Communications Lead, Wikimedia Enterprise (Contract)

• Develop and own the external communications strategy for Wikimedia Enterprise across media/trade press, speaking engagements, and other channels that build visibility and organic demand for Enterprise offerings. • Build relationships with reporters (mainstream and B2B tech trade press) and conference organizers to secure speaking opportunities and position Wikimedia Enterprise as the go-to product for commercial content reusers. • Serve as a primary media liaison for Wikimedia Enterprise, working with the wider media relations team to manage daily press inquiries, prepping spokespeople/staffing interviews, information requests, and speaking engagement requests in a timely manner. This includes leading rapid response media efforts — triaging sensitive, fast-moving situations with sound judgment. • Partner with internal teams to develop narratives and thought leadership that strengthens Wikimedia Enterprise's brand relevance and positioning. • Guide, produce, and review marketing and communications materials — press statements, blogs, pitch notes and lists, briefing docs, and more — ensuring key messages about Wikimedia Enterprise are shaped consistently and clearly for public audiences. • Coordinate the end-to-end communications workflow for major external launches and announcements together with the Enterprise Growth team, from drafting through internal review, stakeholder approvals, and release. • Ensure alignment between the Wikimedia Enterprise growth plan and the Foundation's annual communications calendar. • Build relationships and lead cooperative efforts with internal and external stakeholders — Wikimedia Foundation colleagues, Wikimedia volunteers and affiliates, and external partners — to enable the successful delivery of communications plans. • Manage relationships with external vendors (such as PR agencies) as directed to deliver on goals. • Use data and customer insights to refine messaging, content, and strategy for Wikimedia Enterprise across business audiences. • Work with leadership to set goals and KPIs for Wikimedia Enterprise communications, track results against the growth plan, and share actionable insights with leadership and key stakeholders.

COMMUNICATIONS LEAD, WIKIMEDIA ENTERPRISE (CONTRACT) Contract terms: 40 hours/week, initial 6-month contract, with potential to extend based on organizational needs Reports to: Communications Manager (dotted line to President of Wikimedia Enterprise) Summary The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our mission is to bring free educational content to the world. Wikimedia Enterprise is the Wikimedia Foundation's commercial product for large-scale reusers and distributors of Wikimedia content. Through Enterprise agreements, companies gain improved, commercial-grade access to Wikimedia content at a volume and scale they need, while directly supporting the Wikimedia Foundation's free knowledge mission. As AI systems increasingly scrape Wikipedia at scale, Wikimedia Enterprise has become critical to a sustainable model for Wikimedia projects and the open knowledge ecosystem. We're looking for an experienced communications lead to serve as the primary communications partner to the Wikimedia Enterprise team — shaping external messaging, media relations, and thought leadership to drive organic demand for Wikimedia Enterprise services, while ensuring narrative and strategic alignment with the Foundation's broader communications priorities. This role sits in the Media Relations team, within the Foundation’s Communications Department, with a dotted line to the President of Wikimedia Enterprise. Responsibilities • Develop and own the external communications strategy for Wikimedia Enterprise across media/trade press, speaking engagements, and other channels that build visibility and organic demand for Enterprise offerings. • Build relationships with reporters (mainstream and B2B tech trade press) and conference organizers to secure speaking opportunities and position Wikimedia Enterprise as the go-to product for commercial content reusers. • Serve as a primary media liaison for Wikimedia Enterprise, working with the wider media relations team to manage daily press inquiries, prepping spokespeople/staffing interviews, information requests, and speaking engagement requests in a timely manner. This includes leading rapid response media efforts — triaging sensitive, fast-moving situations with sound judgment. • Partner with internal teams to develop narratives and thought leadership that strengthens Wikimedia Enterprise's brand relevance and positioning. • Guide, produce, and review marketing and communications materials — press statements, blogs, pitch notes and lists, briefing docs, and more — ensuring key messages about Wikimedia Enterprise are shaped consistently and clearly for public audiences. • Coordinate the end-to-end communications workflow for major external launches and announcements together with the Enterprise Growth team, from drafting through internal review, stakeholder approvals, and release. • Ensure alignment between the Wikimedia Enterprise growth plan and the Foundation's annual communications calendar. • Build relationships and lead cooperative efforts with internal and external stakeholders — Wikimedia Foundation colleagues, Wikimedia volunteers and affiliates, and external partners — to enable the successful delivery of communications plans. • Manage relationships with external vendors (such as PR agencies) as directed to deliver on goals. • Use data and customer insights to refine messaging, content, and strategy for Wikimedia Enterprise across business audiences. • Work with leadership to set goals and KPIs for Wikimedia Enterprise communications, track results against the growth plan, and share actionable insights with leadership and key stakeholders. Skills and experience Required • At least 8+ years of communications experience, including experience operating at a senior/lead level with minimal oversight in a tech and/or B2B tech environment or supporting a commercial product line. • Proven experience bridging communications and marketing/growth functions — ideally in a role that required translating between brand/editorial priorities and commercial or growth objectives. • Experience with developing and executing earned media strategy and thought leadership, building relationships with press, partners, and wider stakeholders to develop a pipeline of coverage across channels and platforms. • Excellent stakeholder management skills, including experience influencing senior and executive stakeholders, with a track record of working effectively across teams with different priorities, cultures, and reporting lines. • Sound judgment on reputational risk and sensitivity, particularly when balancing commercial messaging against mission-driven or community-facing considerations. • Comfortable operating with ambiguity, with the ability to ramp up quickly and take ownership of a live workflow with minimal onboarding, given the fixed-term nature of this role. • Strong writing and editing skills, with the ability to adapt tone across formats — from press materials to marketing copy to internal briefing documents. • Strong editorial judgment: demonstrable ability to review and shape marketing materials (campaigns, web copy, social, blogs, thought leadership) for voice, tone, and brand consistency. • A track record of tying communications to business results: setting metrics, measuring impact (coverage quality, share of voice, inbound demand, pipeline influence) and changing course based on the data. • Experience working in a matrixed organization, comfortable with dotted-line reporting and leading through influence and collaboration. • Experience working remotely and across multiple time zones and emerging markets. • Experience overseeing and managing relationships with external agencies. Preferred • Experience in a nonprofit, open-source, mission-driven, or community-governed organization, especially one with a commercial or earned-revenue arm. • Real understanding of AI, how it wo