Equality Now
Program Director
THE ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1992, Equality Now fights for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world through legal advocacy. Working with grassroots women’s and human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes national and international action to support efforts to stop these abuses. The organization’s work is focused into four main program areas: Discrimination in Law, Sexual Violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and Sex Trafficking.
With offices in New York City, London and Nairobi and a presence in Amman, Jordan and Washington, D.C., Equality Now has a staff of 27, plus seven key consultants and is governed by the 13-member Board of Directors and 14-member UK Trustees group. Additional leadership and support are provided by the Advisory Board and the Adolescent Girls’ Legal Defense Fund Advisory Board.
New board leadership and new executive leadership have launched an ambitious strategic plan for Equality Now’s growth. The organization’s budget has increased and will continue to increase significantly, due in large part to a major, multi-year grant from a key funder. Current investment priorities include capacity building with a particular emphasis on expanding development and communications activities and expansion of the organization’s Equality Action Network. Additional investment is being made to add staff who will strengthen the organization’s management team. The organization’s FY2014 budget is close to $5 million.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Program Director position is a highly strategic and facilitative role that requires a combination of focus and flexibility. Reporting to the Global Director, the Program Director will be a thought partner with the Global Director, the management team and program staff and will work with them to develop and implement Equality Now’s vision and strategic direction and ensure that its work is innovative, high-impact, strategically focused and well supported. This position can be based in any of Equality Now’s offices.
S/he will be a thoughtful and dynamic leader and manager who excels at leading and managing people, enabling the program team across offices and locations to collaborate effectively with one another, other Equality Now staff, and external partners and fostering a healthy organizational culture. S/he will ensure that the team’s work is well supported by appropriate systems, structures, processes to manage collaboration, and information sharing, financial resources and technology.
The Program Director will supervise the heads of Equality Now’s four program areas and program staff in areas where Equality Now does not have offices, working closely with Regional Directors. It is anticipated that the Program Director will devote 50% of her/his time to the supervision and management of staff in Equality Now’s three offices and other locations where it has a presence, 30% to senior management team responsibilities, and 20% to external relations and outreach.
ONGOING RESONSIBILITIES
The Program Director will have ongoing responsibility for the following:
- Serve as a strategic and thought partner with and senior advisor to the Global Director, management team, and other staff;
- Analyze Equality Now’s internal organizational structure and reporting lines in order to establish systems and processes to ensure that programmatic work is effectively carried out and effectively communicated within and outside Equality Now;
- Work with the Global Director and management team to provide oversight, strategy, and direction for Equality Now’s program operations; Develop and implement programmatic and organizational strategies and goals on an annual basis;
- Work closely with the Global Director and the management team to open new offices and establish Equality Now’s presence in new locations, including an office in the Middle East and a presence in Asia in 2015;
- In partnership with Director of Development & Communications and development staff, participate in the identification of fundraising opportunities for Equality Now’s programmatic work and inform the development of related proposals and other funding requests; meet with current and potential donors as appropriate;
- In partnership with the Global Director and finance staff, ensure sound financial, operational, and administrative policies and controls are in place; develop and administer the program budget, including budgets for each of the four program areas; ensure that funds are invested and spent wisely;
- Ensure strong internal communication and coordination among program staff; hire new staff when appropriate, and evaluate performance; enhance opportunities across the organization for personal and professional leadership development;
- Serve as a spokesperson for Equality Now on occasion, representing the organization at conferences, events, and in the media, both nationally and internationally;
- Maintain current knowledge of issues central to Equality Now’s mission in order to ensure that Equality Now’s programs are appropriate, effective, and timely; facilitate and develop active partnerships and collaborations with organizations in the global women’s rights community in order to facilitate sharing of knowledge, strategies for action and best practices.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
The Program Director should be an energetic, flexible, self-starting team player with the following experience and qualifications:
The Program Director should be an energetic, flexible, self-starting team player with the following experience and qualifications:
- At least 10 years of successful experience managing and leading people with an emphasis on organizational development; a successful track record of effectively strengthening organizational and staff capacity; strong business acumen;
- Proven ability to lead and engage in strategic planning processes; able to think critically, objectively, analytically, and strategically and to set priorities; a successful track record of initiating, leading and fostering growth of programs, projects and/or organizations, according to key performance indicators;
- Ability to thrive when working under deadlines; strong project, time and budget management skills, and the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously without sacrificing attention to detail; a willingness to share in both ‘big picture’ thinking and administrative tasks;
- A direct, honest, and respectful approach to problem solving, with the ability to foster collaboration and contribute to building a strong sense of community among staff; able to help staff advance their goals and maximize their contributions in an evolving organizational climate;
- Passion for and demonstrated commitment to Equality Now’s core mission and values;
- Outstanding written and oral communications skills, with the presence, credibility and skills to develop and sustain a broad range of relationships; highly developed listening skills;
- Credibility and experience to connect Equality Now to resources and opportunities outside the organization; demonstrated experience creating effective partnerships and collaborations, with a reputation as a good strategic partner;
- Experience working with diverse communities, ideally internationally, across race, class, ethnic, political and geographic boundaries; an appreciation and understanding of the complexities of working in the international advocacy arena;
- A Master’s degree or equivalent (a Master’s of Business Administration is desired); ability and interest to travel internationally occasionally;
- Written and spoken Fluency in English; Fluency in French, Spanish and/or Arabic is desired.
To apply for the position, please submit a substantive letter of interest and a current resume to:
Lauren I. Gumbs
Senior Partner
Gumbs + Partners
Via e-mail, applications@gumbspartners.com
Equality Now offers a competitive compensation package, including base salary, savings, health, vacation benefits, and is an Equal Opportunity employer. Personnel are chosen on the basis of ability without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation, in accordance with federal and state law.
Apply by:
22 Jun 2014
loading...
