TL:DR: Read the entire post. Demonstrating that you have not done so before applying for a position or responding will reflect badly on your qualification as a volunteer. If you cannot be bothered to read important posts in their entirety, you will probably not do well in an entirely online workplace.

If you have questions about any part of this post or the linked documents, please contact Quinn via email at Quinn AT missingworldsmedia DOT com.

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At the bottom of this post is a pair of links relevant to applying for positions in MWM.

The first is to the Official Org Chart of MWM. Any others are not official, and will no longer be maintained. It includes sheets listing the current organizational structure and a roster of volunteers known to be active. More volunteers can and will be added to both as they join the project and/or take on specific positions. There is also an On-The-Ground chart, which is intended to illustrate the real-world structure behind the org-chart positions. The notes on that page help to explain the differences between the two. See also item 4 below.

The second is a listing of high-level job descriptions forl the vacant positions. This is not a comprehensive listing, and is meant to give a general idea of who does what, not to settle all questions about the jobs, as the specific task distribution will be finalized as positions are filled.

It has become apparent that posting an Org Chart without certain clarifications is not particularly helpful to some of those it is meant to inform. So, here are some potentially illuminating details regarding the interpretation of the chart.

First, a recap of how positions are filled:

The President sets the organizational structure, and selects people to fill the positions on the second tier (in the current structure, the Section Managers). The second tier then fills any open positions in the level below them (Department Directors) , and the second tier fills the third tier (Team Leads), who select their teams and any further structure as needed for their particular focus. Presidential sign-off (routinely given) is needed on all position assignments, and they become official when they are added to the official posted copy of the Org Chart.

Now for specific points:

1. The term "Bus Insurance". This is project slang for the practice of having someone available to step in and hold down the fort if a key member of the project is suddenly incapacitated. If needed, they will step in and keep things moving until a replacement is appointed or elected. It is possible that they might themselves be the replacement, but it is not automatic; they do not simply "inherit" the job.

2. Board positions. As of the first Presidential election, MWM has established an unusual but not unprecedented top-level management structure. This has been reinforced and clarified in a recent board meeting focused on refining our bylaws. Board positions do not appear on the company Org Chart because they operate outside of that structure. No position on the Org Chart automatically confers a seat on the Board.

3. The Seconds positions. The names of specific positions vary due to specific conventions or previous usage, but the positions in the lighter band of each management tier are Seconds. (The Project Lead is a special case, and will be discussed below.) They act as assistants to the positions just above them, and are the obvious choice as Bus Insurance, as they are positioned to be the best informed about the current state of things in the relevant portion of the company. Each leader selects their own Second and Bus Insurance, subject to Presidential sign-off, which is customarily granted unless there is a serious problem with the selection made; so far, no selections have been blocked.

4. The large number of management positions. Org Chart reality and reality on the ground are not the same thing. In a large volunteer project, it is very important to be extremely clear about chain of command and who is in charge of what, in order to avoid or quickly resolve disputes. This includes clearly designating all chain of command positions, rather than leaving things more amorphous. It does not mean that we need twice as many actual leaders as usual. Depending on the workload of the specific position, it is expected (and our current established practice) that the vast majority of Second positions will be filled by individuals who are already leaders in the level below; most Assistant Section Managers will be Directors from the relevant Section and most Assistant Directors will be Team Leads in the relevant Department. Again depending on workload, leaders also have the option of "Diving Down" and holding a single position in the level below their primary position. Between these two factors, there are approximately half as many leaders as there are entries in the leadership positions of the chart, which is not an unusual situation. The On The Ground chart is an attempt to represent the actual relationships between positions in day-to-day operations, rather than CoC, and is more representative of the human relationships involved.

5. The Vice President position. Again, MWM is using a slightly unorthodox structure. The title of Vice President does not confer any extra power in and of itself. It is used here simply because it is the most logical title for the President's backup. This is a Second position, similar to the many Assistant Department Directors, and job duties will be similar, just at a higher level of management. The Vice President is selected by the President, subject to Board approval, with similar conditions to the Presidential approval of other Seconds. Currently, the workload is expected to be high, and this is likely to be a stand-alone position. Once practices are more established, it may be workable for this to become a "second-hat" position.

