Formal DAO Lead Hiring Policy & Proposal

Hello all!

Very long post, so grab a tea or coffee! :sweat_smile:

It feels somewhat unusual writing a hiring proposal for the role I’m applying to, but I’m embracing the Web 3 format and going ahead with it. After a request on the forum to produce this, I have composed a comprehensive hiring document that could be easily replicated for other roles within the DAO, as well as my personal application to the role for consideration from the DAO / team.

I am open to additional input, but have tried to make the document as comprehensive as possible to protect both the DAO and hired individual.

Contents:
Role Name
Role Summary
Proposed Responsibilities
Moral Responsibilities
Platforms Utilized
Role Term Length
Termination
Contracted Hours
Salary
Reasonable Expenses
Extenuating Circumstances
Holiday
+
My Application in a separate reply


Role Name:

DAO Lead

Role Summary:

The DAO Lead is responsible for overseeing the operation and governance of CityDAO, developing and implementing strategies for its growth and success, facilitating decision-making processes, and maintaining harmonious relationships both internally and externally to the DAO. The individual will also assist with budget and financial management, compliance with relevant CIPs, democratic process, laws and regulations, and improving the overall standard of the DAO and its projects. The role will involve utilizing various platforms for communication and organization to facilitate achieving CityDAO’s key goal: Building a blockchain native city

Proposed Responsibilities:

  1. Help guide and oversee the operation of the DAO, ensuring that it functions efficiently and effectively.
  2. Organize and help develop the team within the DAO.
  3. Develop and implement strategies for the growth and success of the DAO.
  4. Facilitate decision-making and governance processes, including facilitating discussions among DAO members.
  5. Communicate with and report to the DAO membership on the progress and status of the projects within the organization.
  6. Establish and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including members, partners, and regulators.
  7. Assist with monitoring the budget and financial resources of the DAO.
  8. Assist with improving the attractiveness of CityDAO to philanthropists and investors.
  9. Facilitate the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with any relevant laws and regulations.
  10. Promote transparency and accountability within the DAO, including through the use of blockchain technology and innovation where possible.
  11. Assist with passing CIPs and project proposals through the formal voting system and Snapshot.
  12. Continuously assess the effectiveness of the DAO and identify areas for improvement.
  13. Identify potential use-cases of projects within the DAO.
  14. Improve upon important KPIs, such as increasing governance participation and citizenship.
  15. Help organize CityDAO initiatives on physical land owned by the DAO.
  16. Organizing project documentation and reporting.
  17. Endeavor to be a voice of democratic reason, and provide neutral perspectives that compromises the diverse viewpoints within the DAO where possible.
  18. Participate in the various, established communication channels.
  19. Participate in live events and conferences if required.
  20. Assist with creative direction and creative input in the DAO.

Moral Responsibilities:

  1. Adhere to DAO policy matters including, but not limited to, discrimination, equality, diversity.
  2. Offer pastoral support to team members where possible to boost morale, improve cooperation, assist with personal development, and create a harmonious, friendly atmosphere in CityDAO.

Platforms Utilized for the Role:

  • Notion Dashboard
  • CityDAO Governance Forum
  • Telegram
  • Discord
  • Twitter
  • In-person conferences

This list may expand as development and activity in the role continues and may be adjusted formally between reviews if required.

Scope of Limitations:

  1. Limited scope of responsibility: The DAO lead is responsible for leading and organizing the project, but their authority and responsibilities are limited to the specifics outlined in the role responsibilities and any other relevant binding CIPs pertaining to limitations of power of the DAO Lead.

  2. Limited budget control: The DAO lead may not have control over the treasury, and will explicitly work within the requirements of the DAO in relation to the treasury, fund management, payments, and transfers. Any transactions should be done utilizing blockchain technology wherever possible to ensure accountability and traceability.

  3. Limited decision-making power: The DAO lead may not have the final say on certain decisions, and may need to consult with other members or seek approval from the DAO before making certain decisions. In the event the DAO Lead also operates in a role of decision-making capacity, such as a Delegated Multi-Sig, the DAO Lead will be limited to the scope of responsibilities outlined in said role in addition to the DAO Leaf role.

  4. Limited ability to hire and fire: The DAO lead may not have the authority to ‘hire’ or ‘fire’ team members or teams without first consulting with the DAO and also by seeking clear approval and/or consensus for any changes to a given team or project.

  5. Limited authority: The DAO Lead does not have executive authority and cannot make decisions on behalf of the entire DAO without consensus from the other members. Although the DAO Lead may have voting power, this power should not exceed that of any other member in the DAO, utilizing a One Person One Vote strategy when applicable.

