The Open Source Initiative is seeking its next Executive Director (ED), the chief executive and strategic leader of the OSI, responsible for advancing its mission, growing and diversifying its funding base, and fostering a global, inclusive community of stakeholders. The ED will be a visible ambassador for OSI to build consensus around key initiatives, including the next version of the Open Source Al Definition.
This role reports to the Board of Directors and works with the board (and officers in particular) to define OSI’s strategic direction, with a focus on strategy and goals. Their work will build a stronger OSI through developing a budget and annual plans with measurable goals for the staff.
The Executive Director is a salaried, full-time employee at 40 hours per week. The position is open to qualified international remote applicants. Typical benefits include health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid holidays/time off; these benefits are negotiable and geographically adjustable.
The salary range is $100,000 – $170,000 USD. This position will manage an international, remote team. Recurring availability with US Eastern time zones (roughly 1400-2100 UTC) will be necessary for check-ins and collaboration with OSI Staff, board, and community members. Candidates should be willing and able to travel 25-30% time globally.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
Develop multi-year strategy and goals for OSI through broad consultation and based on an informed understanding of the global open source landscape.
Support realization of strategy and goals through development of annual delivery plans and budgets.
Develop and lead strategy and goals for OSI in alignment with its mission, vision, and values.
Collaborate closely with the board of directors to develop, implement, and evaluate strategic plans.
Stakeholder Management
Be the primary voice of OSI in support of its mission and strategic plan.
Keep a current understanding of the broad range of stakeholders in the global open source landscape.
Develop, nurture, and maintain positive relationships with related organizations, communities, and stakeholders in support of realising strategic goals.
Operations and Financial Stewardship
Expand and diversify OSI’s funding sources through membership growth, sponsorships, grants and strategic partnerships.
Cultivate relationships with philanthropic, corporate, and other supporters aligned with OSI’s mission.
Ensure strong OSI budget management and reporting practices.
Oversee day-to-day operations, staff, and programs with transparency and accountability.
Recruit, contract, hire, supervise, and collaborate with staff.
Be responsible for effective program management and desired outcomes of annual plan through direct efforts as well as staff oversight
Seek guidance from board on policy decisions, fiscal oversight, and to validate operational alignment with the OSI mission
Collaborate with the board for approval of strategy and annual delivery plans and budgets.
Set and manage monthly board meetings including agenda, papers etc.
Manage board and committee meetings, including delivering board packet with notice to directors
Keep board informed monthly on progress on plans and strategy
Keep board informed as to progress on plans and strategy, seeking board members’ advice as necessary on plans and programs
Education and Advocacy
Build and lead/facilitate a global, transparent, and consensus based process to develop the next iteration of the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID).
Represent OSI in multi-stakeholder forums, policy dialogues and other discussions rounds relevant for Al and open technologies.
Elevate OSI’s public profile through thought leadership, media engagement, and strategic partnerships.
Support board members and staff with resources to help them evangelize with a consistent message.
Engage with entities whose license is non-compliant through education and support towards compliance.
Lead planning, strategy, and execution of OSI events and participation in third-party events.
Administration of tools and assets
Supervise staff, contractors, and service providers in providing and maintaining multiple online services which support the work of OSI. This includes OSI-hosted services and third party services, and both open source and proprietary software.
Lead security responses to any reports around OSI provided or contracted services.
Ensure OSI has adequate systems and tools to support operations.
Skills
Required:
Demonstrated experience in organizational leadership or executive management within a non-profit, public benefit, open source, and/or mission-driven organization
Proven success record in diversifying fundraising, partnership development, and stakeholder engagement to reach annual budget in seven-figure range
Deep understanding of the Open Source ecosystem, governance, and community dynamics
Excellent communication and consensus building skills across diverse technical and cultural communities
Ability to coordinate and supervise full-time and part-time, globally distributed remote staff
Can manage ambiguity and drive clarity to move plans forward
Self-motivated and deadline-driven
Able to develop strategy and goals and translate them into an operational plan within the organization’s mission
Strong written and verbal communication
Strong Applicants will:
Understand board governance and have experience with non-profit board operations; U.S. 501(c)(3) experience in particular would be an asset
Have an understanding of open source licensing details, including compliance questions and ability to speak about them
Demonstrate collaboration with expert stakeholders in a variety of relevant domains
Understand open source ecosystems, culture, and norms
Have experience leading and transforming an organization
Be known for their positive cultivation of relationships in the open source ecosystem
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please fill out this form by November 12, 2025. Your cover letter should include a paragraph or two summarizing your interest in and qualifications for the position, with your CV, résumé, or other supporting documents as attachments as needed. All attachments should be in formats commonly used by open source software (e.g., please don’t send something in a proprietary word-processor format; PDF is fine, though).
About the Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the authority that defines Open Source, recognized globally by individuals, companies, and by public institutions. One of our most important activities is as a standards body, maintaining the Open Source Definition and Open Source AI Definition for the good of the community. The Open Source Initiative Approved License trademark and program creates a nexus of trust around which developers, users, corporations and governments can organize Open Source cooperation.
Source: opensource.org