Executive Director

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico works to protect and advance justice, liberty, and equity as guaranteed by the constitutions of New Mexico and the United States. As the state affiliate of the premier civil rights and civil liberties organization in the country, the ACLU-NM fights in the courts, in the legislature, and in its communities to ensure that justice, liberty, and equity are realities for all people.

At this critical time in our nation and across New Mexico, the ACLU-NM invites applications and nominations for its next Executive Director. The Executive Director will be an experienced, strategic, and visionary chief executive with a strong understanding of the core strategic priorities of the ACLU-NM. They will bring exceptional interpersonal skills and a track record of showing up in the community, building and maintaining deep relationships and partnerships. They will also possess robust critical thinking skills, strong organizational and financial management acumen, fundraising skills, communication skills (both oral and written), and a keen ability to listen to varied groups of stakeholders and identify how the ACLU-NM can most strategically collaborate and act. The Executive Director will boldly champion the organization’s mission and values both publicly and internally, and they will lead the development of strategies on the organization’s core priority areas, ensuring that the national office and affiliates together achieve shared performance outcomes.

The Executive Director position is an exempt, full-time role, reporting to the Board of Directors. They will partner effectively with the board and staff, balancing leadership of a strong and effective team with continued impactful collaboration with external partners.

This role is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

Over the past several years, the ACLU-NM has grown significantly in both size and impact. The current budget sits at just below $4.5MM, and the staff size is around 25 people. Both the board and staff have been engaged in thoughtful leadership development and transition, and after 24 years of consistent, strong leadership under its last Executive Director, the affiliate is well-positioned for its next chapter.

On the National level, the ACLU’s reputation is built on nearly a century of effective advocacy at every level of the justice system. While the organization undertakes exceptional work out of its headquarters, the ACLU’s greatest strength is its network of state affiliates and the more than 1100 staff who work out of the state offices. The state affiliates and their staff constitute an unparalleled bulwark in defending and advancing civil liberties and civil rights. As the state affiliate of the ACLU, the ACLU-NM is the largest civil liberties organization in the state of New Mexico with thousands of members. Through effective litigation, advocacy, and community engagement, the ACLU-NM tirelessly pursues large-scale impact that affects real people's lives across New Mexico.

Equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging are core values of the ACLU-NM and central to both their external and internal work. They believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within their organization – one that respects and embraces difference, treats everyone equitably, and empowers their colleagues to do the best work possible.

ACLU-NM STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

During this past era of scaling and changing, the ACLU-NM underwent a process of inclusive and thoughtful strategic planning that involved board, staff, and community members starting in early 2022 that resulted in a new strategic plan for 2023-2026. As with all strong strategic planning processes, conversations are ongoing to evaluate and assess impact and if priorities need to shift, but it is expected that the incoming Executive Director will be very familiar with all current strategic priorities for the ACLU-NM:

Advancing Civil Liberties in High Impact Issue Areas

• Criminal Law Reform
• Immigrant Rights and Border Justice
• Indigenous Justice
• Policing
• Reproductive Freedom and Gender Equity

How the ACLU-NM prioritizes

Within these issue areas, the ACLU-NM prioritizes work where they are uniquely positioned to have an impact that:

• addresses root causes and achieves systems change
• is driven by and is in collaboration with impacted communities
• advances racial and economic justice

How the ACLU-NM works

The ACLU-NM applies an integrated advocacy approach, simultaneously utilizing multiple levers to accomplish its programmatic goals, including:

• Legislative advocacy
• Litigation and legal advocacy
• Educating and mobilizing ACLU constituents
• Mobilizing opinion leaders
• Shaping the media narrative
• Working in coalition
• Supporting NGOs with capacity building and technical assistance

YOUR OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPACT

The Executive Director provides the leadership, vision, and strategic direction necessary to address civil liberties and civil rights issues in New Mexico and possesses the leadership skills and vision to ensure that the affiliate is well positioned to meet the challenges of the future. The Executive Director should bring a proven track-record as a leader in diverse nonprofit organizations, including strong experience with fundraising, management, and external relations, and they must bring a demonstrated commitment to civil rights and liberties.

Key opportunities include:

Strategy and Vision

• Lead the organization’s board and staff to a shared vision of clear goals and strategies that advance the ACLU-NM’s mission.
• Exhibit courage and clarity when addressing highly controversial and complex issues.
• Lead collaboratively with a Board of Directors to implement a model of strategic governance.
• Guard the organization's integrity, credibility, non-partisanship, and commitment to New Mexico communities.
• Ensure strong relationships with national staff to advance program, communications, and operational priorities.

