Executive Director

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Mission:

ABOUT THE AUDRE LORDE PROJECT

HISTORY: Founded in 1995 and staffed since 1996, the Audre Lorde Project (ALP) has developed innovative programs and initiated significant community mobilizations focused on the concerns of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming (LGBTSTGNC) People of Color. Key programs areas have included issues such as Transformative Justice/ Anti Violence and Welfare rights for TGNC Communities of Color that are non-traditional in LGBT organizations.

MISSION: The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education and capacity building, we work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice. Committed to struggling across differences, we seek to responsibly reflect, represent, and serve our various constituencies.

VISION STATEMENT: The Audre Lorde Project envisions a world in which people celebrate differences and every community has the right to full self-determination. We envision a world in which all systematic oppression has ended. We envision a world in which everyone has enough to survive and to thrive and all people have the right to live where, with whom and how they choose. We believe this vision will ultimately be achieved through local organizing efforts driven by communities most affected by systematic oppression. Our struggles toward overcoming oppression include committing to social and economic justice, and working to end all forms of discrimination, U.S. imperialism, and colonization.

CURRENT PRIORITIES: The Audre Lorde Project continues to be a locally and nationally recognized force in the struggle for racial, social and economic justice, that center wellness and safety strategies as integral to our collective survival and liberation. In this heightened political moment we are seeking an Executive Director that can help guide vision and mission of ALP. This position will bring political leadership to ALP, build organizational infrastructure for the long term, and center organizing and programming in LGBTSTGNC People of Color in New York City. This position is accountable to the Board, who will work with our core member leadership, program and administrative staff; and supervises and supports the leadership of the Manager of Finance & Administration, Manager of Development and the Director of Programs. This leader must be a dynamic, flexible and creative individual committed to justice, leadership development and practices that reflect ALP’s principles.

Responsibilities:

1. Organizational Development & Governance

• Strategic & Operation Planning: Oversee and manage organizational development, including strategic and operational planning. This includes providing leadership for the organization’s political direction and ensuring accountability to LGBTSTGNC communities of color and key allies.
• Board of Directors: Report to and work with the Board of Directors, and participate in deliberations and decisions of the Board in conjunction with Manager of Operations & Finance, Manager of Development & Director of Programs.
• Organizational Committees: Coordinate and participate in deliberations and decisions of key organizational committees – ensuring multi-stakeholder leadership of organizational direction and shared decision-making as appropriate.
• Public Representation: Represent ALP’s mission publicly on local, state, national and international levels as appropriate to: LGBTSTGNC People of Color communities at-large; People of Color, LGBTSTGNC, Immigrant, Migrant, Refugee, communities with Disabilities and HIV/AIDS communities; funders and other relevant organizations, networks and coalitions as well as in organizing/public policy environments and to the media.
• Providing fiscal oversight for organizational and program budgets.
• Organizational Vision & Strategic Direction: Understanding and driving the political positioning of ALP to move specific strategy aligned with our mission, vision and organizing principles informed and shaped by our membership base.

• Staff Retention: Oversee the management of the organization’s staff, prioritizing participatory decision-making practices that reflect ALP’s mission and values. Support sustainable and positive culture amongst staff and leaders. Support a staff culture of feedback and accountability.
• Staff Leadership Development: Support the leadership development of staff including developing staff leadership development plans and structures.
• Supervise Consultants/Contracted Employees: Ensure that consultants and contracted employees provide services to ALP as stipulated.
• Supervise Senior Staff: Support the leadership of Director and Managerial roles.

• Campaign Development: Work with Director of Programs to strategize and implement grassroots community organizing campaigns and community actions (as the central strategy for addressing community problems and as the focus of organizational programming). This includes the development of community analysis and the prioritization of strategic coalition-building.
• Membership Development: Work with staff and members to establish base building strategies, achieve base building goals, and support vibrant membership structure and wellness programming that engages LGBTSTGNC people of color.
• Developing Program Structure: Support the development implementation, evaluation and documentation of organizational programs.
• Planning: With the Manager of Grassroots Fundraising & Development; Board of Directors and Manager of Finance & Administration, develop and sustain multi-tiered fundraising strategies in development and grassroots fundraising to support long-term organizational mission and growth.
• Develop, with the Manager of Development & Grassroots Fundraising, systems of donor tracking and donor/grant reporting, including utilizing software to better synthesize our data and documentation.
• Guide the development of the organizational fundraising strategy as well as drive the strategy along with the Manager of Development & Grassroots Fundraising to implement the strategy.

• Facilitating & Implementing new communication strategies and structures across the organization.
• Resources to Ensure the Director of Operations & Development carries out activities related to individual, government and foundation fundraising as well as special projects as identified by the Board of Directors.

Required Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to ALP’s mission, vision, and guiding principles.
• Experience in political and cultural organizing in social justice movements and/or analysis of state violence and police brutality and advocating racial, gender and economic justice and LGBTSTGNC liberation.
• Proven ability working with multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-gendered, intergenerational communities and organizations – especially within LGBTSTGNC People of Color communities – and significant experience with coalition-building.
• Strong working knowledge of LGBTSTGNC POC, LGBTSTGNC and POC communities, issues, and resources nationally. Demonstrated experience with issues relating to Transgender, Youth & Immigrant LGBTSTGNC communities of color.
• 5 years’ experience cultivating leadership and decision-making among community members; developing and leading grassroots community organizing campaigns; and solid interest/experience in movement-building strategies.
• 5 years supervisory and managerial experience within a community-based organization, using consensus and other participatory decision-making models.
• 5 years’ experience in program development, implementation, and evaluation, including knowledge and/or practice of popular education models and political education strategies.
• Solid understanding of development and funding for grassroots organizations.
• Excellent interpersonal, writing and communication skills. Comfort and experience with public speaking and communicating with community members, community leaders, funders and the media.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Able to hold conflict resolution with political integrity and boundaries.
• Collaborative leadership style.
• Bring a vision of organizational and community sustainability.
• Committed to dynamic and generative grassroots fundraising strategies.
• An analysis of power that is intentional and responsible to shared and collective power within the organization; and a value in transformative models and practices.

Compensation: Salary is based on experience and ALP’s commitment to internal equity. A generous fringe benefits package is provided.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 5pm on November 30th, 2017.

Please send your resumé, cover letter, and the names and telephone numbers of three professional references as a single PDF to

We are excited to announce that in place of a cover letter candidates may also submit video that is no more than 3 minutes long. Candidates that submit a video cover letter must still submit a resume and professional references as well in a single PDF. All cover letters or videos must answer the following 2 questions:

• What experiences and skills will you bring to help ALP meet its mission?
• What excites you most about the work of ALP and why?

If you prefer to mail your application it must be post-marked by November 1st, 2017 and addressed to:

The Audre Lorde Project
147 W 24th St 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011

ALP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender/gender identity/gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, or marital status.