Chief Executive Officer

 “We've had a great first decade. Come help us imagine and build a new Creative Commons for the next decade and beyond ...”

Creative Commons Board of Directors

Creative Commons (CC), a San Francisco Bay area based nonprofit that promotes the global sharing and use of creativity and knowledge, seeks a visionary leader, hands-on manager, and public advocate to position the organization to support the next generation of content creators and users.

CC was founded in 2001 by a group of legal and technical experts who were determined to harness the power of the Internet to build a more vibrant commons of creativity and knowledge. In its first decade, CC pursued this mission by developing and deploying a suite of open content licenses that enables widespread sharing and reuse of creative works. The Creative Commons License Suite has been internationally embraced by content creators wishing to freely share their copyrighted works while retaining some control of how such works are used and shared by others. CC licenses enable creators to decide which rights they reserve and which rights they waive for the benefit of other creators and users.

With a $3M 2014 operating budget, an additional budget of $1.5M for fully funded projects to be completed in 2014, and a staff of 20, Creative Commons functions as the hub of a network of volunteer affiliate organizations in over 75 countries on six continents. CC licenses provide the terms of use for more than 500 million works published on the Internet. Globally accessible works include novels, blogs, photos, movies, music, educational materials, scholarly articles, and much more. These works are published by individuals, companies, galleries, libraries, archives, museums, universities, governments, intergovernmental organizations, and a range of other institutions. Millions of articles, videos, and photos licensed under CC terms can be found on popular Internet sites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, and Flickr. Institutional adopters of CC licenses include universities that are part of the OpenCourseWare consortium, Al Jazeera, Whitehouse.gov, the Public Library of Science, UNESCO, the World Bank, and many more.

With the recent completion of version 4.0 of the Creative Commons License Suite, CC is at an inflection point in its history. In the coming years CC will pursue strategies that expand the commons and make shared creativity and knowledge more accessible to creators and users alike. The organization recognizes that many paths lay open for pursuing these objectives, and the search for a new chief executive offers a timely opportunity to explore new ideas for services, products, advocacy, policies and programs that a) are consistent with CC’s mission, b) leverage CC’s competencies, and c) preserve and extend the Internet’s capacity as a platform for creating and sharing knowledge. The visionary new leader who joins CC will oversee activities that combine continued stewardship of CC’s licenses with pursuit of new opportunities. The resulting mix of CC activities under the new CEO’s leadership could include:

• Stewarding the Creative Commons License Suite: maintaining the License Suite, supporting the affiliate network, and encouraging license adoption globally..
• Marketing, Branding & Communications: marketing the value of CC and leveraging the CC brand as a mark of openness and sharing.

• Increasing Adoption and Use: developing self-service license-selection and other support tools, cultivating portals for accessing CC licensed creations, and identifying new ways to attract contributors to and users of the commons.
• Pursuing Initiatives Focused on Specific Content Verticals: building on traditional areas of strength in education, science, culture, and governmental information to foster adoption of the Creative Commons License Suite and community values in a variety of vertical content markets through programs directly managed by CC, pursued in partnership with others, or incubated by CC and then spun off.
• Advocating for Commons-Promoting Policy: identifying and supporting partners, policies and practices that are important to the ecosystem of sharing and reuse of creative works.
• Standard Setting: realizing CC’s potential to act as a standard setting organization that both non-profit and commercial enterprises across multiple verticals look to as the source of best practices for sharing content on commons-promoting, interoperable terms.

In developing the activities that will build on CC’s accomplishments and define its next decade, the new CEO will be supported by an expanded Board of Directors and Advisory Council that will provide both continuity and new capacity to raise revenue, shape advocacy and other programs, improve financial management of the organization, and connect with CC’s global community. With support from these groups of expert volunteers, the CEO will lead staff and all CC programs and advocacy while creating a stable, diverse and sustainable base of funding for the organization.

Creative Commons ultimately measures its success by the vitality of the global commons, which depends on the amount, usefulness, and actual use of shared creativity and knowledge. The CEO will leverage the knowledge, resources, experience and capabilities of the organization and its global network to promote the health of the commons and ensure that the Internet continues to develop as a place of innovation, collaboration and creation for the benefit of all people.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the board through the Chair of the Board, the CEO will provide the overall leadership, direction, strategy and vision for the organization, its funding, programs, projects, initiatives and outreach. The CEO will marshal the collective talent of the Creative Commons board, staff, affiliates and community to deliver quality services in fulfillment of the CC mission, and expand the capacity, reach and effectiveness of CC programs in a financially responsible way. This includes:

