[kwlug-disc] Semi-OT: The Working Centre is hiring

[Paul Nijjar]

As a few of you know, we have been looking to hire somebody for our IT
department. We have been reluctant to post this widely, and I have
been reluctant to make an official posting to the KWLUG membership:

- The position is not purely a Free Software position. In fact, I am
  technically a Windows administrator. We do approach IT in some ways
  that are similar to FLOSS, though.
- It can be really uncomfortable when people we know and like on a
  personal level are not good fits for the job, and it makes things
  awkward. I am hoping we can minimize this. 
- We are looking for some pretty specific qualities that do not map
  very well to the technology buzzwords of the day.
- We pay considerably less than other organizations, so people who
  choose to work for us have to do so consciously.
- I hate the entire job search process on either side of the interview
  table, so I am prone to procrastinate.

We are not looking for any particular technology buzzwords, even
though we use specific technologies. Instead, we are looking for
people who: 

- Have good troubleshooting and problem solving skills, and can
  deep-dive to solve problems that come up.
- Related to the above, are quick learners who can pick up
  technological skills as needed. 
- Are willing and able to work with non-technological people without
  making them feel bad (no BOFHs, please). 
- Can get along with other IT people and our staff and our volunteers.
- Are a good fit for the culture and philosophy at The Working Centre.

The role itself is not rigidly defined; we would rather hire the right
person and shape the position around his or her strengths than hire
a wrong person who promises to fill a short-term technology gap.
Having said that, it is likely that there will be some core IT stuff
(server administration, desktop maintenance, network infrastructure),
some help desk roles, and some web development (currently in Drupal
and Django, but pre-existing knowledge of those frameworks is not a
precondition for employment). 

The facts that we pay poorly and do not ask for a lot of technological
buzzwords does not mean that the job is easy. The infrastructure here
is complex and has a lot of components to serve many different parts
of the organization. I am guessing that the person we hire is going to
have some deep technical experience with something; it just won't
necessarily be something we use in the organization (yet). 

If you are interested in applying then you should start by looking at
the following documents (which includes a blog post of mine; sorry): 

- http://www.theworkingcentre.org/about-us/2490-permanent-job-posting
- http://www.theworkingcentre.org/about-us/2445-doing-good-work
- http://pnijjar.freeshell.org/2013/two-job-descriptions/

If you want to know more about the kinds of stuff we do, or have other
questions about what this is all aboot, please contact me offlist. I
can probably get you in touch with some other people who work here or
have worked here in the past, so you can get a less biased (or at
least differently biased) view. 

If you want to apply then you should read the documents linked above,
and use your troubleshooting skills to figure out what to do. 

Feel free to pass this posting on to individuals you think might be
good candidates for the role. Please do not post it to Indeed or other job
posting sites. If the word-of-mouth campaign fails then we might end
up making a proper job posting ourselves.

- Paul 

-- 
http://pnijjar.freeshell.org