18MillionRising.org is Hiring a Product Strategist
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ABOUT 18MR.ORG
18MillionRising.org (18MR.org) brings many disparate Asian American communities together online and offline to reimagine Asian American identity with nuance, specificity, and power. We are using this Asian American identity as the foundation to build a more just and creative world where our experiences are affirmed, our leadership is valued, and all of us have the opportunity to thrive.
Using technology and popular culture, we develop new ways for Asian Americans and our allies to collaborate, create new ways of being, and transform the world around us.
As a member of the Allied Media Projects Sponsored Projects Network, we also hold the AMP Network Principles as central to our work.
Please read our operating principles before preparing your application.
SUMMARY
The 18MR.org Product Strategist loves solving tech problems for social justice. They apply existing tools in creative ways, know their way around front-end languages like Sass and Javascript, and enjoy thinking deeply about how technology works. The Product Strategist has two main roles: the day-to-day management and operation of 18MR.org’s campaigning stack, and guiding the development of new features and products for the campaigns team.
A good Product Strategist has skills as a product manager, DIY hacker, and community organizer. In the past, this role has been filled by self-taught programmers and product managers whose expertise is shaped, first and foremost, by their experience as organizers. The Product Strategist will spend their time solving day-to-day problems with web-based tools; managing projects with effective and clear communication; and applying their technical and creative acumen to make things happen for our team of online organizers and cultureshifters.
You’ll join a small, nimble team that is ambitious, detail-oriented, and highly engaged in everything from the nuts-and-bolts of campaigns and projects to shaping our analysis and vision of the world we want to build. We are a remote team and need teammates who are motivated self-managers ready to take their work to the next level.
The ideal Product Strategist is flexible and creative, with a get-it-done attitude. They are motivated to devise culturally appropriate technology solutions for Asian American movements. They play well with others, are open to being proven wrong, know when to ask for help, and have a passion for igniting the imaginations of non-technical collaborators. They are detail-oriented and know how to communicate about expectations, deliverables, and deadlines with remote peers and contractors. They work well with end users and capably facilitate community-led product design with a spirit of co-creation and mutual learning.
The Product Strategist will report to the Executive Director.
GENERAL DUTIES
- Maintain the existing campaigning stack by tracking, categorizing, assigning, and occasionally fixing front-end bugs.
- Help campaigners find solutions to create awesome experiences for 18MR.org members online.
- Participate in team activities focused on strengthening analysis of racial justice, gender justice, and economic justice in action.
- Maintain the documentation for the campaigning stack and offer internal training on new and improved tools, as appropriate.
- Assist the Executive Director with long-term planning for changes to software and tools.
- Participate in professional associations and conferences to improve skills and share 18MR.org findings.
- Manage a department budget for software as a service vendors, contract developers, and other expenses.
- Hire, develop, and manage contract developers and volunteers to achieve milestones.
MAINTAIN THE STACK
- Problem-solve with a variety of online platforms used by the campaigns team, including Action Network, Facebook, and Twitter.
- Interact with software vendors and project maintainers on behalf of 18MR.
- Stay abreast of developments in digital security for campaigns.
DEVELOP NEW THINGS
- Work with the campaigns team to identify and develop new features and address emergent technical needs.
- Manage community-based user research activities.
- Create and manage development goals and timelines for new products.
REQUIRED SKILLS/EXPERIENCE
- At least two years making contributions to multi-stakeholder software projects, either as a professional or volunteer.
- A basic understanding of the history and major themes of Asian American social movements.
- Proficiency with HTML/CSS/Javascript, at least enough to make minor upgrades to front end interfaces.
- Proficiency with Github workflows.
NICE-TO-HAVE SKILLS/EXPERIENCE
We know we won’t find someone with all of these skills. But if you can check two or three, you’d be a strong candidate and we’d love to see your application!
- Proficiency with Jekyll & Liquid templates.
- Conversational fluency in at least one Asian language (inclusive of East, Southeast, and South Asian languages).
- Experience working in social movements, Asian American movements, or organizing, either as a paid staff person or volunteer.
- Experience doing hands-on, in-the-field user research, ideally with immigrant or multilingual communities.
- Experience contributing to free, libre, or open source software projects.
- Experience pitching new products to investors or donors.
BENEFITS
As we are a distributed team, your primary residence may be located anywhere in the United States; current staff are based in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Occasional organization-sponsored travel for conferences and face-to-face staff gatherings will be required.
Through our fiscal sponsor, Allied Media Projects, we offer a competitive benefits package including generous vacation; full health, dental, vision and flex benefits; 403b program; ongoing training opportunities; and allowances for coworking space in your area and other incidental costs.
We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity as central to our work serving underrepresented communities, and we encourage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.
PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
None specified
MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIRED
No requirement
HOW TO APPLY
Send a cover letter, resume, a portfolio of past work (including any relevant links to public code repositories on BitBucket or GitHub), and three references (including one reference who can speak to a technical project) to in...@18millionrising.org, subject: Product Strategist Application.
Direct any questions about this job posting to cay...@18millionrising.org, subject: Product Strategist Questions.