Flexible Location / Semi-Remote / New Market, TN - Applications Due June 20, 2025 by 5pm ET
Highlander Research and Education Center (HREC) seeks an Executive Director or two Co-Directors[1] with a strong commitment to popular education as the basis for social change, practical experience as a community organizer, and a deep understanding of the U.S. Southeast.
This is an exciting opportunity for seasoned or first-time executive directors alike, and for leaders from a range of movement spaces who aspire to make a lasting impact on the next generation of leaders who will carry us from the world we inherited to the one we deserve.
HISTORY & THE MOMENT WE ARE IN
For almost a century, Highlander has been a prominent training ground for emerging and established movement leaders across the South, Appalachia, and beyond, together shaping a more just and sustainable future. From the labor movements of the 1930s and 40s, to the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, and into today’s struggles, our workshops and programs bring people together across issues, identities, and geographies to share and build the skills, knowledge, and strategies needed for transformative social change.
Our mission is to serve as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality, and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny. Social justice leaders and movements are under very real attack from the extreme right-wing forces that dominate our government today. While the challenges are great, Highlander can offer a long history of resistance as well as substantial human, financial, and strategic resources to win the struggle looming in front of us.
We pursue our mission with a diverse and intergenerational staff team of 50+ people and a budget of $8.99 million. This budget includes ten fiscally sponsored organizations, many of them grassroots, who bring the total staff up to 100+.
.The majority of Highlander’s funding is raised from foundation grants and individual donations. In the last five years, Highlander’s budget has increased by 45%. The organization consistently receives positive annual audits and is actively expanding its fundraising team to grow the resources that will be needed in the uncertain times ahead.
In 2024, Highlander proudly recognized the unionization of its staff under Southern Region Workers United (SEIU). The current bargaining agreement will be ready for renewal in February 2027.
Highlander is the owner and steward of a 186-acre farm in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The scenic property accommodates 50 guests (plus space for camping). Over the course of the year, we welcome hundreds of social justice organizations to the Hill and online to meet, learn, and strategize for a more just and equitable world.
In addition to this Radical Hospitality, Highlander conducts the following programs:
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE NEXT DIRECTOR(S)
Highlander’s next executive director(s) will work with the Board and staff to collaboratively renew our vision and strategic direction, while managing and stewarding the overall organization in this new era. The executive director(s) report to a 17-member Board of Directors, composed of activists, researchers and educators. The major areas of responsibility of Highlander’s next director(s) will include:
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Highlander seeks a strategic and values-aligned director or co-director pair to lead the next chapter of the organization’s development and impact, while facing the larger political and economic headwinds. Our team is positioned to play a pivotal role in this political moment. With new leadership at the helm, we look forward to making an enduring impact for our region and beyond, at a time when folks are hurting, motivated, and activated.
We do not call for specific educational degrees or years of work experience. Rather, we are looking for visionary, confident, proven and practical leadership, regardless of formal credentials. We seek someone who can work effectively alongside our dedicated staff and board and who can engage and inspire our donors, partners, and other allies. We welcome applicants who have most, but not necessarily every, qualification. The aptitude and willingness to strengthen knowledge and skills will go a long way toward success at Highlander.
We recognize that no single candidate will possess every qualification. If you are interested in the position and hold many of the experiences and attributes above, we encourage you to apply. PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED BELOW ON HOW TO APPLY DIRECTLY.
COMPENSATION & LOCATION
Salary: The annual salary for the full-time Executive Director or each full-time Co-Director will be $116,000.Highlander has established an equity-focused salary scale that currently ensures the lowest-paid employee is not paid less than 65% of the highest-paid employee. We are a human-centered workplace that respects the dignity of our workers and seeks to offer a living wage to employees at all levels of the organization. While the Board is open to revising the salary scale in the future, it will do so within the framework of Highlander’s values, and in conversation with the union’s bargaining unit.
