Job description
Senior Specialist, Global Meetings
Summary
This role manages the end-to-end execution of international meetings and multi-day working sessions for internal teams at the Wikimedia Foundation. With a globally distributed workforce of 700+ staff, these in-person and hybrid convenings—approximately 35 annually—are essential to the organization’s success. The role also involves attending 8-10 larger internal or community-facing global events.
As a meeting and event planning professional, you will oversee needs assessment, vendor and venue sourcing, budgeting, contract negotiation, and on-site logistics. You will also ensure safety and security planning, provide real-time problem-solving, and deliver exceptional service to traveling staff and virtual participants.
Operating across time zones in a collaborative, mission-driven environment, this role requires strong communication, adaptability, and proactive problem-solving. You will work closely with the Travel team to deliver high-quality meeting and group travel services for staff, board, and volunteers, contributing to an organization committed to impactful and efficient convening.
We’d like you to do these things:
- Manage Full-Service Convening Logistics – Plan and execute internal meetings and events for 5-80 staff, board members, and volunteers, ensuring seamless logistics and adherence to contractual obligations.
- Develop Project Timelines & Guide Organizers – Create structured timelines and lead staff organizers through the travel and event planning process to ensure timely execution.
- Budget & Financial Oversight – Manage a $1M+ budget for internal meetings and events, preparing detailed line-by-line proposals, tracking expenses, and reconciling invoices.
- Venue & Destination Sourcing – Assess organizer needs and provide expert recommendations on global destinations, hotels, venues, and logistical support solutions.
- Problem Solving & Issue Resolution – Anticipate and address challenges, provide comprehensive onsite event support, and ensure all travel and venue agreements are met. Apply creative, resourceful problem-solving for international travel and event challenges.
- Attendee Travel & Visa Support – Assist attendees with flight arrangements and visa needs, ensuring smooth travel experiences.
- Rooming List Management – Coordinate and manage hotel rooming lists, ensuring accurate assignments, special requests, and smooth check-in/check-out experiences.
- Clear & Timely Communication – Maintain transparent, proactive communication with organizers, travelers, vendors, and the travel team.
- Vendor & Contract Management – Oversee financial and deliverable obligations with contracted venues and hotels, ensuring compliance and service quality.
- Cross-Team Collaboration – Work closely with the travel team to support additional travel-related workloads, including ticket reservations, ad-hoc meeting needs, and responding to travel inquiries from staff, senior leadership, and volunteers.
We’d like you to have these skills:
- Proven experience in project management for international meetings and events
- Strong relationship-building skills across all levels of staff, fostering trust and reliability
- Proficiency in Google Suite and Asana
- Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy, ensuring smooth execution
- Excellent written communication skills (English)
- Experience working in global, multicultural environments, collaborating with international teams
- Familiarity with the U.S. and Schengen visa application processes, including requirements, timelines, and documentation
- Strategic budget management, optimizing resources effectively
- Strong problem-solving skills, swiftly addressing travel and event-related challenges both in-person and remotely
- Ability to anticipate team needs, assess risks, and provide proactive support
- Adaptability in refining processes and procedures to meet evolving travel and meeting requirements within a non-profit framework
- Passion for research, logistics, and meticulous planning, with a keen eye for both small details and big-picture execution
Required Qualifications
- 6+ years of progressive experience in meeting and event planning, including full end-to-end execution
- Strong technical aptitude and adaptability, with the ability to quickly learn and utilize new software
- Excellent professional writing and communication skills, tailored for varied audiences
- Expertise in venue and meeting contract negotiation and review
- Willingness and ability to travel internationally to support events as needed (up to 40%)
- Proven ability to thrive in a remote work environment, maintaining high productivity and collaboration
- Ability to work independently and effectively engage with diverse stakeholders, balancing autonomy with teamwork
- Experience working with diverse teams and talent across all organizational levels, fostering inclusion and collaboration
- Commitment to delivering high-quality work in a mission-driven, community-focused organization
About the Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.
The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501©(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.
As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.
The Wikimedia Foundation is a remote-first organization with staff members including contractors based 40+ countries *. Salaries at the Wikimedia Foundation are set in a way that is competitive, equitable, and consistent with our values and culture. The anticipated annual pay range of this position for applicants based within the United States is US $74,525 –$119,007 with multiple individualized factors, including cost of living in the location, being the determinants of the offered pay. For applicants located outside of the US, the pay range will be adjusted to the country of hire. We neither ask for nor take into consideration the salary history of applicants. The compensation for a successful applicant will be based on their skills, experience and location.
*Please note that we are currently able to hire in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay. Our non-US employees are hired through a local third party Employer of Record (EOR).
We periodically review this list to streamline to ensure alignment with our hiring requirements.
All applicants can reach out to their recruiter to understand more about the specific pay range for their location during the interview process.
If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected] or +1 (415) 839-6885.
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