The Rails Foundation is looking for a full-time executive director to run day-to-day operations and implement our mission to improve the documentation, education, marketing, and events in the Rails ecosystem.

About the work

You’ll be responsible for everything from commissioning freelance writers and video producers on new documentation and marketing materials, to organizing events such as conferences and workshops, to overseeing our social media channels, forums, and more.

The board of The Rails Foundation will work with you to set the direction and budgets for the different categories of the work. You’ll report progress to the board at regular intervals, as well as work with other members of the foundation.

Here are some tasks you could be working on day to day:

• Review the work of a writer commissioned to write a new Welcome To Rails tutorial.
• Organize the foundation’s first conference in a European city.
• Negotiate with writers or publishers within the ecosystem to purchase the rights to existing commercial books or video series.
• Highlight new tutorials and blog posts on the @rails Twitter feed.
• Design and execute a launch campaign for a major new version of the Rails.

About you

The foundation is looking for someone who can wear the hats of an educator, an editor, an organizer, and a marketer, depending on the task at hand. You don’t need to be a certified expert in any of these roles, but you should have experience in several of them, and be comfortable with all of them.

It would be nice if you were already familiar with the Rails ecosystem, but if you’ve done similar work in another programming field, that can work too.

You need to be highly self-driven. While the board will help you set the overall direction, it’s up to you to find the way forward on a daily basis. You’ll be held accountable to results that progress the mission.

You do not need to be an expert programmer, in Rails or otherwise, but you should have enough insight into the programming process to be able to evaluate the quality of the documentation we’re commissioning.

The foundation respects everyone’s right to participate in political expression and activism, but the foundation will not be weighing in on politics and causes unrelated to our direct mission. You should be comfortable with this.

About the job

If you’re from the US, you will be employed directly by The Rails Foundation, which is incorporated as a Delaware non-profit. If you’re from outside the US, we’ll work with an international employment platform.

In both cases, the all-in yearly compensation for this position is $135,000.

Since you’ll be working closely with a board that’s split between the US and Europe, and because we plan to host events primarily in these two locales, we are only considering candidates from North America, South America (with a confirmed long-term travel visa), and Europe to ensure timezone and travel compatibility.

This is a fully remote position. The Rails Foundation does not maintain a physical office. But you will be expected to travel for events and be on the ground when those are held.

How to apply

Please submit an application by December 21st that includes a CV and a cover letter telling the hiring committee why you’d be a great executive director for The Rails Foundation.

The foundation expects to complete the first round of processing by the middle of January. Finalists will be invited to interview with the committee following that. If all goes according to plan, the committee will recommend the best candidate for the job to the full board at the end of January. We hope to have our new executive director in the seat at the beginning of February.

The Rails Foundation welcomes people of all backgrounds to apply. All employment decisions are decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, or other applicable legally protected characteristics

We look forward to hearing from you.

Please apply for this job on our workable listing.