Who We Are Looking For
We are seeking an Executive Director who is both bold and diplomatic, imaginative and pragmatic. The ideal candidate is fluent in the language of academic science, collaborates with intention and enthusiasm, and brings professional expertise in the financial, managerial, and communication skills that are essential for creating change. They should be experienced in leadership, organizational strategy, project management, and change-making.
However, because the purpose of our organization and this job is to create a world where science is genuinely collaborative, inclusive, and socially engaged, you must be ready to challenge many of the norms and assumptions that shape a paragraph like the one above. You must be willing to do the hard work of earning buy-in and creating momentum while preserving integrity, all while building goodwill. In other words, we are looking for a connector and convener who is equally at ease in a science conference and a maker space: someone who carries their intelligence lightly and their positivity openly. We need someone who is delighted to play with possibilities, who can turn on a dime for a good idea, and who is a beacon of fierce optimism about the possibility of change.
Executive Director Responsibilities
1. Strengthen & expand the organization
- Work closely with the Board and founders to advance and iterate our overarching vision and theory of change.
- Execute against our strategic plan to achieve our organizational mission and drive the change we seek among allied and aligned institutions.
- Expand organizational infrastructure, capacity, processes, and norms.
- Lead fundraising and development toward a $1-2 million yearly budget via grants, philanthropy, and other income streams.
- Oversee external communications and public engagement, including website, marketing, and media strategies.
2. Manage internal operations
- Oversee organizational program planning, execution, evaluation, and reporting.
- Create timelines and hold to them - from daily progress and reporting with staff to weekly, monthly, and quarterly cadence of activities with the community.
- Work with the Treasurer to oversee financial planning and reporting, including budgeting, tax filings, contracting, and compliance. Supported by a part-time bookkeeper.
- Manage meetings and internal communications processes with our Board and staff.
3. Build the community
- Recruit new members and partners.
- Organize convenings and community events, ranging from ad hoc virtual member meetings to an annual, multi-day in-person conference.
- Travel throughout the US and spend time with existing partners and partner organizations.
- Design and oversee content strategy to grow and maintain Community membership.
- Foster active community engagement on our private platform(s) and social media.
- Refine and expand our social media presence and oversee a weekly cadence of targeted communication.
We anticipate hiring a Community Manager to support this area of responsibility.
4. Cultivate and leverage Campaigns
- Build momentum for our campaigns from conception through conclusion or spin-off;
- Oversee the submission pipeline and greenlight process for campaigns
- Supervise project management, budgets, objectives, and execution
- Regular presentation of potential and ongoing campaigns to the Board for review
- Ensure campaign impacts and resulting changes (outcomes, results, and best practices) are amplified, widely shared, broadly available, and generative
- Deploy digital/social channels to ensure campaigns and changes attract attention within our community and beyond
- Design and oversee broader engagements (events, discussions, op-eds, media appearances, etc) to share changes and grow our community
Our full-time Campaign Manager supports this area of responsibility.
Required Qualifications:
This job is vast. It requires many different skills, strengths, and abilities. Ideally, we want:
- A strategic thinker with ambitious visions
- A highly organized and adept project manager
- A successful fundraiser who can manage budgets at or above $1M/yr
- An effective communicator who prioritizes interpersonal relationships
- An enthusiastic driver of community and public engagement
- A skilled and efficient knowledge worker who eagerly adopts new technologies
- An experienced scientist, science communicator, or other professional experience within or in support of academia
Do not disqualify yourself on a technicality. If you are an exceptionally innovative, organized, and diplomatic leader, please apply!
Start Date, Location, and Compensation:
Start date: On or before July 1, 2024
Location: Strong preference for the San Francisco Bay Area. This position requires frequent in-person meetings in San Francisco and national travel on the order of 1-2 trips per month.
Starting salary: $150,000-200,000 commensurate with experience, plus benefits.
S4S provides equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local laws unless such distinction is required by law.
Who We Are
Solving for Science (S4S) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization designed to accelerate change within and across scientific institutions. Our mission is to support researchers working to shift the culture of science toward greater collaboration and cooperation. Solving for Science focuses on relationships, communication, and teamwork to solve complex problems in our scientific communities. We are seeking an Executive Director to drive growth in our membership and impact.
To Apply:
Please review our website at https://solvingfor.org and use it to write a cover letter that shows us you have the attitude, skills, and vision we need. Create a single PDF from that cover letter and your detailed resume or a short CV. Email your PDF as an attachment to Hiring@SolvingFor.org with the subject heading "[Last Name] Application for SFS Executive Director." Use the email body as an opportunity to flex your communication skills and show us how you work.
We will review applications on a rolling basis, so please submit yours as soon as its ready.