Executive Director

Reports to: Green City Force Board of Directors

Position status: Full-time

Location: New York City

Target start date:  April 2020, may be extended to May 2020 based on the ideal candidate's needs

Who we are: 

Green City Force (GCF) is in our 10th year and celebrating the 20th cohort of our award-winning AmeriCorps program.  Green City Force (GCF) engages young adults from New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) communities in service years related to the environment. In doing so, we prepare them for sustainable careers, while serving to make public housing communities more sustainable and healthier, creating the green city we want to see.

Our 545+ graduates are working in all areas of the green economy, from energy efficiency to composting, construction to hydroponic farming. A recent report documents the multiple benefits of GCF’s holistic model, through which young adults in public housing grow change in their communities and their own lives. GCF’s farms have generated over 90,000 lbs. of organic produce distributed to thousands of residents across six sites in exchange for compost scraps or volunteering, addressing health needs while building sustainability practices and systems. Our social enterprise has separately employed over 100 GCF graduates and impacted over 40,000 homes in public housing with energy efficiency upgrades (13% of total households) contributing to the historic retrofit of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) underway. With 72% of the 52,000 young adults ages 18-24 who live in NYCHA unemployed, GCF’s corps and 545+ graduates, with 96% placement by 6 months for the past 3 years, are flipping the narrative. GCF’s community of young leaders and professionals embody the promise of the “Green New Deal” and changing the idea of what is possible. GCF is cited as a model at the City, State, national, and international levels.

GCF is poised for greater impact and seeking an experienced manager to take the organization to the next level to build on GCF’s track record, leverage the organization’s ecosystem of alumni leaders and partners, as well as expand GCF’s relevance with city, state, and national governments. The founder will be moving into a new role focused on strategic growth opportunities and fundraising.  To learn more, please visit: greencityforce.org.

What you will do:

You will report to the GCF Board of Directors and be responsible for leading the organization in pursuing its mission with excellence. Your duties will include, but not be limited to: managing staff and programs; developing and managing partnerships at the local, state, and national level; creating and implementing fundraising strategies; ensuring the ongoing quality of GCF’s programs, partnerships, and culture; and pursuing both sustainability and growth in quality, impact, and reach with GCF’s young adult leaders and professionals and in community.

You will lead and build the GCF management team and work with the GCF Board of Directors to drive strategic planning and performance management for the organization broadly, including the development of strategic and operational plans, evaluation of expansion opportunities, creation and refinement of organizational policies, and overall organizational management.

• Organizational strategy, leadership, and management: Work with GCF Board of Directors to set integrated organizational strategy for program, operations, and revenues, create strong organizational culture, manage organizational sustainability and oversight of a $5+ million budget. Lead cross-functional team-encompassing programs, development, finance, and administration and operations.
• Fundraising and External Affairs: Lead effort to secure funding required to meet annual GCF budget from diverse sources (public, private, and fee for service). Ensure consistent quality and delivery of fundraising and business development, communications and systems to support sustainability and growth of GCF. Maintain and cultivate stakeholder relationships.
• Program Planning and Management: Ensure ongoing effective planning, implementation, and evaluation to ensure programs are meeting standards for quality, fidelity, and impact, and identify opportunities for continued improvement. Lead evaluations to document and increase impact.
• Strategic Partnerships: Build and sustain partnerships with government (city, state, and federal) oversight and funding agencies, employer partners, and private funders, to amplify GCF’s impact through joint initiatives and align with sustainability targets and programs
• Team Management and Development: Attract, develop, and manage talent to support GCF’s mission. Ensure staff receive training and support, implement performance management including ongoing monitoring of performance and performance reviews. Manage an organizational climate and culture that attracts, retains, and motivates a staff aligned with GCF’s mission and needs.

What You Can Expect

GCF has an innovative and inclusive culture characterized by passion and perseverance and commitment to excellence, hope, and healing. If you take on this position, you can expect to be offered a compensation package, including salary and benefits that will be commensurate with your experience and competitive within the non-profit sector in NYC. Some of the benefits we offer to our staff members include, but are not limited to:

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous vacation package with 28 paid days annual vacation and 10 days paid holidays/office closures

People of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Green City Force is committed to a diverse workplace, and to supporting our staff with ongoing career development opportunities. Green City Force is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its employment decisions, in accordance with state and federal law.

Who You Are

• An experienced manager and leader who has led high-performing teams for at least 5 years and inspired individuals and/or groups to achieve challenging, time-bound goals with success in a high-performing environment. You are process-oriented and methodically-minded.
• Excited about attracting resources to the mission and track record of demonstrated success in raising money or securing resources from diverse revenue sources and/or leading, supporting, or coaching others in doing so. You have effectively navigated the thicket of New York City politics, agencies, and funding.
• Passionate about expanding opportunity in the green economy and GCF’s pillars of Service, Training, Sustainability, and Justice, connecting the dots between youth employment and the environment, with a  focus on public housing communities and leveraging GCF’s track record to expand within public housing and beyond towards the green city we want to see in NYC.
• A leader with life and/or professional experience with the issues GCF seeks to address.
• Motivated by working with and fostering diverse and inclusive teams, where different perspectives and experiences are valued.
• A strong communicator with excellent written and verbal abilities and adept at communicating across a range of platforms, from in-person to the written word to social media.
• A recipient of a college degree, advanced degree a plus but not required.
• Driven to lead a dynamic organization to achieve systemic change and impact.

Please apply through TriNet: https://app.trinethire.com/companies/24680-green-city-force/jobs/24041-executive-director

No phone calls, please. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.