Director, Stakeholder Participation and Engagement

Job Summary
The Director, Stakeholder Participation and Engagement, is responsible for overseeing engagement planning and stakeholder insights. The Director will lead efforts to map ICANN community participation across regional engagement efforts, identify gaps, and develop strategies to strengthen stakeholder participation. This includes a particular focus on the participant journey across the ICANN ecosystem, including newcomer programs, as well as developing participation reports by region, stakeholder group, and issue, and incorporating public comment data when appropriate. The Director will translate and communicate insights for different audiences across ICANN, increase awareness and understanding of relevant issues, and provide practical recommendations for improvement.

As the product owner and business lead for the Community Engagement System (CES), the Salesforce-based platform of record for the Stakeholder Engagement function, the Director is responsible for the platform’s Stakeholder Engagement instance and its governance, data quality, taxonomy, feature development, reporting, user training, and adoption.

Key Responsibilities & Duties
Stakeholder Insights: Develops and leads the strategy for gaining stakeholder community insights and produces recommendations for improving and enabling stakeholder participation.
ICANN Community: Designs and leads the effort to map ICANN's community, identifying key stakeholders, understanding their needs, and developing strategies to engage and involve them effectively.
Partnerships: Partners with several teams dedicated to advancing stakeholder participation and engagement.
Stakeholder Journey Analysis: Develop metrics and systems to model the life of a participant/stakeholder journey, understanding why stakeholders choose to join, remain, or leave engaging in ICANN community activities.
Community Engagement System (CES) Ownership: Serve as the product owner and business lead for the CES, the Salesforce-based platform of record for the Stakeholder Engagement function. Direct the platform’s Stakeholder Engagement instance to capture engagement activity, stakeholder relationships, event participation, and outcomes, and translate that data into insights and recommendations that strengthen stakeholder engagement. Guide the function’s shift from activity-based tracking to outcome-based measurement aligned with ICANN’s multi-year Engagement Goals and Key Performance Indicators.
CES Governance and Data Quality: Represent the Stakeholder Engagement function as its Business Liaison across the CES governance structure, including the Sponsors Meeting, Operating Committee, and Development and Quality Assurance teams. Own data quality, data management, and data integrity for Stakeholder Engagement data in CES, ensuring the information is accurate, consistent, complete, and captured on time, and that it adheres to ICANN’s Differentiated Access model and Data Protection and Privacy policies.
Taxonomy and Data Model Stewardship: Own and maintain the CES engagement taxonomy for the function, including topic, sector and audience, and Engagement Goal classifications, and keep those structures aligned with approved reporting definitions and Key Performance Indicators in coordination with the Engagement Coordination Group (ECG).
Feature Design and Enhancement: Define business requirements for new CES features and enhancements that serve the Stakeholder Engagement function, author problem statements, prioritize work with the CES product and development teams, and shepherd changes through the intake, sprint, and release process.
Reporting and Dashboards: Partner with data analysts to develop and produce reports and dashboards that surface engagement activity, participation trends, and progress against ICANN’s Engagement Goals and Strategic Objectives, translating approved Key Performance Indicator definitions into reliable, decision-ready views for regional teams and leadership, and coordinate with the business intelligence function on the retrospective reporting layer.
Regional Goal Performance: Work with Stakeholder Engagement leadership peers to support each region in meeting its goal expectations, providing reports and dashboards on regional status and progress so that gaps are visible and can be addressed.
Training, Enablement, and Adoption: Design and deliver CES training for the function, including self-paced courses, live virtual sessions, reference guides, and supporting materials, and lead adoption efforts that establish consistent ways of working across regional and functional teams.
CES Advocacy and Regional Consultation: Champion the importance and adoption of CES across the function, and keep Regional Vice Presidents (RVPs) and Regional Administrators informed and consulted on platform changes, continuing to advance the goals and value of CES as ICANN’s engagement CRM.
Internal Communications and Rollout Coordination: Own internal communications for CES within the function, maintain the CES knowledge and training hub on the organization’s intranet, and coordinate cross-functional rollout as additional ICANN functions adopt the platform, in alignment with the Operating Committee and executive sponsors.
Participation Reports and Data: Create, compile, and publish regular participation reports and data that provide insights into stakeholder engagement, participation trends, and community dynamics. Ensure that the reports are accessible, accurate, and effectively communicate the progress and impact of ICANN's stakeholder engagement efforts.
Measuring Community Sentiment: Utilize the stakeholder insight data to evaluate community sentiment, identify areas of improvement, and make recommendations to drive improvement.
Community Engagement: Manage and oversee the collection and analysis of meeting attendance data, ensuring accurate records are maintained and utilized for reporting and decision-making purposes.
Multifaceted Collaborator: Collaborate with internal teams, stakeholders, and community leaders to gather input, align strategies, and make recommendations based on stakeholder engagement metrics and insights.
Contribute to the development of CES and other strategic initiatives.
Other duties as assigned or requested.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
In-depth knowledge and understanding of ICANN's processes, policies, and stakeholder dynamics.
Experience in stakeholder engagement, community mapping, and participation analysis.
Strong analytical and data interpretation skills, with the ability to draw actionable insights from complex data sets.
Demonstrated experience in team management, mentorship, and fostering continuous professional development within organizational settings.
Proficiency in data analysis tools, presentation software, and project management platforms.
Familiarity with community engagement systems and platforms, preferably with experience in overseeing their implementation and utilization.
Hands-on experience owning or administering a customer relationship management (CRM) or engagement platform, preferably Salesforce, including business requirements definition, configuration oversight, report and dashboard development, and coordination with technical delivery teams.
Working knowledge of data governance, data quality management, and data privacy principles, with the ability to steward a shared data model and taxonomy across multiple teams.
Experience designing and delivering user training, enablement, and change and adoption programs for a business system or platform.
Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to develop innovative approaches to stakeholder engagement and participation.
Proven ability to prepare detailed reports and presentations to internal and external audiences
Previous experience in ICANN or similar international multi-stakeholder organizations is highly desirable.
Excellent cross-functional management skills in a highly diverse workforce across multiple languages, cultures, and geographic locations.

Education and Experience Requirements
Bachelor’s degree required in a related field
Minimum of eight years’ experience in stakeholder engagement, community relations, or related program operations, including experience owning or managing a business platform or CRM and its reporting.
Other requirements: Project Management Professional (PMP) credential and/or Salesforce Administrator certification preferred

Languages
Fluency, both written and spoken, in English is required
ICANN is a global organization that values diversity; preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated skills in additional languages besides English
Fluent written and spoken language skills in any of the other official United Nations’ languages is required/preferred

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements
International travel may be required for lengths of 7-10 days for each trip, approximately four times per year, likely on different continents
Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed or required
Ability to travel without restrictions globally, frequently with limited notice, is required
Comfort level with an international work environment that requires availability at times outside normal business hours