Role Term Length:

The role will involve a six month term with the oppertunity for renewel at the end of the term.

Termination:
The DAO Lead and DAO should give one calender month (30 days) notice before terminating activity in the role, with a clear, reasonable reason given for termination on the governance forum.

In the event a DAO Lead forgoes their duties without reasonable explanation, the DAO may signal for the removal of the DAO Lead from the position on reasonable grounds.

Contracted Hours:

The number of dedicated hours will be agreed on an individual basis, and agreed in advance before commencing the role.

‘Salary’

The ‘salary’ will be paid as a monthly recurring grant. The amount will be agreed upon before the commencement of the role but should be sufficient enough to account for the DAO Lead’s time, effort, and skills.

Reasonable Expenses:

Reasonable expenses to perform a function of the role should be reviewed and approved by the DAO where applicable, for example:

  1. Communication expenses: In the event the DAO Lead is required to purchase and utilize a work phone, webcam, or other communication devices that relate to the performance of the role.

  2. Marketing and advertising expenses: In the event marketing is required for a project, the DAO should adequately fund this pending approval from the DAO.

  3. Professional development expenses: Should the DAO seek explicit professional development from the DAO Lead, expenses, such as education costs, should be clearly provided, approved, and covered.

  4. Travel expenses: If the DAO lead is required to travel for meetings, conferences, or other events related to their role, they may incur expenses such as flights, accommodation, meals, and transportation. These expenses should be clearly documented and a pre-agreed budget allocated and adhered to.

Expenses that fall into these categories, or any unspecified categories, must be clearly provided to the DAO prior to approval.

Extenuating Circumstances:

If the DAO Lead is unable to perform their responsibilities for a period, or indefinitely, then this should be clearly communicated with other team members and the DAO, as well as a justified reason for the extenuating circumstances. The nature of these circumstances should be discussed and resolved on a case by case basis.

Holiday:
The DAO Lead will not explicitly be paid for a holiday, but will continue to recieve their recurring grant as a standard during their hiring term. The DAO Lead may take a reasonable amount of time-off per year in relation to their proposed number of work hours.

The total number of days allocated for holiday will be agreed prior to the commencement of the DAO Lead role. As a proposed guideline, 25 days per year of holiday for a full-time DAO Lead operating for 35 hours per week is suggested based on averages of holiday and work hours in Europe.

The DAO should be notified of the dates of the holiday at least two weeks in advance by the DAO Lead, and the holiday period should not conflict with significant events that are important to the DAO, such as a major conference.

Any reasonable ammendments to the responsibilities of the DAO Lead may be implemented and reviewed by the DAO.


I hope this hiring document is comprehensive and illustrates at least some of my capacity to produce documentation and understand the nature of a DAO Lead. If there are any improvements to be had, please do let me know :blush:

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Mini Cover Letter:

I spent the past two years being active in various DAOs and Web 3 projects, particularly Proof of Humanity, UBI, and CityDAO since October. Across these DAOs I have assisted in governance, organization, project synthesis, community support, POAP creation, creative direction, aministration, and democratic policy. I am extremely familiar with structuring a DAO, and Web 3 in general, as well as good grasp of cryptocurrency, blockchain, and NFTs in a non-technical capacity. I have a provable history of striving to provide a balanced, comprehensive viewpoint that encompasses DAO opinions, offering mediation in difficult decisions, and have formed many good, working relationships with members of the Web 3 community. Additionally, I spent the past year casually illustrating and animating my own NFT collection, integrating with Manifold.xyz to maitain precedence of my work and implement charitable and community building strategies into the project. I also have a Web 3 exclusive orchestral album streaming on Audius.

Outside of Web 3 I have accredited education in East-Asian languages, culture, history, and Buddhist doctrine to the Master’s degree level. I have worked in a number of remote and in-house roles from translation, to accommodation management, pastoral care, and creative direction. Recently, I was elected to advise the Mayor and city of Liverpool on equality, diversity, and gender, where I funnel my interest in driving social change and improving human rights in the region. I believe my skills in the humanities give me an edge when communicating in an intercultural environment – Something very important in a DAO.

I have witnessed first hand the ups and downs of DAO governance, and continued to engage with the space regardless of market conditions or community division such as forking. I am keenly aware of the issues that impact progress in a DAO, such as:

  • Accountability
  • Grant processes
  • Effort relevance and effort duplication
  • Awareness of active projects in the ecosystem
  • Spending money haphazardly

Overall I have a number of professonal and educational skills that contribute significantly to the role, and have a special interest in garnering even more skills through professional development, academics, and in my own time.

