CLOSED: pyOpenSci is Hiring a Community Manager

IMPORTANT: we are no longer accepting applications for this position. Thank you for your interest.

Job Posting: pyOpenSci Community Manager

pyOpenSci is accepting applications for a Community Manager. The Community Manager supports growth and development of an inclusive pyOpenSci community. Our vibrant community is dedicated to supporting high quality Python open source software that drives open science.

While our organization is global we can only accept applications from candidates who are eligible for employment in the United States.

About pyOpenSci

pyOpenSci is a diverse scientific open source / open science community that:

1. Develops processes, guidelines, and training around the creation and maintenance of scientific Python packages.
2. Leads a community-driven peer review process of Python scientific software

pyOpenSci’s core program is open peer review of scientific Python software. Through peer-review we enforce community-defined packaging standards while improving usability, documentation and package quality. Further, we are creating a catalog of vetted scientific Python tools that have ongoing maintenance for scientists to use.

Core to our mission is increasing participation of groups that have historically underrepresented / excluded from the open source and open science community. We do this through mentorship, training and strategic partnerships with existing organizations such as MetaDocencia, Open Science Labs and other organizations.

pyOpenSci is a community-owned organization, fiscally sponsored by Community Initiatives. We are grateful to be funded by the Sloan foundation.

About the role / what we are looking for

We are looking for someone with experience managing, engaging with and inspiring large, diverse, online communities. This person will promote pyOpenSci’s mission to the broader scientific and tech communities. They will also help develop educational content around Python packaging and open science workflows.

We are looking for someone that is excited about:

1. facilitating outreach activities
2. developing community partnerships
3. promoting our organization at online and in-person events
4. engaging with our vibrant community to encourage participation
5. developing and teaching open source and open science content
6. writing blog posts and social media content to promote the organization
7. developing educational content around open science and Python packaging
8. getting the word out about pyOpenSci!

We are also looking for someone that is both committed to DEIA work and also has experience working on programs that target increasing diversity in the scientific open source software community. Ideally, we’d like someone who is familiar with both the Python programming language and the goals of open science.

This position provides the opportunity for someone to drive the pyOpenSci mission of building a diverse and supportive community forward.

Hiring overview

This is a full-time position with benefits with an ideal start date around November 2023 but no later than January 1, 2024. This position will report to the pyOpenSci Executive Director. Applicants must be eligible for employment in the United States.

Review of applications will begin on September 1, 2023 and will be ongoing until the position is filled. All positions in our organization are grant funded. We currently have funding for this position through at least June 2025. Assuming continued project success, we will continue to seek additional funding to extend the work beyond June 2025.

Work environment & hiring requirements

This position is fully remote. We also prefer that you live in the United States to simplify asynchronous remote work. IMPORTANT: While our reach is global, we can only hire someone who is either a resident / citizen in the United states or a resident with a valid work permit.

All work that you do should exemplify our community Code of Conduct

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be:

Community Management

• Build and manage an active, diverse, and inclusive online pyOpenSci community by engaging with the community, staying informed of the needs and motivations of current and prospective members and responding with programming that meets these needs
• Manage community conflict and enforce our Code of Conduct as a driving member of the Code of Conduct team.
• Facilitate regular communication with pyOpenSci community members.
• Organize, plan, and drive participation at community building events, both virtual and in-person, that provide positive and valuable interactions for members, consistent with pyOpenSci’s mission
• Lead diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEIA) efforts to ensure that pyOpenSci members from all backgrounds are supported and empowered to participate. This will include the development of a mentorship program for underrepresented groups in open source
• Solicit new packages for review as well as identify and facilitate the resolution of potential hold ups in the review process.
• Help maintain databases of community members, maintainers and packages for pyOpenSci

External Communications

• Cultivate strategic relationships with new and existing partner organizations Current partners include JOSS, rOpenSci, Pangeo, The Carpentries, MetaDocencia and 2i2c, astropy
• Travel to meetings to represent pyOpenSci and build awareness of pyOpenSci’s mission and programs.

Content Creation

• Grow pyOpenSci’s online presence through content creation and management for multiple platforms (e.g. social media, discussion forums, Slack, blogs, and GitHub)
• Identify and fill gaps in pyOpenSci’s web resources, including our peer review and Python packaging guide
• Development of training resources around open source and open science skills

About You - What experience you need for this position

• Outgoing personality that is driven by community work
• Experience working in a relevant discipline such as science communication, science, math, engineering, or computer science (or a bachelors degree in this space). We strongly prefer someone who understands the scientific community.
• Fluency speaking english
• 2+ years of experience working with, promoting and managing communities that support open source projects; alternatively demonstrated experience in the scientific data science space as an evangelist or advocate
• Experience creating strategic content for social media platforms and tools (specifically Mastodon and LinkedIn) and fostering online engagement
• Strong desire to deepen your knowledge of best practices for DEIA efforts and demonstrated experience working in the DEIA space
• Ability to work in a distributed, collaborative team environment - including managing ambiguity, concurrent projects, and work taking place across multiple time zones
• Experience using git/GitHub or willingness to learn
• Excellent time and project management skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. These skills will be applied to various areas including website and blog content creation, conflict resolution, technical writing, and external communication at conferences including presentations.
• Strong interpersonal skills. Ideally you have experience cultivating trust through active listening and responsive dialogue to support members in feeling welcome and supported in joining and actively participating in the community
• Creative, motivated problem-solver, with an ability to bring forth new ideas for engagement, create systems from scratch, and find new partners

About You - Other expertise that will be useful but not required

• Fluency speaking Spanish
• Experience developing or contributing to open source software
• Experience or familiarity with Python programming
• Bachelors degree in STEM or communications and/or demonstrated experience working in the open science / open source space.

What to expect

Within 1 month, you will…

• Meet and interact with the pyOpenSci community on Slack and begin to regularly communicate with members answering questions and facilitating conversations.
• Contribute to the pyOpenSci documentation for peer review and python packaging
• Have reviewed pull requests that update our python packaging guide, peer review guide and website content
• Written a blog on pyopensci.org introducing yourself
• Setup and be managing pyOpenSci social media accounts on Mastodon, LinkedIn

Within 3 months, you will be…

• Updating our database of people and packages reviewed
• Growing our social media following and support community meetings and events
• Working with the community to develop new blog posts on packages in our ecosystem
• Developing and contributing to a mentorship program to support new contributors to open source
• Curating and contributing content to our online community on social media, Slack, Discourse and other platforms as needed.

Within 6 months, you will be…

• Planning a community unconference online event
• Be building relationships with core organizations in the open source and DEIA open science space
• Be working with the executive director to secure funding for pyOpenSci
• Be working with the executive director to develop a training program and content that teaches scientists how to create python packages and implement open science workflows.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Community Initiatives is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, marital status, disability or protected veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law Posting Contact Information

For questions about the job, please email: admin at pyopensci.org