6. The Studio Manager and Project Lead positions. The Studio is structured a bit differently than other Sections due to very different operational needs. Instead of a direct correlation between the primary and secondary leaders, the Studio Manager and Project Manager/s have different areas of focus. The Studio Manager is concerned with the operation of the Studio as a whole. They ensure that information and hand-offs between Departments are flowing correctly, that Studio and other Sections are interacting smoothly, that company policies and best practices are being followed, and generally work to ensure that the Studio is functioning properly without a particular focus on any specific output. The Project Lead, on the other hand, is concerned with the output related to one particular project or product. As we only have one project at the moment, we have a single Project Lead position, who is responsible for keeping our project on track and marshaling the Studio resources in order to meet deadlines and maintain content flow. As a metaphor, the Studio Manager is the Fleet Maintenance side of things, while the Project Lead is a Dispatcher. The Studio Manager ensures that the Studio is ready and able to produce, and provides a buffer to prevent "burning" long-term resources for short-term gain, while the Project Lead directs Studio resources to particular tasks in producing the game and related content.

7. "Hiring" practices. Please note that we are still far from being able to pay any wages. These practices will likely be adjusted when we begin actually hiring, although the spirit will be maintained.

When a position is open, a job listing requesting applications will be posted to both the internal and public forums. When determining the best person for the position, many factors will be taken into account, including level of current involvement with the project, available time, skill level, and so on. If there is a tie in qualifications between an existing volunteer and a prospective volunteer, the existing volunteer receives preference. This is in addition to the fact that existing involvement in the project is a beneficial trait and would inherently boost a candidate, due to the reduction in necessary training needed.

8. Handling of new or inexperienced volunteers in leadership roles. If a candidate who is not a current volunteer is selected for any leadership position, or if an existing volunteer is deemed insufficiently familiar with some aspect of the portion of the project they will be leading, they will go through familiarization training before taking on their main duties. Currently, this is planned as an "internship" with the levels below. For example, if a Director was selected who was not familiar with the practices of all the Teams they would be leading, they would spend time working with the unfamiliar Teams before taking on their full load of Directorial duties. How much training is needed in each position will obviously vary based on the position and the individual selected, and will be determined by their direct line of superiors.

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If you wish to apply for any of the positions listed as Open for Applications, send an email to Quinn at Quinn AT missingworldsmedia DOT com. The subject line should be “APPLICATION:” and the name of the position you wish to apply for. In the body of the email, include the following information:

Your legal name
Your forum username
Whether you are currently a volunteer with MWM (able to access the Dev forum)
Any positions currently held with MWM
How much time per week you expect to be able to devote to the position applied for
When in the course of a normal week you expect to be available for real-time online communication (work chat)
The word employment in all caps at the bottom
Skills relevant to the specific position
Experience relevant to the specific position
Skills or Experience that could be useful in other ways
Why you feel you are suited to the specific position

Any application that does not include all the items listed, or sent through any other method (forum PM, reply to this thread, etc.) will be discarded without reply, so make sure you follow instructions carefully. Quinn will assess or forward applications as appropriate. If you have followed instructions correctly, you will receive a response indicating receipt of your application within three weekdays, and a decision on whether your application was approved or not as soon as possible thereafter (how long will depend on what position you are applying for).

The deadline for applications is midnight, MST on Friday, December 13th. Applications received after this time will be discarded without response.

~~~~~

Job Descriptions (Google Doc):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lgVc-9x0JkKexJsJ9Q2ye5uW7ZKeVblAjDxng2JSTVk/edit?usp=sharing

Org Chart, Roster, and On-The-Ground chart (spreadsheet workbook, viewable online):
http://sdrv.ms/1kWGpII

If the second link results in an error, check to see if Live.com or skydrive.com is having a server problem. If they are, there is nothing we can do to fix it, just wait until service is restored.