Superbloom

If you enjoy mentoring and supporting teams working on public interest technology, we’d love to hear from you!

Superbloom has been offering coaching since it was founded in 2014. Initially, we focused on UX/UI/product related topics. We now offer a broader array of topics – from communications, project management, community management, and fundraising, to graphic design, branding, documentation, and conference presentations.

We’re currently accepting applications for paid coaches. Read on to see if it might be a fit for you.

Our coaching partners

At the moment, most teams we work with are funded by the Prototype Fund, a program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

About the Prototype Fund

The Prototype Fund supports individuals and small teams in testing ideas and developing open source tools and applications in tech that benefits the public interest. Topic areas often include civic tech, open data, IT security and software infrastructure.

Each six-month Prototype Fund round supports 25 projects, each of which receive up to four hours of coaching from Superbloom. Generally teams opt for two 2-hour sessions, but the projects are allowed to use their four hours of coaching how they prefer. 

The Prototype Fund is based in Berlin, Germany and the program is conducted in German. However, if you don’t speak German, nearly all teams are happy to be coached in English.

What we’re looking for

Deep practical experience on a wide variety of open-source, civic tech, and/ or public interest tech projects, in any capacity:

  • Development
  • Design
  • Community work
  • Communications
  • Fundraising
  • Academic research
  • Listening skills
  • Reliability and trustworthiness

We are especially looking for coaches who:

  • Can coach in languages other than English
  • Are based in EMEA, Asia, and Oceania time zones

Sessions

As a coach, you should be prepared for each session to be different from the last. Some projects come with a long list of discussion points. Others have a very specific project query. Still others need more assurance or help with organising their project. We provide tools and training to guide you in structuring many different types of sessions.

Time commitment and booking system

Generally, you will coach up to four hours/month, often less.

We use a booking system, cal.com, where teams can book time slots with coaches. As a coach, you need to set several time slots as “free,” though they may not necessarily be booked for a session. We’ll remind you to update your availability periodically. Projects generally book a week or two in advance.

You will need to make blocks of at least 90 minutes available for booking at a CET friendly time.

Live or remote?

For the most part, sessions are held remotely. Prototype Fund sessions may also take place in Berlin if both the coach and the team are based there.

Rates

We offer all coaches a rate of $90 per hour. You are paid for the time you spend coaching and writing up notes. If applicable, we will also reimburse local transportation costs to a maximum of $20 per day.

You may, of course, coach on a volunteer basis if you prefer. Let us know what works best for you.

Our coaching team

Our coaching team is made up of current Superbloom team members, past Superbloom collaborators, and people from our wider network. You can check out some of our current coaches here. This is a program that we hope to grow over the coming years as it continues to be a successful model for projects. Relationships started during coaching sessions often lead to follow-on collaborations. If you have ideas of folks who would be good to connect with as coaches, we welcome suggestions.

Next steps

If you’d like to join our coaching team, please email [email protected]. We’d like to know:

  • What do you feel you can offer teams?
  • Why are you interested in coaching?
  • What languages do you speak, and what time zone are you in?

We’ll get in touch to arrange a short interview. If we decide it’s a good fit, we need a bio, photo, a list of your interests/specialities, a web link, time zone, and languages spoken. Then we will set you up with a contract, then connect you with a team member for an intro/onboarding session. We do most of the coordination around teams/sessions in a channel in our Slack, so we would also ask you to join Slack.

If you are unsure about whether this is a fit for you, you are welcome to shadow a session or two to learn more. Write us at [email protected].