Organizational Management

• Lead effective management practices, ensuring use of best practices.
• Serve as the chief marketer, fundraiser, communicator and spokesperson.
• Champion and value diversity, equity and inclusion at every level of the organization, including board leadership, to strive towards a culture of belonging.
• Motivate and maintain a cohesive staff, ensuring strong internal communication and collaboration. Foster a supportive team-oriented environment where independent and innovative thinking is encouraged and staff can act with clarity of mission and purpose.
• Drive a culture of accountability with clear program goals, strategies to accomplish, and regular feedback. Ensure staff have the resources they need to accomplish the work.
• Foster an environment of continuous improvement, learning, and effectiveness.

Budget and Fund Development

• Oversee fiscal planning and financial oversight, ensuring use of best practices that meet the highest standards.
• Lead a robust fundraising program to protect the affiliate’s long-term financial stability; steward key donor relationships, identify new major donor prospects, and solicit major donations.
• Anticipate funding needs and seek out opportunities to meet those needs.
• Collaborate with national staff to implement the national fundraising model, participate in nationwide convenings, and ensure that fundraising platforms are used well in the affiliate.
• Ensure that the Board can meet its fiduciary responsibilities by proactively and transparently providing financial reports, conducting regular audits, and engaging the Board in the budgeting process.

Public Representation and Community Engagement

• Represent ACLU-NM’s priorities on key issues, articulating the organization’s positions and communicating its mission to increase the organization’s visibility and the public’s understanding of the goals and work.
• Value and empower a diverse set of voices to represent the organization’s positions on its work.
• Grow and expand the ACLU-NM’s visibility and reputation in all parts of the state, developing and maintaining key relationships of influence.
• Drawing on a deep understanding of New Mexico’s unique culture, identities, and regions, lead the charge to appropriately and thoughtfully engage communities across both urban and rural areas, within indigenous communities, and across Northern and Southern New Mexico.
• Maintain strong relationships with the media, guiding organizational strategy and working effectively with the national communications staff to maximize nationwide messaging and to amplify local priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND COMPETENCIES

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of professional experience and a Bachelor’s degree are minimum requirements. Prior nonprofit experience is essential, and an advanced degree is preferred, with a JD considered a plus.
• Proven fundraising and financial management experience with a solid track record of success.
• Proven managerial, problem-solving, strategic thinking, and human resource experience in the not-for-profit, private, and/or public sectors.
• Credibility and experience to connect the ACLU-NM to resources and opportunities outside the organization.
• Proven and successful track record in creating and implementing programs; experience creating equitable and thoughtful partnerships and collaborations.
• A history of communicating effectively in writing and verbally, including excellent public speaking skills for both formal and extemporaneous presentations; the ability to represent the ACLU-NM to a broad public.
• A record of success working in partnership with a board and staff of diverse personalities and talents.
• Strong work ethic and the ability to engage deeply and meaningfully with volunteers from divergent geographical and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Experience in working effectively with boards, volunteers, and strategic planning.
• Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team, and to have excellent problem solving and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work in a high-pressure environment and to multi-task.
• Proficiency with technology: Windows and Microsoft Office in particular.
• Creative, results-oriented, self-starting, willing to learn, and able to manage an aggressive schedule, working beyond 9-5 as needed.
• Firm commitment to the mission and principles of the ACLU-NM.
• Commitment to the state of New Mexico, and an ability to work effectively across the varied cultures and regions within the state.
• Fluency in Spanish is a preferred qualification.

Personal Characteristics

• Personally committed to advancing the ACLU-NM’s values, mission, goals and programs, with an understanding of the range of civil liberties issues and their implications.
• A dedicated leader and representative who can translate vision into action; someone who is passionate about networking and representing the organization to critical constituencies including ACLU-NM members, the public, community partners, government, and the media.
• A person who is intelligent and inspiring, able to conceptualize, express ideas and anticipate and act on events which may create opportunities for the ACLU-NM.
• Someone who is creative, entrepreneurial, strategic, resourceful and politically astute; someone who understands the value of creating partnership and building coalitions with other organizations as a way of accomplishing the ACLU-NM’s goals.
• An energetic person who can handle and prioritize multiple activities and responsibilities; a self-starter and finisher.
• A team player who inspires collaboration and functions decisively; flexible and well organized.
• Outgoing and straightforward; one who shares information easily, listens as well as gives advice, and respects and enhances the abilities of others.
• Emotionally mature and self-confident, caring and human-centered in their approach to this work, with a sense of humor and optimism in order to maintain balance and perspective.

LOCATION, TRAVEL, COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

This role is based in Albuquerque, NM, and the current expectation for this role is a hybrid work schedule, combining days working in the office, working remotely, and working out in the community. There will be regular travel expected locally, across the state, and occasionally national travel.

Based on the experience necessary for this role, we anticipate an annual salary of $160,000 - $180,000. The ACLU-NM offers excellent benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance; long-term disability and life insurance; 401(k) retirement plan with an employer contribution and match of up to 5.5%; and vacation accrual that starts at 18 days per year in addition to sick leave and family and medical leave.