Executive Director, Transit Coalition

About Greenville Connects

Greenville Connects seeks to increase investments in Greenlink, the transit system in Greenville County, South Carolina.  A coalition formed in 2019, Greenville Connects is a partnership of the local public transit system, philanthropy, business leaders, neighborhood activists, faith communities, and national experts that has achieved some important wins for public transportation in Greenville and wants to build on that success. Greenville Connects seeks to be a key player in meeting the transportation needs of a quickly growing community in equitable ways. This means doing the organizing, communicating, and advocacy needed to make good decisions and secure the right investments at the city, county and state levels. We need a visionary person to lead this work.

Job Overview

Greenville Connects is seeking a collaborative, strategic leader to serve as the first Executive Director to develop and implement an integrated strategy to advance Greenville Connects’ vision for transit expansion and accessibility.  By strengthening the coalition and creating a long-term strategy, the Executive Director will spearhead a campaign to support better transit.  With the ultimate goal of securing long-term, recurring operational funding for public transportation, the Executive Director will bring extensive experience in advocacy and community-building and have a passion for creating a better community through an equitable transportation system in Greenville.  

Attributes

Candidates for this position will share Greenville Connects’ deep commitment to advocating for improving the quality of life for all Greenville County residents regardless of race, zip code, or income, by creating transportation options that get people where they need to go. The ideal candidate is:

• Experienced in creating campaign strategy including communication, advocacy, coalition building, power mapping, and more.
• Visionary, demonstrating openness, strong reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities in developing goals and strategies.
• Action-oriented but collaborative in approach with well-honed listening skills.
• Results-driven. Sets and achieves goals. 
• Trusted and trustworthy. Listens well, builds trust, and advances relationships.
• Able to “command the room” and possesses strong leadership skills.
• A quick study with a wealth of personal insight; hands-on and can hit the ground running.
• Highly organized and detail oriented.
• A strong manager of high-performing teams.
• An entrepreneurial spirit to improve the way the organization operates and sustains itself. Embraces innovation and a can-do mindset. 
• Open to feedback and committed to continuous improvement.

Required Experience, Skills, and Abilities 

• Minimum of 7-10 years of leadership experience in nonprofits, coalitions, public/private partnerships, or advocacy organizations particularly with campaign-related work and/or having led a startup organization.
• An undergraduate degree is required; a graduate degree in business, finance, public administration or related field is preferable but not required. 
• Experience with the public and private sectors, including government officials, philanthropic organizations, business community, donors, and community leaders.  
• Effective management of operational and financial resources.
• Strong proficiency in transit/transportation is ideal, but not required.
• Relationships with influencers in Greenville and/or South Carolina a plus.
• Track record of planning and executing winning strategies.

Essential Responsibilities 

• Develop a long-term strategy for how Greenville Connects can use political and civic engagement to build sustainable power for public transit, resulting in an increased investment in public transit in Greenville County.
• Establish sound working relationships with and serve as primary liaison to city and county governments, major employers, local businesses, neighborhood leaders, nonprofit organizations, media and other key stakeholders to support Greenville Connects’ mission.
• Generate resources to support this work.
• Effectively execute strategic activities to advance policy goals such as developing reports/factsheets; identifying needed research; conducting social and earned media campaigns; analyses of policy proposals; and power mapping.
• Remain up-to-date on local and national trends that affect the organization and shape the issue of public transit. 
• Demonstrate understanding of local government inner-workings and proficiency moving an initiative through necessary policy approval processes. Mobilize various constituencies as required over the course of the campaign. 
• Develop a deep understanding of the transportation sector, as well as the history of public transit in Greenville. Analyze market trends, research best in class solutions, review organization data, and identify opportunities for growth. 
• Oversee a team to execute on strategies including advisory board members, staff, and vendors. 
• Manage a base budget of $400,000 and grow it to meet the needs of the campaign. 

Position Details:

Greenville Connects is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified candidates to apply without regard to race, religion, creed, nationality, sex, gender, veteran status or any other non-job-related qualification.

Greenville Connects is pleased to offer a generous compensation and benefits package for well-qualified candidates depending on experience.

• Salary is based on experience and qualifications, in the range of $110,000 to $130,000.
• As a start-up coalition, details of benefit packages, paid time-off, holidays will be negotiated with the final candidate(s).  
• Executive Director reports to Chairperson of the Board.
• As the coalition grows, ED will hire and manage consultants and/or staff as additional capacity is needed.
• Travel and Remote work - Because the job requires a deep understanding of Greenville’s political and business culture, we expect the selected candidate to work from Greenville.  However, remote work options and travel expectations will be discussed with final candidates based on individual circumstances to find an arrangement that is mutually beneficial to all parties.   

• To Apply: Send cover letter and resume to shannon.cole@greenvilleconnects.org. No calls please.