Selection process vision

Before coming up with an actual process, let’s first define how we want our selection process to be and what it means in practical terms.

Transparent

The executive board serves as the leadership of the organization. Hence the team should be able to discuss and debate how we want the leadership team to represent, and how the selection process should be. This is so that we can have feedback from everyone, and make sure all the details are well thought out.

For this to happen, we need to have all details of the selection process documented on the wiki page and updated to reflect any changes. Without the single source of truth updated, it is very difficult to be on the same page and suggest new ideas. In addition, key updates regarding any ongoing process should be shared with the team.

Inclusive

While the executive board generally has a broad interaction with everyone in the team, it could totally happen that some great potential candidates are missed out on. We want our selection process to be inclusive and open to everyone. What it means is that there should be a path forward for any member who expressed interest in joining the executive team. Even if the person is not a fit at the time, the current exec team should be aware of their interest and can, later on, help them prepare for the next selection process.

To avoid not being inclusive, one of the options we’d like to propose is that anyone in our team can suggest potential members they think are a good fit for the Exec team. So if you would like to elect yourself or any other team member, you should be able to and there must be a well-defined process on how to do that.

Selection Criteria

This is the criteria we consider important and are looking for in the upcoming executive member. Note that they are listed in the order of importance.

1. Commitment & Availability

The executive board member is a position that requires a consistent considerable amount of time and availability. The expected tenure is at least one year, and we’d hope it to be longer if possible. Hence, this is the foremost important criteria as it is very hard or cannot be changed, as opposed to the other criteria. At the same time, the candidates should also assess if the position is right for them in terms of expectations given their current lifestyle and personal situation.

2. Track record

This is a leadership role where the exec member will have to make a lot of important decisions from strategic to tactical ones. The person will coordinate a lot with the team making sure our courses are being organized and team members are having a good time volunteering with us.

Hence, any previous leadership experience within the LDSA would be very useful and highly resemble the nature of work. This ranges from leading any particular AOR or course. There can also be certain initiatives within the organization, such as Data Science for Social Good.

3. Time at the organization

To have a path to success as an executive member, a certain level of institutional knowledge is required. Also, we don’t want to have someone completely new joining the board immediately from the start. It’s important that we work with the person before and get to know them personally while allowing them to gain institutional knowledge of the organization as time goes by.

That being said, this is a “good-enough” criteria. So once the person has been in the organization for enough time, e.g. one year, that shouldn’t make them a lesser fit than somebody who’s been with us a year earlier.

Selection Process

This is our current proposal for the selection process:

1. The team proposes potential candidates

A form would be shared with the team where you can elect yourself or another member. You can state and explain why you think this person or yourself would be a great fit for the position. The exec team can also propose candidates they consider would be a good fit. Note that a person proposed by the exec team will follow the exact same process as another person proposed by other team members.

2. Candidates state interest to participate in the process

Candidates should take into consideration the expected time availability and commitment. With respect to the candidates, the selection process should only continue once the candidate expresses their interest in continuing - this happens mostly when they are elected by others. The final number of candidates for the position should be updated with the team.

3. Meeting with current exec board

In this meeting, the current exec board will discuss with the candidate about the role’s responsibilities. The candidate can and should ask questions to clearly understand the role as well as the expectations. Note that at any time, the candidate can decide to withdraw from the process.

4. Final decision

After the meeting and from the submitted, the executive board should have sufficient information about the candidates’ availability and why team members would like to be represented by this person. The final decision should be made together with documented reasoning on why this person was chosen and shared with everyone.