OWASP Succession Planning

In light of recent events, it is imperative that the OWASP Foundation establishes succession planning in the case of sudden illness, annual leave, extended leave of any type, resignation, or any other event that might cause senior positions to be unfilled for an extended period of time.

Our bylaws allow the vice-chair to take over the Chair’s duties and in certain situations, fill a vacancy, but we don’t have similar processes in place for the Executive Director or for other critical positions within OWASP.

The succession plan should contemplate temporary resourcing from within OWASP as a short term secondment in the first instance, particularly for short term leave requirements or illness, before considering outsourcing. For longer or permanent absences, recruitment should be considered where it is likely that the person may not return.

Succession planning must consider what initial training, periodic up skilling, job sharing or hand over is required to fulfil the succession plan.

Motion:

The Board directs senior OWASP Foundation staff to formulate a succession plan by the end of June, 2016 to cover the following positions:

• Executive Director
• Any positions that might cause OWASP to cancel events, such as organising large regional conferences or global events, or integrating with outreach (e.g. Black Hat, JavaOne)
• Any positions where BAU processes would be on hold that are critical to OWASP’s continuation, such making payroll, taxes, and so on

with consideration of both temporary absences such as sabbaticals, annual or medical leave, and permanent absences, such as resignation.