• Work with leadership to set goals and KPIs for [Employer] communications, track results against the growth plan, and share actionable insights with leadership and key stakeholders.

Skills and experience

Required

• At least 8+ years of communications experience, including experience operating at a senior/lead level with minimal oversight in a tech and/or B2B tech environment or supporting a commercial product line.
• Proven experience bridging communications and marketing/growth functions — ideally in a role that required translating between brand/editorial priorities and commercial or growth objectives.
• Experience with developing and executing earned media strategy and thought leadership, building relationships with press, partners, and wider stakeholders to develop a pipeline of coverage across channels and platforms.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience influencing senior and executive stakeholders, with a track record of working effectively across teams with different priorities, cultures, and reporting lines.
• Sound judgment on reputational risk and sensitivity, particularly when balancing commercial messaging against mission-driven or community-facing considerations.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity, with the ability to ramp up quickly and take ownership of a live workflow with minimal onboarding, given the fixed-term nature of this role.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to adapt tone across formats — from press materials to marketing copy to internal briefing documents.
• Strong editorial judgment: demonstrable ability to review and shape marketing materials (campaigns, web copy, social, blogs, thought leadership) for voice, tone, and brand consistency.
• A track record of tying communications to business results: setting metrics, measuring impact (coverage quality, share of voice, inbound demand, pipeline influence) and changing course based on the data.
• Experience working in a matrixed organization, comfortable with dotted-line reporting and leading through influence and collaboration.
• Experience working remotely and across multiple time zones and emerging markets.
• Experience overseeing and managing relationships with external agencies.

Preferred

• Experience in a nonprofit, open-source, mission-driven, or community-governed organization, especially one with a commercial or earned-revenue arm.
• Real understanding of AI, how it works, data licensing and content provenance debates 
• Familiarity with the [Employer] movement, Wikipedia, or free-knowledge/open-content spaces.
• Background in tech, media, or platform companies navigating AI-related content, licensing, or data issues.

About the [Employer]

The [Employer] is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other [Employer] 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 [Employer] projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing [Employer] content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make [Employer] possible, and advocate for policies that enable [Employer] and free knowledge to thrive. 

The [Employer] is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The [Employer] is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the [Employer] values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

The [Employer] is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries*. Salaries at the [Employer] are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is US$118,361 to US$182,658 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location.

*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following:US States: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico*, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming (*US Territory or Federal District)Countries: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya*, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore*, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR) and must have current work authorization in their location. (*citizens/permanent residents only)

We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements.

All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at [email removed] or +1 (415) 839-6885.

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