Our organization

Similar to the Philadelphia Orchestra, which enchants the audience’s ears even without a conductor, ZOE has no classical management. Instead of rigid and often inefficient organizational structures, we rely on the self-organization of agile teams with clearly defined competence-based responsibilities. Our impact thus arises organically from the creativity and motivation of our employees.

At the core of ZOE are the governance team and the employees, surrounded by a pool of fellows. The governance team is responsible for defining the orchestral schedule for the coming years and for the central organizational and coordination tasks: Strategic public relations, human resources, organizational development, financial planning, project coordination, fundraising. The position strategy and organizational development ensures that the orchestral schedule is implemented and makes decisions for the entire organization where necessary. The position human resources and coordination supports this by ensuring that all work areas are equipped with sufficient resources and that employees can develop their full potential based on their individual strengths and motivations. All other employees at ZOE can lead projects and initiate new processes in a self-organized manner. The fellows accompany ZOE’s research, the contributors are working in education or consulting and are part of ZOE’s network. Fellows and contributors inspire ZOE’s work and support ZOE selectively or as part of projects.

This flexible organizational structure enables ZOE to adapt continuously and evolutively to the changes it brings to the world.