• Leadership and Vision: In partnership with the board, providing vision and strategic planning for the organization; ensuring that attention is focused on strengthening relationships that support CC; exploring possibilities for growth and new programs/initiatives; establishing collaborative working relationships with the organization’s leaders, staff, community partners and constituencies, fostering and sustaining a culture of cooperation, trust, communication, mutual support, teamwork and integrity; leading and positively motivating a strong and committed professional staff to ensure a collegial and team-oriented working environment with open lines of communication;
• Contributed and Earned Revenue: Diversifying revenue streams to include contributed income (from foundations, businesses, government grants, individual contributors, mass outreach, etc.) and new sources of earned income (which might include fees for premium services, subscriptions, memberships, contracts, conferences, etc.); serving as an active fundraiser for CC by meeting with donors and working with staff, board members, and advisors to develop and implement fundraising strategies;
• Programs and Policy: Evaluating the effectiveness of programs and initiatives with reference to the mission of CC; maintaining the quality, cost-effectiveness and high leverage of CC investment in policy work, programs and services; conducting research on unmet needs and gaps, and defining the specific impact that CC should have in addressing such needs; fostering a strong service orientation that is innovative, self- aware, value and values-driven, professional, accountable and results-oriented;
• Marketing & Communications: Serving as an advocate and expert spokesperson on issues related to sharing and use of creative works; expanding the public’s understanding of CC’s work and value; ensuring that CC’s mission and values are clearly and effectively conveyed through its web and published communications materials; working to increase CC’s profile and brand recognition globally, while generating potential sources of support; seeking to strengthen existing partnerships and create new ones;
  • General Management: Overseeing day-to-day operations and programs that are professionally and efficiently organized, scaled and mission-aligned; maintaining CC’s fiscal health and ensuring that the organization adheres to a sustainable financial plan based on an annual budget; verifying that financial performance positively tracks budget and operating plans; fostering an atmosphere of transparency and accountability, particularly when evaluating the impact of CC investments in initiatives, programs and services intended to strengthen creative and knowledge-sharing ecosystems;
  • Board Relations: Securing the board’s trust and confidence; keeping the Chair, Executive Committee and board informed of CC finances and activities; providing timely and concise “state of the organization” assessments; working with the Chair and board to develop a strategic roadmap for the organization’s continued evolution; achieving objectives identified in the strategic roadmap; encouraging board members’ appropriate involvement in CC’s full range of activities; assisting in identifying and recruiting new board members.

IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The CEO will be an entrepreneurial leader, roll-up-your-sleeves manager, and a big-picture thinker whose work in the digital world includes the following experience and qualifications:

• Senior-level managerial, operational and financial experience in areas that intersect with the mission of CC regardless of sector. Relevant areas include: intellectual property law, open educational resources, journalism and publishing, online content dissemination platforms and technology. Experience with communities or businesses that promote sharing of creative or original works is highly desired;
• Proven ability to gain financial support from diverse sources (foundations, corporations, individuals and government) or, if coming out of the commercial sector, success in obtaining funding for technology or product initiatives;
• Commitment to and knowledge of the issues related to the sharing and use of creative works;
• Familiarity with leaders in the field of shared knowledge and creation (e.g. the OpenCourseWare Consortium, the Wikimedia Foundation, the Public Library of Science, etc.);
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with representatives, advocates and professionals with different backgrounds and from various communities; experience as a problem-solver, facilitator, catalyst for new ideas and leader/influencer; experience developing strategically meaningful partnerships;
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, excellent public speaking skills for formal and extemporaneous presentations;
• Experience with effectively managing similarly sized budgets and staff;
• Proven ability to meet multiple deadlines and balance multiple projects;
• Experience with internationally networked organizations is desirable, as is an advanced degree in an appropriate field. 
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 
The successful candidate should be:
• A mission-driven, decisive, and resourceful individual with a belief in, and a commitment to, CC’s mission, and with the organizational sensitivity to gain the support and confidence of the board and staff at all levels;
• A grounded visionary and life-long-learner who can see real-world community needs based on data and trends and shape programs that are effective, highly leveraged and sustainable ways to grow the Commons;
• An individual with outstanding human qualities who is straightforward, shares information easily, listens as well as offers advice, and respects the abilities of others, imparting trust and integrity and guiding others in a similar vein;
• • A competent and confident team builder with strong skills in management and leadership who understands the subtleties of recruiting, motivating, directing and retaining a diverse group of personalities with different work styles;
• An individual possessing a sense of humor, able to maintain balance and perspective.

For more information please contact:

Lisa Grossman
(650)323-3565 or
lisag@moppenheim.com

Mark Oppenheim
(415)762-2640 or
marko@moppenheim.com