United for Iran

Job Announcement: Civic Technology Program Director

November 2018

Summary of United for Iran (U4I)

In 2009, in response to the violence in the aftermath of the Iranian presidential elections,

United for Iran founder Firuzeh Mahmoudi organized a global rally to draw attention to the tragedy unfolding in Iran. On July 25, 2009, in 110 cities across the world, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in support. Out of that event emerged United for Iran (U4I).

Today, United for Iran is a nonprofit based in the Berkeley (San Francisco Bay Area) working to improve civil liberties and human rights in Iran, mostly through technology. We achieve our mission through the Iran Prison Atlas, the IranCubator and other non-public programs.  

The Iran Prison Atlas is a dynamic database that tracks and publicizes the prosecution and imprisonment of Iran’s political prisoners. The IranCubator is a technology incubator that supports the development of secure mobile applications that protect and empower persecuted populations inside Iran. In 2017 and 2018, the IranCubator supported the creation of 10 mobile apps that directly empower Iranian citizens to connect, organize, share and disseminate critical information. Read more at www.united4iran.org

Skills and Qualifications

The Program Director will oversee United for Iran’s programs, ensuring the effective administration and implementation of the activities associated with meeting the mission of the organization. The PD will also assist in the development of U4I’s strategic direction along with other U4I directors, and in consultation with the board and staff. Project Director needs to be an established community leader, familiar with the network of activists working inside and outside Iran. This is a high-level director position which reports directly to the Executive Director.

The PD needs to have:

• A deep understanding of the political, socio-economic and cultural situation in Iran
• Extensive high-level experience of tech solutions, tech product development, and online security (programming expertise is not necessary)
• A strategic and intuitive sense of programs and projects that will best improve Iran and will resonate with and meet the needs of Iranians citizens
• Understanding human rights and civil liberties, and experience with related advocacy  
• Fluent in Farsi
• Demonstrated project management, management, and leadership experience
• Track record of bringing together various community members in service to a collaborative approach to human rights work

The Project Director needs to have a minimum of 6 years of experience preferably in two or more of these fields: NGO leadership; innovative technology development; and human rights.

The Program Director’s role includes:

• Managing the development of new tech products, features, and versions and coordinating bug fixes
  • Understanding the problems inside the country/potentials user’s needs and desires
  • Understanding technology, project management, and online security
  • Leading meetings and follow-up emails with developers
  • Testing iterations/having iterations tested
  • Coordinating launches
  • Post-launch activities/User Engagement/collecting user feedback

• • Collecting and incorporating user feedback

• Conversation with partners and community leaders
• Coming up with new ideas for and writing proposals
• Helping problem solve: discuss issues, proposing solutions, brainstorm about solutions
• Contract negotiation, following up on progress, confirming invoices
• Serving the community (e.g. political prisoners-related, product/security testing)
• Dealing with quarterly reports (follow-ups, writing, editing)
• Managing relationship with the donors

Are We a Match?

We at U4I believe that a working relationship thrives when values and cultures are in sync. In that light, we have provided more information about the ideal candidate and ourselves.

You are committed to helping those in need and movement building. You are a leader and a team player; flexible, collaborative and with a positive attitude; creative and strategic; and self-motivated and proactive. You have strong communication skills and work ethics and are able to steer conversations towards productive outcomes and collaboration.

We hold human rights, Iran, and other communities working for their respective rights close to our hearts. We believe that what we are trying to achieve takes persistence, patience, and hard work. We believe that success comes through broad and long-term collaboration. We believe human rights to be a global issue and the duty of each of us to fight for it. We aim to empower and support our community. We are a start-up with many hurdles and successes both behind and front of us and believe we need to trust the process. We believe in working hard, having balanced healthy lives, and having fun and celebrating our wins!

How to Apply

Please send your resume, answers to the questions below, and 2–3 writing samples to jobs@united4iran.org. Instead of a cover letter, answer the following questions:

• Why are you applying for this job? (word limit 200)
• What are your related experiences? (word limit 300)

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Strong candidates will be contacted ASAP.

Pay is commensurate with experience, education, and track record. U4I provides a monthly stipend to employees for benefit coverage, along with unlimited PTO and sick leave.

United for Iran values diversity and provides equal opportunities to all people or entities submitting their qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. People of color, LGBTQI individuals, and women are strongly encouraged to apply.