NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Working hours: Must be able to work hours that are compatible with the European time zone.

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia – one of the most popular websites in the world, serving nearly half a billion users every month. It is the only non-profit in the top 50 websites, supported by a community of millions of individual donors.

As the Fundraising team at the Wikimedia Foundation is continuing to grow its global fundraising program, the Donor Relations Team is looking for a Donor Relations Specialist to support this growth. The Donor Relations team handles a high volume of donor inquiries in multiple languages during our year-round global online fundraising campaigns. As the first line of contact between Wikimedia Foundation and tens of thousands of donors each year, this high-profile team is made up of professional communicators, who see each correspondence as a chance to positively engage donors and educate them about our mission.

The Donor Relations Specialist will provide support to the Donor Relations team by responding to a wide range of donor inquiries from around the world in multiple languages using an online ticket-based customer service platform. In this position, you will be communicating with donors over email in multiple languages and also spend a portion of your time translating messages from English to various European languages. This remote, full-time position offers flexible scheduling, however, in order to assist Europe-based donors in a timely manner via email, we are looking for someone who is available to work hours that are compatible with the European time zone.

You are responsible for:

Working with a global team of colleagues to respond to donor inquiries via email efficiently and professionally in multiple languages
Acting as an ambassador for the Wikimedia Foundation brand and Wikipedia. Taking a lead role in triaging donor inquiries on their time zone, and ensuring any issues are quickly escalated
Acquiring a broad knowledge base of the Wikimedia Foundation projects and fundraising program, our payment methods, and our donation flows across different fundraising campaigns
Gaining proficiency in the multiple systems we use for donor communication and organization of donor records
Collaborating with team leads to stay informed of Wikimedia Foundation, community, and media developments to efficiently answer any related donor inquiries
Problem solving for donors: investigating why donations failed, fraud, database issues, etc.
Administration of donor records, as needed, to ensure our donor base is up to date and accurate, with an eye to having each donor’s history of support accurately reflected in their record

Skills and Experience:

Willingness to learn a large and evolving knowledge base, and to deploy it creatively to solve problems and help donors
Professional maturity, and ability to work independently with minimal supervision
Analytical mindset, with ability to triage inquiries, identify, solve and escalate issues,
Excellent communication skills in English and customer-service orientation
Fluency in languages other than English, particularly Dutch, German, and/or Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian)
Experience with spreadsheets and a CRM database
Professional attitude and willingness to collaborate and maintain positive, respectful relationships
Excellent organizational skills, including the capacities to prioritize multiple workflows and frequently adapt to new developments
3+ years related experience
Consistently high level of attention to detail and an ability to keep big picture in mind at all times
Passion for process improvement
Commitment to diversity equity and inclusion.

Qualities that are important to us:

Experience with non-profit fundraising or online payment processing
Interest in the global free knowledge movement, free / open-source software, and collaborative technology
Experience working with Zendesk

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

Flexible and open to change and new information
Comfortable working in a highly collaborative, consensus-oriented environment
Ability to work effectively in multiple cultural contexts
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 content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.

The Wikimedia Foundation 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 Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation 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.

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 recruiting@wikimedia.org or +1 (415) 839-6885.