Executive Director

Executive Director, Institute for Planetary Health & Planetary Health Alliance

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Introduction

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health seeks an experienced organizational leader to serve as Executive Director of the Institute (JHIPH) and the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA). This person will help to shape the strategy and tactics of the Institute, integrate its work with PHA and manage teams focused on building capacity at Johns Hopkins as well as PHA staff focused on serving the global Planetary Health community.

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health launched in April 2024 and is one of the first university-wide Institutes, collaborating with faculty, staff, and students across all the University’s divisions, including the School of Medicine to understand and address the global health and humanitarian consequences of the Earth crisis.

The Institute is affiliated with the Planetary Health Alliance, the leading organization for the global community of practice that includes approximately 500 member organizations from 80 countries, and 25,000+ individuals. The PHA is administratively situated within JHIPH and is led by its Program Director, Jessica Kronstadt.

This role has a hybrid work arrangement with an onsite presence of 4 days per week, with an expectation of approximately 3 days per week in Baltimore with the JHIPH team and 1 day per week at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC where the PHA is located. This schedule is flexible depending on meetings in either location.

Must be able to travel in the Baltimore/Washington DC metro area, within the US and, occasionally, internationally.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health strives to improve the health and health equity of global communities by advancing public health education, scholarship, and practice and is firmly committed to a school that embraces scholarship, critical thinking, innovation and scientific rigor and cultivates a diverse, inclusive, and nurturing environment for all students, faculty and staff. Only by uplifting these principles and promoting a culture of belonging, can we deliver on our mission of protecting health and saving lives and drive excellence in all we do.

Position Description

The Executive Director for the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health is the senior staff person responsible for interacting with the Faculty Director (Sam Myers) and for driving the Institute’s key strategic programs from conception to execution. This includes all components of the Institute as well as working with Jessica Kronstadt as a strategic partner overseeing the PHA.

The Executive Director will be responsible for:

1. supervising and working with senior leadership of both the Institute and PHA on setting and delivering strategic priorities;
2. interfacing with the JHIPH Advisory Council and PHA Advisory Board;
3. representing JHIPH and PHA at domestic and international meetings and to donors;
4. an annual combined budget over $3.5M; and,
5. providing oversight for communications, University-wide outreach and external relations. The Executive Director will interact regularly with the Faculty Director, Program Faculty Directors, Senior Administrative Manager, PHA Program Director, and Communications staff.

This role is inherently entrepreneurial given the newness and growth of the Institute, its cross-university purview, and the dynamic nature and momentum of the international Planetary Health field and social movement.

In close partnership with the Faculty Director, and in consultation with the advisory boards of both the Institute and the PHA, the Executive Director will also help to conceptualize and develop new programs, strategies, and initiatives to advance the academic, educational, policy and programmatic agenda of the Institute. The Executive Director will serve as a spokesperson for the activities of the Institute and will represent the Institute at national and international meetings. Finally, the Executive Director will be responsible for working closely with the Director of Philanthropy and engaging with donors, reporting on grant activities and assisting with the development of new proposals for future funding.

Job-Specific Responsibilities (Duties and Responsibilities)

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Play a key role, in collaboration with senior staff and faculty program directors, in conceptualizing and implementing a strategic plan for JHIPH and PHA as a living document responsive to a rapidly developing field and community of practice, flexible to take advantage of emerging opportunities, while ensuring a strategic focus.
• Lead engagement with governing bodies, including the JHIPH Advisory Council, and PHA’s Steering Committee and Advisory Board, with support from leadership.
• Develop new, and promote existing, relationships with JHIPH and PHA affiliates, alumni, scholars, organizations, and institutions internationally. This includes liaising with other schools, departments and centers at Johns Hopkins, and with external universities, NGOs and government agencies internationally.
• Directly supervise 2-4 staff in leadership positions, who oversee a total of ~15 – 20 employees. Engage, develop, and motivate the team to work towards a shared purpose in the best interests of the Institute and PHA.
• Manage an annual budget of over $3.5 million dollars and oversee the tracking of monthly budget records; review sponsored research accounts and reporting to funders and have ultimate responsibility for financial approvals and other financial processes, with support from the Sr Administrative Manager.
• Supervise and assist with development of new funding opportunities including grants, gifts, and cultivation of donors.
• Supervise communications, outreach and external relations efforts for expanding constituencies within the University and outside, including convenings, newsletters, and press releases; assist with writing or reviewing a wide variety of material used to promote JHIPH and PHA. This includes ensuring production of annual reports, executive summaries, strategic plans, and other reports as necessary.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the field and social movement of Planetary Health and emerging stakeholders and opportunities and represent JHIPH and PHA at domestic and international convenings.
• Support JHIPH and PHA’s mission and values, continually looking for ways to improve the organizations while working in alignment with its strategic goals.
• Perform other duties as required.

PLEASE NOTE: This position will require approximately 10% travel; some international travel may be required.

Salary Range

• $135,000-185,000

Education Requirements

• PhD, or other terminal degree in a related field

Experience Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in academic administration and/or program management required

Preferred Experience

• Experience in non-profit or for-profit management
• Effectively manages multiple complex projects, and often tight timelines
• Experience with Microsoft Office products including Word, PowerPoint and Excel; and Google Suites.
• Knowledge and/or demonstrated experience in the area of global environmental change and/or public health as it relates to Planetary Health.
• Excellent communication, organizational management, team building, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.