Executive Director , Amnesty International USA

AIUSA seeks an exceptionally talented and deeply committed Executive Director to lead the organization and serve as a spokesperson and advocate for the human rights movement in the US and globally. The Executive Director will mobilize and collaborate with AIUSA’s incredibly powerful and unique asset: A highly engaged and passionate force of more than 300,000 grassroots members.
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is based in New York and is the largest section of the parent organization (Amnesty International) with 307,000 members, including over 1,000 student and local groups. It projects 2013 revenues of $36.6 million and employs a 100+ staff concentrated primarily in New York and Washington, DC.

The Executive Director will bring exceptional leadership and strategic abilities, strong organizational management and communications skills, and a deep sense of respect for the power of grassroots organizing. S/He will be comfortable with a shared leadership model of organizational governance, and be passionate about ensuring AIUSA’s enduring role in the human rights movement.

Responsibilities:The Executive Director’s responsibilities include:

Strategic Human Rights Vision and Leadership 

• Serve as a visionary and inspirational leader in the human rights movement nationally and within AI as a global organization
• Lead AIUSA in effective implementation of Amnesty International’s vision, mission and core values as a global organization
• Effectively represent AIUSA’s position and actively further its mission by ensuring its continued influence and relevance as one of the world’s best-known and largest grassroots organizations

Organizational Management

• Provide inspirational and motivational leadership for a complex grassroots organization with a diverse range of extraordinarily passionate and committed members and a highly skilled staff
• Provide leadership to the senior management team, which is responsible for day-to-day operations and program oversight and execution
• Assume overall responsibility and accountability for the annual budget, ensuring proper fiscal accounting and controls as well as legal and fiduciary compliance
• Oversee and strengthen the organizational infrastructure necessary to support and sustain AIUSA’s growth
• Collaborate closely with the Board of Directors to ensure the effective execution of the current AIUSA Strategy and Business Plan within the broader context of the AI integrated Strategic Plan and serve as a strategic leader and visionary for AIUSA, ensuring the successful development and execution of new and current initiatives and programs
• Identify, build and nurture coalitions and collaborative partnerships with other social justice and human rights organization. 

Fundraising 

• Work closely with the Chief External Affairs Officer to ensure that AIUSA is maximizing all current fundraising opportunities and executing strategic initiatives to broaden funding base and increase funding overall
• Drive efforts to increase individual and foundation giving for the organization, including working with the Board of Directors, the Champions of Conscience Network (AIUSA’s highest level donors), and development staff to build long-term, sustainable sources of income for the organization, including an endowment
• Ensure cooperation and information sharing across departments, coordinate, inform, and strengthen efforts to raise funds and increase awareness and activism

Membership Cultivation and Stewardship

• Work closely with the Chief Membership Officer to ensure the effective recruitment, retention, empowerment, and development of a robust and active membership
• Direct strategies to diversify and grow membership including engaging a new generation of AIUSA supporters through revitalization of its local groups, Young People’s Amnesty International (YPAI), regional grassroots organizations and student affiliates at colleges, universities and secondary schools
• Maintain the support of AIUSA’s broad-based membership through the development and execution of programs relevant to its needs and interests; listening to, collaborating with, and acting upon member issues and concerns

Communications

• Promote, strengthen, and extend AIUSA’s public presence and international brand by serving as a leader in the social justice and human rights movements and accurately and effectively representing the organization’s position
• Oversee the development and execution of AIUSA’s strategic communications initiatives and strategies, including ensuring the continued development of AIUSA’s new digital media strategies to reach out to constituents through social media
• Serve as AIUSA’s primary liaison and spokesperson to the public, funders, media and other audiences

Board Relations

• Collaborate closely with the Board of Directors to deliver on organizational goals and priorities set in accordance with AIUSA’s current Strategy and Business Plan- as well as the approved 2013 program priorities, based on policy initiatives from the international movement
• Serve as an active participant in the Board’s standing committees and in the Board training process

International Organization

• Liaise with the international movement through the Executive Directors’ Forum.
• Serve on the Global Management Team, an international group of AI Section Directors with responsibility for coordinating the overall work of the organization
• Consult and collaborate regularly with international staff at the International Secretariat on human rights policy and management issues

Desired Skills and Experiences

• Deep human rights and/or social justice leadership expertise
• Excellent leadership and management skills, including the ability to manage a strong Executive Team and serve as the leader of a large, complex, membership-based organization
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills; the ability to communicate a vision and motivate a broad range of stakeholders as well as represent AIUSA and its interests in the media and with policy makers
• Deep change management skills; experience driving significant organizational change and developing and strengthening a positive organizational culture
• Previous experience working with grassroots members strongly preferred
• Experience raising significant funds, in particular, a track record cultivating and stewarding major donors and foundations is strongly preferred
• Exceptional project management skills; the ability to drive simultaneous, complex, multiple stakeholder projects to measurable success
• Excellent facilitation and mediation skills; comfortable navigating complex issues and making difficult decisions
• An entrepreneurial approach to growth and impact; including a demonstrated ability to forge dynamic partnership and coalitions and drive measurable growth
• Extremely high level of emotional intelligence and flexible, intuitive relationship management skills

To Apply:Amnesty International USA has engaged Koya Leadership Partners to help in this hire. Please submit a compelling cover letter and resume to Molly Brennan at https://koya.refineapp.com/jobPosting/apply/622

AIUSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.