My Short Term Action Plan for CityDAO:

As outlined in my post here, I believe the most important areas to initially address are the following:

  • Ensuring the initiatives section is up to date, in addition to a clear costing tab associated with each initiative
  • Assessing the assets each initiative has and the stage they are at
  • Which guilds are active
  • If there is any work duplication between projects
  • Ensuring all CIPs adhere to the same template
  • Enhancing democratic voice and decision making
  • Creating formal grant structures
  • Electing a delegated multi-sig to trusted individuals to increase accountability
  • Creating a formal document of what constitutes as ‘contributing to the goal of CityDAO’ for CIPs
  • Improving overall cohesion and direction for the DAO
  • Maintaining democratic process
  • Generally seeking the goals outlined in the DAO Lead hiring policy

My Mid-Long Term Action Plan for CityDAO:

  • Achievement towards our key goal, “Build a blockchain native city”
  • Get at least one of the parcels set up with basic, multifunctional infrastructure where the team can convene and have their basic needs met (shelter, sanitary services, water, electricity, heat, INTERNET)
  • Aim for the city/parcels to be green, clean, well structured. Carbon neutrality or even carbon negativity would be ideal.
  • Attempt to transcend the limitations of current world city design using innovative technology, such as IoT, Digital Identity, etc
  • Better understand city management and implement this understanding into the entire process

In the extreme long-term, I believe we have the capacity to build something truly remarkable. How often does the chance to completely rethink the nature of cities come along in society like this? Not often at all!

Time Allocated:

I propose to initially allocate up to 20 hours of my time to the role per-week.

Due to a variety of chronic disabilities (HSD, Fybromylgia) I am unable to engage full-time with the role at present. However, I am now recieving medical treatment, so with gradually improving health and success in the role I would very much like to expand the number of hours I contribute.

This will also allow the DAO to assess my capabilities in a part-time role before committing to a full-time role in the future.

Requested Salary:

I am content for the DAO to decide what a suitable salary would be. To illustrate the potential of Web 3 I am happy to be paid in cryptocurrency. Traditional FIAT, or a combination of the two is also acceptable.

As a rough estimate, I believe 1 ETH per-month would be a suitable starting ‘salary’ for my proposal, with the oppertunity for the salary to rise in the future based on performance, approval, and project success. But I am completely open to negotiation if I am undercutting or overstating in terms of salary.

Requested Holiday:

I propose two weeks total of holiday time in a single calender year, in addition to the following public celebrations: Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, my birthday, and Parinirvana Day (as I am a Mahayana Buddhist).

Appropriate notification will be given in advance in line with the DAO Lead role description.

Potential Expenses:

I am heavily impacted by my disabilities when using chairs and desks. The role would be significantly easier if I had a sizeable, portable tablet like an iPad that I could fully work from in all aspects (communication, governance, design, social media interaction, slideshows, note-taking, as event assistant)

Areas for Personal Improvement & Professional Development:

I am always looking to acquire new skills and expand my understanding of the world. As such, there are a number of areas I would love to seek funding for professional development to enhance my capacity in the role of a DAO Lead. These are:

Formal City Planning Qualifications: This would allow me to gain significant insight into the process of city planning and management and how we could integrate it with Web 3 technology. It would credit both my professionalism and CityDAOs commitment to their goal.

Formal Mediation & Diplomacy Qualifications: This would give me accredation for the mediation skills I already possess, and give me enhanced capacity to communicate not only within the DAO, but also external legislative bodies, governments, politicians, etc.

Formal Language Training: I already possess skills in the Japanese language and East-Asian philology from my education, as well as very basic skills in Chinese and American Sign Language. Additional training in languages would allow me to communicate with a wider audience.

Formal Psychology Qualification: Group psychology, citizen wellbeing, mental wellbeing, and environmental psychology are all important, yet often unspoken aspects of city planning. My skills in Buddhist doctrine would be significantly enhanced as well as my capacity to understand the needs of citizens.

However, during times of limited treasury funding, I realize professional development may not be possible. Whether or not professional development is included in my proposed hours of work is a decision I am happy for the DAO to make.

Whilst I am confident in my capacity to learn, and have a diverse skillset I can bring to the role, I do lack technical knowledge in terms of raw coding capabilities, for example. I hope that technical members of the community would be able to assist where possible with complex technical discussion, and provide me with simple educational resources I can digest to better understand back-end processes in blockchain contracts when needed.

If there are any questions about my application, or if a team member wishes to conduct an interview with me, or just have a chat, then please feel free to contact me. :pray:

All the best,
Tara | ArkaYana.eth

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