The Sortition Foundation and its subsidiary based in Hungary, Sortition Europe Nonprofit Kft, are not-for-profit companies that exist to transform politics and upgrade democracy. We recruit people from all walks of life for citizens' assemblies and other deliberative events in the UK, Australia, Europe, and around the world, with clients including national governments, local governments, cultural, technology and other organisations. The surplus generated from this work funds our campaigning for the institutionalisation of these assemblies at local and regional/national level. We are structured as a workers co-operative and our people are based in the UK, Australia, and Hungary.
Our Vision is that people from all walks of life make informed decisions about how we live together. Our Purpose
is to build the movement for permanent, powerful citizens' assemblies. Our strategic goals are to:
Build a powerful movement for democratic renewal using citizens' assemblies;
Build the capacity and expertise to deliver citizens' assemblies at scale;
Build the belief that citizens' assemblies are feasible and desirable; and
Build and maintain a sustainable organisation.
Our goals are guided by the following values: Collective Wisdom and Social Justice. Our culture is guided by the following values: Curious, Caring, and Courageous.
Key Responsibilities
1. Driving the organisation forward
a. Working alongside the other directors to shape the organisation's strategy
b. Imagining and developing new applications/markets for sortition and deliberation; translating ideas into concrete opportunities, bids, contracts, and revenue
c. Spotting and pursing new opportunities (bids including fundraising, partnerships, earned revenue) particularly at an international level, with the support of the team
d. Leading the growth, sustainability and adoption of OpenDLP, our open-source democratic lottery software on a global scale (including but not limited to, building strategic partnerships, developing sustainable revenue models, and promoting adoption amongst users)
2. Connecting the global sector
a. Maintaining and developing relationships with key global partners, and stakeholders
b. Keeping up with what's happening in the deliberative democracy world and bringing relevant opportunities back to the team
c. Sharing best practice across teams and helping raise standards across the sector
3. Leading the team
a. Strategic oversight of Democratic Lottery teams
b. Line managing Heads of teams, one of whom is based in Australia which will require some flexibility in hours and a few more team members
c. Coordinating and facilitating budget proposals from the Democratic Lottery teams, making sure resources are allocated farily and teams have what they need
d. Contributing to a Working Group (to be decided)
Essential Skills
1. You have led strategically within an organisation: working with others, not just directing them, to get things done and move towards shared goals.
2. You have a proven track record of growing income for organisations: through sales leads, partnerships, and bids. You can spot an opportunity, pursue it, and convert it into sustainable impact.
3. You're a strong communicator: you have spoken at conferences or other public events, presented (in person and remotely) to potential clients, have directed and/or written persuasive and clear marketing materials, are comfortable representing the organisation at events and have a track record of influencing decision makers.
4. You've held financial oversight across multiple teams or georgraphies and make sound decisions about where resources go.
5. You build and maintain relationships well - with partners, funders, and stakeholders across cultures and time zones. You know that trust takes time and you invest in it.
6. You're a good manager of people: you support and develop your team, share what you know, and help others do their best work.
7. You believe in what we do - citizens' assemblies, democratic renewal, social justice. This isn't just a job to you.
Desirable Skills and Experience
1. You know the field: you have a clear understanding of sortition, deliberative democracy, or citizens' assemblies, and understand why this work matters.
2. You have demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within teams, project, or the wider sector you are/were in.
3. You're well connected in international networks: you know civil society leaders, government decision-makers, and/or people and organisations working on democratic innovation globally, and you know how to connect them usefully.
4. You have worked to develop software, particularly around scaling adoption or building sustainable models for community use.
