day in the life: lunch money / emdot / CC BY

The position is located in the lovely California Bay Area at our Mountain View office, open until filled.

mlinksva / CC BY

It’s a new year, which means it’s also the perfect time to re-start our search for Chief Technology Officer at Creative Commons! Mike Linksvayer, Vice President and former CTO, says,

“This is a fun job (I was Nathan’s predecessor, from 2003-2007) that offers technical, management, and communications challenges and opportunities for growth and impact… Now is an incredibly exciting time to lead the technology efforts of Creative Commons — be part of a great team, help communities yearning to share better and more effectively (e.g., see our new Learning Resources Metadata Initiative), and engage with developers around the world to help build a better future.”

See the full job description/how to apply at our Opportunities page, and please forward to all interested!

Donor Strategy cake / HowardLake / CC BY-SA

Creative Commons is looking for a Director of Strategic Partnerships! The Director of Strategic Partnerships will be responsible for building and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy, focusing mainly on individual and corporate donations. This position will report directly to the Controller and work very closely with the CEO and Board of Directors.

The Director will join our team and office in Mountain View—a collaborative, community-building atmosphere grounded in an environment of mutual respect and trust. Ideal candidates are familiar with open source technology, copyright, and issues relating to creativity on the Internet, not to mention 5-7 years of nonprofit development experience and a successful track record in short and long-term strategic planning and implementation, including recruitment and maintenance of past, present and potential donors. See the full job description at our opportunities page.

Please email any inquiries, your cover letter and résumé to jobs [at] creativecommons.org with the subject heading of “Director of Strategic Partnerships Application.”

If you have a knack for time management and logistics coordination, please consider Creative Commons’ two new support positions: Temporary Office Assistant or Project Coordinator/Executive Assistant. Both positions will be key members of the team supporting the CEO and organization as a whole.

Ideal candidates are proficient in basic computer and Internet technologies, have demonstrated customer service experience, and can manage multiple tasks with shifting priorities. Joining CC means getting the chance to interact with motivated staff and a brilliant international network of affiliates and community members.

Please feel free to share these job descriptions as far and wide as possible. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis until we find the right candidates. Please be sure to indicate the job title you are interested in applying for in the email subject line (“Temp Office Assistant” or “Project Coordinator/Exec Assistant”), and send your applications to “jobs@creativecommons.org”.

Since our previous CTO, Nathan Yergler, left CC to return to full-time engineering in April, we have been preparing to recruit his replacement. The time is now! See the full job posting on our opportunities page.

This is a fun job (I was Nathan’s predecessor, from 2003-2007) that offers technical, management, and communications challenges and opportunities for growth and impact. Using technology to enhance (rather than suppress) sharing has always been an important part of the CC story. Some background for the truly interested candidate:

• All software developed by CC is free software; see our source repositories and bug tracker;
• We have a small (two software engineers, one system administrator) technology team focused on maintaining and improving CC’s services (implemented using Python, CiviCRM, WordPress, MediaWiki, and other technologies); additionally technology suffuses all of our work, including when policy-oriented — the technology team and especially CTO are frequently called on to provide leadership on broad issues;
• See our CC Labs blog for occasional posts on the details of our technical work and thoughts on related happenings;
• Watch recordings of past CC technology summits;
• Read about the CC Rights Expression Language, a set of recommendations implemented across CC’s services and by many publishers.

Relative to when Creative Commons started with a vision of leveraging the Internet to scale sharing (and vice versa), there are an unimaginable number of freely licensed works to build upon, and to build services around, and 90% of the technical groundwork is laid (of course as an engineer you recognize that means 90% of the technical groundwork remains to be developed — and that’s just the beginning!). Now is an incredibly exciting time to lead the technology efforts of Creative Commons — be part of a great team, help communities yearning to share better and more effectively (e.g., see our new Learning Resources Metadata Initiative), and engage with developers around the world to help build a better future.

We’re accepting resumes through August 1. Again see the job posting for details.

The application deadline for the Summer 2010 internships is 11:59 p.m. PDT, Friday, March 26, 2010. Please submit your cover letter and resume (portfolio, as well, for design students) to apply soon!

We’ve heard fantastic feedback about our internships over the years. Here’s what a few students had to say about their San Franciscan summers in the CC office:

“I wanted to spend my summer doing something important and socially responsible, so interning at Creative Commons was an obvious choice for me. What wasn’t obvious until I started working was just how much I would learn about copyright law, software development, and how effective nonprofits operate. With just a handful of staff in the San Francisco office, all of them friendly and welcoming, I quickly felt like a valued member of the team. I was given ample opportunity to meet and chat with CC staff as well as with staff and interns at peer organizations such as the Electronic Frontiers Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology. The people that I met that summer continue to be great friends and valuable resources who generously offer their mentorship in my post-CC work.”
— Parker Phinney, Tech Intern 2009

