In 2014, The Drupal Association will launch new programs that serve the community and generate revenue to make Drupal.org a worthy home for the project. You can learn more about this focus in our February 2013 blog and our December 2013 blog about funding Drupal.org improvements.

One of these new projects is a Drupal Job Board, which is a top priority in 2014 because it will serve the community’s talent marketplace needs while raising funds for Drupal.org.

Today we are releasing a Request for Proposal for the Drupal Job Board to be built in Drupal on https://association.drupal.org/ with the first version released in early Q2 of this year. If you know Drupal, job boards, and want to help the Drupal community improve their talent marketplace, then we want to hear from you!

We would like to have all proposals in by no later than February 7, 2014, so we can select a specific vendor by February 28, 2014.

To learn more about this proposal and how to respond, read the attached RFP and supporting documents/presentations (feature list, technical specifications, and user experience workflows.)

So Why A Drupal Job Board?
It’s true, the Drupal community can post jobs free on groups.drupal.org and on drupal.org/paid-services (freelance work). You can even post jobs on individual groups in groups.drupal.org. So why do we need a Drupal Job Board? There are two answers:

The first is that while the current options do serve a need, they do not connect employers and job seekers in a meaningful way for many people. Over a year ago, The Drupal Association engaged the community in a job board discussion and uncovered pain points and job board needs. Many commented that it is hard for job seekers to find jobs that match their interest and skills and employers have no way of finding them through a database like on other job boards. Also, members don’t want their group forums full of job postings. They prefer a better place for posting jobs so group discussion can stay on topic and be more meaningful.

The second reason for creating a Drupal Job Board is that it can generate funds for improving Drupal.org by selling job postings, featured listings, and branded company pages. In 2014, The Drupal Association is investing heavily in Drupal.org improvements by hiring a Drupal.org technical team and funding infrastructure, software, and content improvements. Generating job board income is one of the ways we will fund this effort.

It’s no secret that acquiring Drupal talent is expensive and many employers already budget for job posts on other sites. The Drupal Job Board postings will remain competitive, both in terms of pricing, search features, and Drupal talent, providing a great ROI for HR budgets.

What about groups.drupal.org/jobs and /paid-services?
These job posting options will remain. We don’t want to take anything away from the community, especially free postings. However, in time, The Drupal Association will engage the community in a discussion about folding groups.drupal.org/jobs and /paid-services into the Drupal Job Board.

In the meantime, we hope you will consider paying for a job post on the Drupal Job Board. Each post helps us improve Drupal.org that much more!

Where will the Drupal Job Board be located?
The Drupal Job Board will reside on association.drupal.org, but it will be highly visible on Drupal.org so it is easy to find and access.

We are creating the Drupal Job Board on association.drupal.org because this domain already supports commerce, which is needed for job posting transactions. Drupal.org is not set up for commerce. Also, as job seekers and employers post sensitive information on profile pages, Drupal.org webmasters (community volunteers) could gain access to this information in the course of their work, and we don’t want that to happen. By putting the Drupal Job Board on association.drupal.org, the Drupal Association staff, who will support the Drupal Job Board, are bound by confidentiality through their employment, which provides extra safeguards for user privacy.

What Features will the Drupal Job Board Have?
The Drupal Job Board will have several features for job seekers to help them find jobs and be found by employers. They use basic searches like keywords and location or more advanced searches such as job category and skill level. Job Seekers can also create a job seeker profile page with information about their skills, expertise, type of employment they are looking for, and be able to upload a resume. This information is protected and only viewable by employers and recruiters who have active job postings.

Employers and recruiters will be able to post jobs and receive discounts for bulk purchases. They can also buy featured ads to make their posting stand out. Also, employers and recruiters with an active job post can search job seeker profiles by keywords, location, job category, and more. Additionally, employers and recruiters can promote their company as an  “employer of choice’ with a branded company page that helps them highlight why their company is a great place to work.

Why These Features?
After hearing from the community about the current job posting pain points and researching helpful features on Stack Overflow, oDesk, and Linux Job Board, we determined that this feature set would level up the current job posting experience and be more competitive with other job boards.

The RFP and supporting documents are below (all PDFs). 

Drupal Job Board RFP 

Drupal Job Board Feature List

Drupal Job Board Technical Specifications

Drupal Job Board Workflow