About the Progressive Tech Network

We are a network of progressive campaigning organisations, tech providers, agencies and individuals teaming up on tech to win. We’re building a world where progressive organisations and activists have the best tools possible, and the skills and support to use them to win.

To realise our ambition, we are:

1. Building community - building a networked community of people working in, or adjacent to, tech across the progressive sector in Australia. This involves online spaces, networking and socials for tech and digital staff, a library of shared code and resources, and a regularly updated map of tech work happening across the sector.
2. Developing our people and creating pathways into tech - running tech training, workshops and mentorship programs to build the capacity of women, people of colour and people working for smaller organisations and grassroots groups.
3. Widening access to tech - drawing on the skills of techies in the private sector to build, provide and deploy tech and fixes to grassroots organisations.
4. Driving collaboration - identifying and connecting organisations with similar tech needs and facilitating collaboration on joint work.

This project is the first of its kind in Australia, although similar models exist overseas, including the Progressive Coders Network (US), The Movement Cooperative (US) and the OPEN Tech Network (international).

The Progressive Tech Network (Progtech) is a project of Australian Progress.

About Australian Progress

Australian Progress builds the capacity of civil society to achieve systems change. Our work is divided into three pillars:

1. We strengthen the skills of community leaders, equipping them with cutting-edge leadership and advocacy skills.
2. We foster community, supporting development of cross-sector relationships, knowledge sharing and strategic collaborations.
3. We drive shared action, catalysing new ideas, unlocking funding, and leading strategic research to strengthen the approach of our movements. Progtech fits within our shared action work.

About the role

The Progtech Network Director will deliver against our mission to build the tech and digital infrastructure and capability across civil society. The Network Director will lead work to significantly scale up social change organisations’ technological expertise and infrastructure, including development of an open-source library of tech, training and mentoring programs, pathways into tech for people from diverse backgrounds, and a nationwide online network.

The Founding Network Director brings extensive understanding of the tech and digital infrastructure needs of civil society, and experience working in a senior tech or digital organiser role. They will have the ability to shape, lead and grow Progtech in a long term, sustainable resource for civil society.

The Director will provide strategic leadership and day-to-day project management of Progtech. They will have oversight from an elected board of network members who will help shape project strategy and priorities, and report to Australian Progress Impact Director.

Responsibilities

The ProgTech Network Director will be responsible for the following pieces of work. You’ll be supported by an active and engaged board, and the Australian Progress team, to achieve our shared goals.

1. Building and managing a diverse community of experienced and emerging technologists, digital experts and organisational partners, including building an online community of 200 tech and digital staff, establishing a library for shared code and resources, and creating space for troubleshooting and sharing expertise.
2. Increasing tech skills across the sector - there are significant gaps in organisations’ tech capacity and a long list of experts willing to share their skills through training and mentoring for tech and digital staff, and grassroots campaigners. The Director will have oversight of training design and delivery, and manage mentoring and other capacity building programs.
3. Identifying opportunities for tech collaboration - the Director will map tech needs across the sector, and identify and deliver sector-wide projects that would be unviable in isolation.
4. Increasing access to best in class tech - with a focus on small grassroots organisations, the Director will leverage in-kind tech tools and tech support to set up quality systems and ongoing support.
5. Building financial sustainability - leveraging the support of in-kind time, membership contributions, philanthropic support and tech sponsorship to set ProgTech up for ongoing financial sustainability.
6. Project and team management - including managing future hires (funding dependant) and volunteers.

Selection criteria

Required skills and experience

• Understanding of Australia’s progressive movement and the tech challenges facing civil society organisations.
• Experience working in a senior digital, tech or organiser role within civil society.
• Proven leadership expertise including managing complex stakeholder relationships and project management

Desirable skills and experience

Please apply even if only one or two of the following apply to you:

• Five or more years’ experience working in a senior digital, tech or organiser role
• Expertise managing funding relationships with sponsors and philanthropists
• Experience devising and delivering training and events.
• Existing relationships with grassroots organisations and proven commitment to building the capacity of community leaders, grassroots voices and people with lived experience.
• Expertise leading strategic planning processes and implementing ambitious, cross-sector programs.
• Strong project leadership skills and experience managing a small team.

Key attributes

• Personal drive – Brings a can-do attitude to the role, takes responsibility for actions, proactively implements work plans and addresses issues as they arise.
• Flexibility – Nimble, adapts approaches and work to changes in the environment, and effectively meets new challenges.
• Decisiveness – Uses available information and exercises good judgement to make sound, timely and well-informed decisions.
• Integrity – Instils mutual trust and confidence and cultivates confidence and harnesses leadership opportunities for others.
• Team player – Cooperates effectively with the team and works collaboratively to achieve work plan and goals.
• Strong work ethic – demonstrates professionalism and personal courage to achieve results, commit to action and displays resilience.

* Please note these are desired, not required, so we’d love to hear from you even if only some of these skills and attributes align with your experience.

Progtech’s core principles

ProgTech team and advisory board members, volunteers and network members agree to participate in the Progressive Tech Network in line with the following principles:

• Intersectionality. We recognise our movements are strongest when the voices and solutions of people with lived experience are centred, and the need for these leaders to have the tools, resources and support to win. We prioritise supporting staff and volunteers who identify as, and organisations led by, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of colour, people with disability, women, and gender diverse people.
• Open and collaborative. Together we are movement generous - which means we trust each other, and wherever possible we share our tools, work, insight, and experience - especially with network members that don’t have the same access to resources.
• Systems change. Network Members fight for a better world through many different pathways - but we’re united in pursuing deep, transformative change to help create a society that works for the many, not the few.

Remuneration

The Progtech Network Director will be employed on an initial six month contract. The salary range for the role is $85,000-100,000 (pro rata) depending on experience, plus 9.5% superannuation.

We are recruiting for someone to work between 0.6 - 1.0 FTE and will consider flexible work arrangements. Progtech intends for this to become a permanent, ongoing role in the longer term.

Additional employment information

• The Progtech Network Director will work from a remote office. We have a preference for candidates within the Australian East Coast time zone, although we will consider applicants based in central and western Australian time zones.
• We are always actively looking for applicants from a diverse range of genders, cultures, language groups, abilities, and experiences. In particular, we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people of colour, and people with experience seeking asylum to apply.
• Some interstate travel may be required once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

For more information, or to set up a confidential conversation about the role, please contact Australian Progress Impact Director, Elise Dalley, on [email protected], using the subject line: Progressive Tech Network Director enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.