“Working at CC provided a complete immersion into how the organization operates, and made clear why CC has become such an important part of the online licensing landscape. In addition to specific projects and tasks, I had plenty of autonomy and opportunity to get involved in other projects or just chat about new ideas. The staff were accessible and encouraging. I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a challenging and rewarding environment. In addition to legal research and project development, there were many opportunities to meet other organizations in the area, visit their offices, and interact with a range of students and professionals. I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer.”
— Joe Merante, Legal Intern 2009

“My internship with Creative Commons was probably the most fruitful and definitely the most enjoyable of my student career. I spent my time in a close-knit small-office environment, with a bunch of passionate people working on interesting real-world problems. At CC everyone is a little bit techie, a little bit law geek, a little bit free culture activist, and a whole lot of awesome. It’s an amazing place to be, and as internships go, I can’t recommend any other more highly.”
— Frank Tobia, Tech Intern 2008

Creative Commons is once again seeking bright, enthusiastic students to work at the San Francisco office for ten weeks this summer. Students have the opportunity to work with CC staff and international volunteers on various real-time projects. Assigned tasks and projects will vary depending on interns’ skill & experience, as well as organization needs. If you are a currently enrolled student (College, Graduate levels, or somewhere in between) interested in applying, please read the descriptions carefully and follow the instructions below.

In addition to contributing to real-time work projects, interns will be invited to participate in external meetings, staff meetings, inter-organization competitions & discussions, and potential evening events. Staff will encourage interns to also self-organize visits to local organizations, and to find ways to connect with various community members.

Eligibility

• Internships are open to students enrolled across the spectrum of disciplines;
• Internships are open to students at different levels of academic study including undergraduate, graduate and PhD. programs.
• Internships are open to international students who are eligible to work abroad from an accredited university and/or through a third-party work-study program.

Internship terms

• The internship will last for ten weeks from June 7 to August 13.
• The internships are full-time, temporary positions.
• Applicants should plan on spending the summer in San Francisco.
• Please also be ready to assist with general office tasks in addition to focused projects.

Compensation

Creative Commons offers a stipend of $4,000, if not otherwise covered by grant funding. If your school offers a stipend for work-study or internships, this factor is figured into the compensation.
This stipend may not be sufficient to cover living expenses in the bay area. No other benefits are provided. Interns must make their own housing, insurance, and transportation arrangements.

Internships Available

Technology Internship
This internship position will focus on aiding the Chief Technology Officer and Software Engineers with the development of software and maintenance of services. Knowledge of Linux, PHP, and Python is a must. Prefer applicants who have contributed to open source projects.

Legal Internships
These internships, geared towards law students who have completed their second year of study, will focus on intellectual property and copyright as relates to creative works shared on the internet. Applicants should have completed their second year of study at a top tier law school, two courses on intellectual property, including fundamentals of copyright, and provide ideally have significant interest in and experience with IP, including experience at a law firm or other legal organization. Interns may be asked to provide a writing sample on a topic chosen by CC.

Graphic Design and Media Development Internship
This internship will be geared toward second or third year design students. The design intern will work closely with the Creative Commons senior designer and development team to create and improve online assets, with possible promotional and marketing material development. Must have Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML and CSS skills. Javascript and UI/UX design experience is encouraged. Prefer applicants who are interested in open source or free culture issues. Please include portfolio with application.

How to apply

If you are a college or graduate student interested in our internship program, please send us your:

• Cover Letter explaining your interest in Creative Commons, in the position, and any other relevant experience not covered in your resumé.
• Resumé
• Two References: Please include email and phone number.
• Indicate open source or other CC/open licensed projects to which you have contributed.
• Indicate which position(s) you are interested in applying.
• Design students: Please include portfolio.

Applications and questions can be sent to:

Jennifer Yip
Operations Director
jennifer[at]creativecommons.org
fax: 415.278.9419

The application deadline for Summer 2010 is 11:59 p.m. PST, Friday, March 26, 2010.

Thank you for your interest in our organization. Please NO phone calls.

The primary duties for the presumptive ccLearn counsel will be to help us in minimizing the legal barriers that stand in the way of open education. Knowledge and interest in many aspects of intellectual property law, including an understanding of the international dimensions of open licensing agreements and protocols, is crucial. However, it is important to note that this position will primarily be seeking solutions within the existing constraints of the law, rather than actively seeking to change the laws to better reflect our needs. In this vein, the new ccLearn counsel will not only work on the legal side of things, but will also work on substantial communications (written and verbal, formal and informal), networking and engagement with a diverse communities of interest, strategic planning regarding pursuits of greatest impact for ccLearn, and close collaboration on a variety of related initiatives with the ccLearn and CC staff. In addition, we have access to great intellectual and legal resources associated with our organization which can be leveraged as necessary. It is expected that the candidate for this position will play a significant role in helping ccLearn to achieve its global mission, and will serve as a primary spokesperson for ccLearn and the open education movement generally.

To learn more or apply, see our Opportunities page!