Carrying the torch of openness
The Open Data Charter is looking for a new Executive Director
Signed by Richard Stirling, Cathie Woteki and Sander van der Waal,
ODC Transition Committee and Board Members
Last year the Open Data Charter (ODC) celebrated its fifth year of operation, calling for governments to repair the many cracks in data infrastructures that hinder swift and accountable responses to global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate action and other sources of power imbalance in societies. As part of a global push for a fairer balance of data rights to be enshrined in governing principles and incisive policies and practices, our work on advocacy and movement building in this area is making headway with policy makers, civil society organisations and others.
We have seen recent crises set back global human progress and the burdens are not equally shared. However in many places around the world, governments and societies have been opening data and new approaches to governing data to address the challenges of our time. We have been learning from the power of data and responsible practices to save lives, the inequalities in who has suffered, and how data can be collected, shared and used to respond.
After close to 5 years as the ODC’s founding Executive Director, Ania Calderon will be stepping down to make way for new leadership. We thank her for a bold vision and thoughtful guidance that she has brought to the ODC and wish her success in her future endeavours. To ensure a smooth transition, we are pleased to launch a search for a forward-looking leader who will steer the course of the ODC as a driver of open data reforms needed for an inclusive global recovery.
We are looking for an Executive Director who will strengthen our institutional capacities and impact as a leading global organisation in its field. As societies and governments have been newly motivated to share and use data to respond to the pandemic, this role will help chart the paths where open data helps advance justice and equity on the ground. We hope to find a new Executive Director who will carry the torch of openness during such a critical time.
The Open Data Charter was launched at the margins of the 2015 United Nations General Assembly after a global consultation by key representatives from governments and leading organisations set out six key Principles, including that data should be open by default, timely and interoperable. Since then, more than 80 governments and more than 50 organisations have joined this movement to shape purpose-driven open data policies and practices around the world — from New Zealand to Kenya, or Buenos Aires to Ontario. We do this to help solve some of the most pressing policy challenges of our time, create just societies and inclusive economies.
If this sounds like the organisation you’d like to lead, please read the job description for the Executive Director role in full and send your CV and cover letter to recruitment@opendatacharter.org.
Applications will be reviewed beginning 7th June.
