IT Technical Lead (gn)

Sea-Watch is looking for a Technical Lead (gn)

Sea-Watch e.V. is a non-profit initiative dedicated to the civilian sea rescue of people on the move. In response to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Central Mediterranean, Sea-Watch provides emergency aid, advocates for state-led rescue operations, and promotes safe and legal escape routes. We are politically and religiously independent and financed exclusively by donations.

The Sea-Watch IT team is a growing and innovative department that consists of 20 people, both volunteers and paid workers, working mainly remote. We are responsible for all of Sea-Watch\’s IT infrastructure, both onshore and onboard. Our main aim is to provide Sea-Watch activists with the IT tools necessary to carry out their work in an effective, secure manner. We host most of our services ourselves and provide and manage our activists\‘ devices. We evaluate and implement both FOSS and SaaS solutions based on the actual needs of the organization, with a focus on FOSS.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to fill the position of IT technical Lead for 37 hours per week, preferably in Berlin or hybrid remote. The position is initially limited to 12 months with the possibility of extension. As we aim for gender balance in our team we especially encourage FLINTA*-persons to apply

Working alongside the Team Coordinator and the Team Representative you are the central points of contact for both the team and the organization and represent the IT department externally. This unique position involves providing technical leadership to the IT department and interfaces directly with departments and activist structures to understand needs, translate them into IT requirements, and help shape the long-term technical direction of Sea-Watch.

You\’re not expected to run all projects yourself – this role emphasizes program management, empowering the team to take ownership while you hold the strategic and technical overview. Your focus lies on IT architecture, infrastructure, and digital security in a repressive environment, while your counterpart in Team Coordination focuses on people, processes, and communication.

Your tasks

1. Technical Leadership & Coordination

1. Develop and communicate the strategic vision of the IT department, aligning technology initiatives with Sea-Watch\’s organizational goals.
2. Ensure systems and policies are stable, secure, and well-maintained.
3. Drive good documentation practices and ensure knowledge sharing across the team.
4. Coordinate and strategically include external service providers and technical partners where needed.
5. Collaborate with the Team Coordinator on creating and monitoring the IT part of the IT department budgets.

2. Program Management

1. Manage multiple IT projects to ensure successful timely implementation by coordinating team efforts, setting objectives, and prioritizing effectively.
2. Support individual team members in owning and delivering technical work packages.
3. Support decision-making processes within the team.

3. Internal Interface & Cross-Team Collaboration

1. Act as a bridge-between for the IT-Team: Understand the digital needs of different teams, crews, and structures and help translate them into technical solutions.
2. Coordinate participation in operational meetings alongside the Team Coordination and Representative.

4. IT-Security

1. Understand the political context Sea-Watch operates in, including especially state surveillance and repression, and develop infrastructure accordingly.
2. Champion strong security practices throughout the organization, including threat detection and response, encryption, access control, security monitoring and infrastructure hardening.
3. Promote a culture and support secure behavior within the team and the organization.

5. Support Team Coordination and Development

1. Support the onboarding and coaching of new team members
2. Support facilitation and development of effective team structures and decision making processes.
3. Encourage feedback culture, transparent communication and flat hierarchies.

Your profile

1. You bring several years of experience leading and managing complex IT projects involving multiple teams or departments. Familiarity with agile methods is a strong plus.
2. You have and understanding of security best practices and experience implementing them in real infrastructure.
3. You have hands-on experience in Linux server infrastructure development and/or management.
4. Having knowledge/experience of the following technologies is a plus: Terraform, Proxmox, Ansible and/or Docker/Kubernetes.
5. You have experience in budgeting and resource allocation procedures.
6. You are fluent in English

Social skills

1. You apply strong organizational and time management skills in project management.
2. You promote and support self-organization and continuous learning across your team.
3. You have experience working in dynamic contexts like political or activist ones and understand the empathy and adaptability necessary in them.
4. You have experience in participatory and consent-based decision-making, desirably under flat hierarchy models.
5. You approach conflicts with an appreciative, constructive and cooperative attitude

Personal qualities

1. You are motivated about Sea-Watch’s mission and to proactively contribute to it.
2. You have a structured approach and clear objectives towards problem-solving, while remaining responsive to what’s urgent.
3. You take initiative, responsibility and accountability for tasks and projects.
4. You promote a feedback culture and actively seek and incorporate input from your colleagues.

What we can offer you

1. Purpose-Driven Work: Help fight the political and humanitarian crisis at Europe’s borders and make a meaningful difference.
2. Innovative Work Environment: A progressive organization with flat hierarchies, constantly evolving with new ideas and challenges.
3. Flexibility: Flexible working hours and remote work options, while maintaining a presence in the Berlin office.
4. Sovereignty: room for innovation to push forward your technological projects and ideas to support the organization collectively
5. Salary: The position is remunerated at €3,145/month for a 37-hour week. (Increases possible based on various factors*)
6. Benefits: Additional perks such as a company pension scheme and various leave models, including one month of paid leave after 18 months with Sea-Watch. Also access to training, workshops, and conferences for professional development is possible.

Are you interested?

We look forward to receiving your application! Please submit your application in PDF format with a letter of motivation and a CV/resume by 15th June 2025 via application@sea-watch.org. We kindly ask you to refrain from submitting a photo.

Besides, we would like you to include in your application your answer to these questions:

1. Do you identify as FLINTA*? Please Answer only with Yes or No (If same qualification, we prefer FLINTA* people / answer is not mandatory)?
2. Did you have an experience where you had to choose between a FOSS and a SaaS solution in your professional context? What guided your decision, and how did it fit the needs of the organization?
3. Do you have experience in teams that mix both paid employees and volunteers? Which pros and cons do you see in them?
4. How you would approach digital security at Sea-Watch, given the risks of surveillance and repression? (What principles and practices are essential in this context?)

As we are committed to an inclusive society without racism and with freedom of movement for all, we particularly welcome applications from women*, LGBTQI*, BIPoC, people with disabilities, people with a history of migration and people from other groups that are underrepresented in the NGO and IT world.

* We have a salary model that allows for percentage gross salary increases that take into account family needs and personal disabilities. In addition, there is the possibility of gross salary increases due to previous relevant professional experience based on internal criteria, a maximum of 5 years can be recognized here, a salary increase of 3% per year is possible. In addition, the salary increases by 3% with every year of being with Sea-Watch.