Wikimania Scholarships and Event Coordinator - Wikimedia Foundation

About the Role

The Wikimedia Foundation is seeking a Wikimania Scholarships and Event Coordinator for an 8-month contractor position starting in December 2026 or January 2027. This position requires a baseline of 35 hours per week, scaling up to 40 hours per week during the 2–3 peak months leading up to Wikimania 2027 in Santiago, Chile.

Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's annual conference, organized by volunteers and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. In 2027, the event will take place in Santiago and will be hosted by the Latin American (LATAM) community.

We will be offering funded places at the event to "scholars" whose travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the Wikimedia Foundation. This role involves supporting, communicating with, and coordinating this international group of attendees, as well as providing local event planning, logistics support, and communications coordination.

Note: Candidates based in Chile (Santiago preferred) are required, with in-person attendance expected at the event the week starting August 16, 2027.

Responsibilities

• Support the Wikimania 2027 Core Organizing Team with the facilitation and coordination of scholarships awarded to attendees.
• Meet with the Project Manager and lead volunteer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to review progress.
• Communicate with scholars regarding travel requirements, visas, and accommodation.
• Coordinate volunteer role opportunities for scholars at Wikimania.
• Attend weekly scholarship coordination calls and Core Organizing Team calls.
• Build and maintain an FAQ document to guide responses to inquiries.
• Address ad-hoc questions with guidance from the Senior Manager and Core Organizing Team.
• Collaborate in creating and distributing the "Wikimania Guide for Attendees" covering arrival details, local Chilean culture, and conference information.
• Manage the registration process for Pre-conference day sessions.
• Support planning and organization of partner-offered tours for attendees.
• Attend Wikimania 2027 on-site in Santiago (week starting August 16, 2027) to support scholars with live queries.
• Conduct post-event evaluations, reporting, and reviews of the scholarship process.
• Attend Core Organizing Team or sub-committee meetings (including occasional evenings and weekends).
• Support the logistics workflow, including liaising with designers and event agencies on branding, materials, and attendee welcome items.
• Assist with managing documents, spreadsheets, and public-facing Wikimania scholarship pages.

Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in event coordination and attendee inquiry handling.
• Experience working on logistics for medium- to large-scale events.
• Strong administration and record-keeping skills.
• Experience with tools such as email campaign platforms and event management systems.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively with diverse, global volunteers and audiences.
• Experience coordinating high volumes of communications.
• Solid problem-solving skills with a proactive attitude.
• Fluent in both Spanish and English.
• Based in Chile (Santiago preferred).

Nice to Have

• Experience within the Wikimedia communities and familiarity with their communication channels.
• Experience working in global or distributed team settings.
• Familiarity with the event and conference industry in the LATAM region.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. We are dedicated to making knowledge freely accessible to every human being on the planet.