Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer

Background:

Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) is a growing nonprofit empowering youth to tackle food insecurity in marginalized communities through school-based, youth-led hydroponic farming. By growing close to 60,000 pounds of fresh produce annually at multiple facilities, TFFJ students provide healthy produce for their schools and communities, combating food deserts and promoting better nutrition. Students gain hands-on experience in STEM, health and nutrition, food policy, and advocacy, becoming champions for a just, sustainable food system. With a focus on education, mentorship, and community engagement, TFFJ is planting the seeds for a healthier future.

The longtime and successful founder, leader, and CEO Katherine Soll is stepping down. Established in 2013, TFFJ is teaching young people to build a healthy, affordable, equitable, and sustainable food system. With the support of a smart, enthusiastic, and dedicated team, TFFJ now operates eight high-capacity, hydroponic school-based farms and is providing healthy food and quality educational and youth development programming at more than 20 Title I middle and high schools throughout NYC, with an additional school-based farm in Denver, CO. Program offerings include hands-on sustainability, urban agriculture, and STEM education, immersive nutrition education and wellness programming, produce distribution, building health skills, and advocating for healthy food and other key resource access, and many more.

The Position:

Teens For Food Justice seeks a visionary nonprofit business leader skilled in driving organizational success and empowering high-performing staff to be its new Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer (ED/CEO). Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED/CEO will be based at the organization’s offices in New York City and have overall management responsibility for a growing, high-impact organization with a $3 million annual budget, and 18 employees.

Combining inspirational leadership and sophisticated management abilities, they will advance the organization’s culture, capability, processes, and impact. While working closely with the organization’s executive team, the ED/CEO will inspire innovation and ensure that the organization is well-equipped to advance its mission of building a youth-led movement to ensure a just, affordable, and sustainable food system for all through school-based hydroponic farming. The ED/CEO will have exceptional organizational, administrative, management, fundraising, and financial skills. They will be front-facing and dynamic, able to build, cultivate, and maintain partnerships and relationships. They will possess outstanding communication and negotiation skills and be a persuasive advocate and spokesperson for TFFJ, engaging diverse audiences that include funders, school administrators, nonprofit leaders, elected officials, and the general public. The ideal candidate will be an entrepreneurial, thoughtful, and creative self-starter who is also strategic, mission-driven, and solution-oriented.

Key Responsibilities:

Executive Leadership and Organizational Management:

• Provide thoughtful and visionary executive leadership that is inclusive, transparent, and empowering in a manner that supports and guides the organization’s mission as defined by the Board of Directors.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization and ensure its overall successful long-term operations.
• Organize, motivate, and mentor internal team leaders to strategically grow the organization’s impact, programs, fundraising, and effectively fulfill its important mission.
• Apply innovative thinking and performance measurements to analyze and support strategic decision-making.
• Continually foster a culture that encourages collaboration between departments and recognizes positive contributions.
• Contribute to the strategic plan and drive its implementation. Ensure the organization is tracking towards its KPIs.
• Manage and motivate staff, overseeing processes such as hiring, ongoing staff development, performance management, and compensation and benefits.

Board Governance:

• Maintain regular and ongoing communication to build strong relationships with the entire Board, providing leadership and support to members at all times.
• Present strategic options and plans for organization impact and gain Board approval as needed to carry out the work of the mission of the organization.
• Gracefully manage the board as needed to build consensus, remind of outstanding deliverables, and offer support.
• Implement Board policies and procedures and build support for Board decisions amongst staff.
• Provide timely reports and update for the purposes of implementing Board policies and procedures.

Development and Fundraising:

• Drive development and fundraising in collaboration with the Development Director, leveraging the Board as needed
• Initiate, cultivate, and extend relationships with the organization’s portfolio of individual, foundation, and corporate supporters.
• Assist the board in relationship development with existing and potential new funders to ensure the financial health of the organization, alongside the Development Director.

Financial Management and Administration

• Assume responsibility for the fiscal integrity of the organization.
• Provide strategic leadership and hands-on management for all of the administrative and operational functions of the organization in accordance with the mission, objectives, and policies.
• Prudently direct resources and manage all financials within budget guidelines and according to current laws and regulations.
• Monitor board-approved budget and manage daily financial operations to ensure maximum utilization of resources and optimum financial positioning for the organization.
• Ensure the organization’s financial stability by maintaining healthy cash flow and adequate reserves.

External Relations and Communications:

• Represent the organization and serve as chief spokesperson publicly at events, conferences, and partnership meetings.
• Develop, secure, and cultivate strong and successful relationships with partners at all levels
• Present and promote the organization and its mission, programs, partners, and members in a consistently positive manner
• Ensure high visibility to prospects and the public, and build interest in engaged philanthropy.
• Oversee all aspects of the organization’s marketing and public relations in collaboration with the Director of Communications

Qualifications:

• A minimum of five years of prior experience as a CEO, COO, Executive Director, or in a related position at a nonprofit, foundation, government, or industry.
• A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. An advanced degree in a related field is preferred.
• A track record of providing visionary leadership at the executive level.
• Proven experience executing organizational growth and leading a similar or larger size successful nonprofit and/or related entity.
• Solid experience working with and/or leading a nonprofit Board.
• Strong business and operational acumen to grow and maintain a financially stable and sustainable organization. A capacity to oversee financial management, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making, and reporting.
• An accomplished fundraiser at ease with all aspects of development and proven success in the role of seeking and procuring multi-year gifts, institutional funding, and corporate sponsorships.
• Familiarity with diverse business functions such as Marketing, Public Relations, Human Resources, etc.
• Experience with and/or knowledge of food insecurity in the context of agriculture, public health, social justice, and/or education.
• Knowledge of NYC school-based program delivery is preferred
• Experience and success in motivating, recruiting, developing, retaining, and mentoring high-performance, mission-driven, and results-oriented teams.
• The ability to communicate and interact with officials at all levels of government and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders in culturally and ethnically diverse communities.
• An inclusive, hands-on, collaborative manager who inspires and guides staff to maximize performance while also ensuring the integrity of high-quality programs and services.
• Excellent written, oral, and public speaking skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with strong interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills.
• Strong commitment to a culture of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.