Job Title: Executive Director
Report To: Chairperson, Board of Trustees
THE OPPORTUNITY
During its 50th Anniversary year, Ironbound Community Corporation is seeking its next Executive Director. If you are a strong manager with a servant leader mentality, who can inspire and motivate staff and engage stakeholders at all levels to support the organization and its mission, this job may be right for you.
If you are adept at expanding programs, while sustaining and fortifying existing ones; if you have experience in both overseeing programs and leading advocacy and organizing efforts; and if you have a passion for social justice combined with a strong sense of politics and have the capacity to build strong relationships across diverse constituencies; this job could provide the challenges you have been looking for.
ICC balances the delivery of multiple service programs alongside political and social organizing and advocacy. Thus, the Executive Director should be able to negotiate conflicts in adversarial or sensitive contexts, paying close attention to long-term relationships with funders and partners.
The role of the Executive Director is to ensure that the organization’s reputation and the respect and high regard in which it is held is maintained. Often this means a leader who doesn’t back down or retreat from controversial issues, but also approaches these issues with deliberativeness, and with the aim of maintaining crucial relationships even when we may have to disagree with key partners.
If you love raising funds for an organization you believe in and are committed to; if you have a successful track record of fundraising from both the public and private sectors; if you are able to engender trust and respect and thrive on dealing with complex issues; this is an unparalleled opportunity for your consideration.
THE CONTEXT
ICC has just completed a three-year strategic plan that will provide the initial roadmap for the new Executive Director. The planning process identified a number of needs, opportunities, and challenges that are currently being addressed by the Board and the administration.
Key Strategic Priorities include, for example, cross-program engagement of staff, bringing on a human resources manager, upgrading the development department, completing an analysis of the properties owned/leased by ICC and creating a utilization plan for them, program expansion in the areas of economic development in the community, youth development for ages 0 to 18, starting a community mental health center for survivors of domestic abuse, providing support services to the undocumented, and the creation of an expanded food justice program, including a mobile produce grower’s coop.
The organization operates in a diverse community beset with significant environmental challenges and a burgeoning housing and development crisis threatening gentrification and displacement. Through a holistic approach with emphases on equity and justice, the agency aims to engage the community and support the community in amplifying its voice and controlling its own destiny.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Executive Director serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ironbound Community Corporation. They represent the organization to public and private agencies, political and business leaders, local residents and the general public. They promote the goals and objectives of the organization and secure the financial, in-kind and human resources required for program operations.
The Executive Director works closely with other staff members, program participants, volunteers and board members to provide services and organizing assistance to the community. They shall encourage and support their involvement and participation in the affairs and decision-making process of the organization.
Areas of Responsibility include:
- Board Relations
- Staff Leadership and Human Resource Development
- Program Development
- Sustaining an Inclusive and Supportive Organizational Culture
- Strategic Planning
- Fundraising Development
- Financial Management, Budgeting
- Legal, Regulatory Compliance
- General Administration
- Public/Community/Media Relations
- Community Partnerships/Communications/Advocacy
THE ORGANIZATION
The Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), developed in 1969 by community residents and progressive activists, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage and empower individuals, families and groups in realizing their aspirations and, together, work to create a just, vibrant and sustainable community. In its diverse, multi-lingual, multi-cultural community, ICC carries out its mission through a unique combination of direct services and community-building initiatives, including planning, organizing and advocacy.
Today, ICC’s staff of 150 serves approximately 1,000 people daily in multiple locations in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, NJ. Services include, for example, Early Head Start and Head Start programs; an afterschool program; two Family Success Centers and a community mental health program for survivors of domestic abuse; services for undocumented immigrants; a Financial Opportunity Center supporting economic empowerment, job development and placement; environmental justice and community development programs, which include housing justice and urban agriculture.
How to Apply:
Please send a thoughtful cover letter explaining the fit you see between your talents, philosophy and experience and the Executive Director opportunity at Ironbound Community Corporation with your resume to the ICC Search Committee at [email protected]. Please include your salary requirements. Inquiries can be sent to the same email address. No phone calls please. Candidates selected for interview will be notified by email.
ICC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to further building and maintaining a staff that reflects the full range and diversity of our community. We are looking for a diverse applicant pool and strongly encourage women of color, persons with disabilities, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ community, and people from low income and working class backgrounds to apply.