Roles and responsibilities

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This page focuses on the various roles available in the Waze community, for a discussion of Ranks and their requirements, see Your Rank and Points

Many of the Rank and Roles discussed below are accompanied with unique Forum usergroups and badges.

For more details on Forum badges, see Forum badges.

In mid 2014 Waze did some restructuring of Ranks and Roles, however many editors who were already in certain positions didn't meet the new requirements for that position. Many of these editors were grandfathered in (were allowed to keep those positions) even though they didn't meet the new requirements, as long as they weren't acting/editing inappropriately for that position.

Roles & Responsibilities

Map Editors

The Waze maps are crown-sourced user edited, and open to anyone who wants to contribute. Any Waze user can become a Map editor by creating a forum account, and logging into the Waze Map Editor. All Map Editors start as Rank 1, and can then progress through the ladder of ranks and roles as they gain experience, learn the intricacies of WME and map editing, and become involved in the community.

All new Map Editors you should visit the Waze Map Editor Welcome page to get a quick head start on the proper method to edit the Waze map.

Managers

Area Manager

An Area Manager (AM) is a Waze community member (Map Editor) who wishes to take an active and proactive role in maintaining specific areas of the Waze map. AM is an editing role, not a community role, some self-managed countries may require small community involvement before an AM is granted. Those specific areas of the map are added to their Editable area permanently, regardless of if they have driven there recently, as long as they are active as an AM. To be granted AM status an editor must first achieve Rank 2 at a minimum, usually though the necessary experience isn't gained until they are already Rank 3.

For more details on Area Managers, see Area Manager.

State Manager

A State Manager (SM) is a senior Map Editor, at least Rank 4, who is active in their local community and chosen by their Regional Coordinator for the position. They act as an assistant to the RC, and manage certain aspects of their state's community.

For more details on State Managers, and a list of current SMs, see State Manager.

Country Manager

A Country Manager (CM) is a Map Editor who has privileges to edit the map anywhere in their country. CM is an editing role, not a community role, though in some self-managed countries, some community involvement may be required to be granted role promotions. In the USA for example you must first be an SM for a while before being eligible for CM status. You must meet the minimum rank requirement (Rank 5) before you can request to be a CM, but not all Rank 5 Editors are Country Managers.

Once you reach Rank 5 (500K map edits), you can separately request through Support, or your countries community leadership that you be granted country wide editing rights for the server on which you participate. This is not a separate editing rank, but the old rank system used that term to refer to country managers (CM). In some countries with rank self management you will also need approval from the other CMs. In smaller countries with no current CM, you can request CM status at a lower rank and if appropriate you may be granted.

Coordinators

Coordinators are experts who coordinate between the local community and Waze Team, as community ambassadors. Usually Champs.

A Coordinator’s main responsibilities:

• Participating in both the global and local Champs’ groups, and being in a direct contact with the relevant Waze community manager
• Advise about the urgency and the severity of any reported issue
• Be aware of the company news, product announcements, new versions etc.
• Assist with social media activities in the country
• Take part in the setup of local and regional editors meetups

Regional Coordinators (RC) are Champs who take charge of several states/counties in large countries.

Champs

Champs are editors, selected by Waze management, that show a long standing contributions to the Waze community. They are the most experienced users, who also contribute to discussions on the forum. Their role isn't just about editing skills but about actively participating in the community.

Waze Champs are fellow Wazers like everyone else, but they are generally very experienced using Waze and active in the forums with moderator privileges. Most forum questions are answered by these users as they give their time freely to the Waze community. They are generally in closer direct communication with the Waze development team. This group also includes the Wazers who attended the Meet Ups with Waze staff. The Waze Champ status only appears in the forums as part of the user's profile history, or when they post a message. If for any reason you have a question you don't feel comfortable asking in the main forums, you can send a Private Message (PM) to a Waze Champ who will be happy to answer your question.

Local Champs

Local champs (LC) are part of a specific country's community leadership. Typically an editor must first be a Country Manager for some time before being eligible to become a Local Champ. Waze will select the most senior and skilled editors in any active editing region to become Local Champs. The number of Local Champs is proportionate to the number of active local editors, initially it will be approximately on a 1:100 scale. Once Local Champs are selected for a region, they will have the authority to nominate and approve more Local Champs for their region.

Global Champs

Global Champs (GC) are part of the world community leadership of Waze. Typically an editor must first be a Local Champ for some time before being eligible to become a Global Champ.

Mentors

Mentors are dedicated to helping others learn and advance through Formal Mentoring. They are experienced editors and Champs who have reviewed training on formal mentoring. Mentors are sponsored and approved by CMs or Waze Staff.

Mentors are authorized to engage in formal mentoring. They also coordinate with Waze staff and RCs to promote the rank and editing roles of their mentees.

For more details on the Mentoring program, and how to apply, see Mentoring.

Experts

Experts are users with expertise in certain areas. You can apply to be an Expert in the forum. There are several categories of "Experts"; for example "Editing Experts", "Android Experts", "iPhone Experts", "Navigation Experts", "Beta Editor Experts", "Points Experts", "Social Media Experts". Experts have moderator permissions over the relevant forums and their coordinators will have direct contact to relevant team members at Waze. We're open to expanding the range of "Experts" to include any new expertise that you may have in mind.

Experts are subject to the same entry level requirements as local champs.

Waze created the Experts role to enhance the flow of communication through the channels to the user-base, and to compartmentalize the information.

For more information on the various Expert groups, please visit the Experts forum, and browse the available Experts usergroups in the forum User Control Panel.

Beta Testers

There are currently several beta test programs from Waze, the Waze Map Editor - Beta, and the Beta Clients. Membership requires approval by Waze management, and in some cases is by invitation only. Information on applying to be a client app beta tester can be found at the Waze beta site called CenterCode

Localizers

Localizers are users who also dedicate their time to translate and personalize Waze to fit their local communities.

To learn more about the localization project, and how to get involved, please visit the Localization forum.