Location & Travel: Highlander is a semi-remote workplace. While regular, physical presence on the Hill is important, the frequency is determined by the needs of the organization. A relocation budget is available. There is no expectation that the director(s) will reside on the Hill full time, however, the director(s) do have sole use of fully furnished accommodations when on the Hill. Frequent travel around the South, the country, and internationally is also required.
[1] Co-Directors are required to apply in pairs. We will not match separate applicants. Please see application instructions.
Dear Friends of Highlander,
We are excited to share that the search for Highlander’s next executive director or co-executive directors has begun. As we head towards our 100th year, the incoming leadership has the opportunity to build on Highlander’s 90+ years of practice in participatory research and popular education, incubating movements that propel us from the world we inherited to the one we deserve.
Highlander’s next chapter will be both exciting and challenging. At our core, we remain rooted in the U.S. South and Appalachia and we are committed to power-building here. We also know that our work impacts and resonates throughout the world beyond our region. If this sounds like an opportunity that aligns with your movement building and leadership experience, please apply. You can also help us spread the word by sharing the position announcement with your network, via email, social media, or any way you wish.
The Board of Directors recognizes that Highlander’s smooth and deliberative leadership transition is possible because of the steady leadership of Allyn Maxfield-Steele who began his tenure as co-executive director with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson; and the gracious leadership of Salimah Muhammed who is serving as interim co-executive director alongside Allyn. For the last year, Allyn and Salimah have continued to steward Highlander as a cornerstone organization of our movements through many shifting and changing conditions.
We also want to recognize the hard work of the entire staff team who are at the heart of the organization and who ensure that Highlander is able to train, connect, and gather our movements across the South and Appalachia, and beyond. Because of our executive leaders and our staff team, Highlander is in a strong position as we embark on this transition.
You can find the position announcement here, including details on how to submit an application for consideration. This is an inclusive hiring process being led by a committee of Highlander board members and staff members in partnership with our consultants at Strategies for Social Change (SSC). As part of our recruitment efforts, SSC is conducting confidential informational calls with interested candidates, as well as with connectors who wish to refer us to potential applicants. Email LeadHighlander@strategiesforsocialchange.com to schedule a call.
We look forward to writing the next chapter of Highlander’s story with you, and we have immense gratitude for the many generations of leadership that have shaped our organization to be in service of our movements.
In solidarity,
Loan Tran and Adrian Reyna Chavoya
Highlander Board of Directors, Co-Chairs
Flexible Location / Semi-Remote / New Market, TN - Applications Due June 20, 2025 by 5pm ET
Highlander Research and Education Center (HREC) seeks an Executive Director or two Co-Directors[1] with a strong commitment to popular education as the basis for social change, practical experience as a community organizer, and a deep understanding of the U.S. Southeast.
This is an exciting opportunity for seasoned or first-time executive directors alike, and for leaders from a range of movement spaces who aspire to make a lasting impact on the next generation of leaders who will carry us from the world we inherited to the one we deserve.
HISTORY & THE MOMENT WE ARE IN
For almost a century, Highlander has been a prominent training ground for emerging and established movement leaders across the South, Appalachia, and…
Benefits: Our comprehensive benefits package includes:
Benefits: Our comprehensive benefits package includes:
Strategies for Social Change® (SSC) is conducting Highlander’s executive search and leadership transition. SSC is a woman of color owned and led capacity building and leadership development practice dedicated to working with social justice organizations. SSC is a nationally recognized leader in leadership transition planning.
Please forward applications, referrals to potential candidates, or requests for an optional, confidential informational call to LeadHighlander@strategiesforsocialchange.com.
Applications are due by June 20, 2025, at 5 pm ET. All documents should be submitted as a single, combined PDF to LeadHighlander@strategiesforsocialchange.com.
We are accepting applications from solo candidates and co-director pairs. Co-directors must apply together; Highlander will not match applicants.
Applications should include the items listed below as a single, combined PDF:
Selected applicants will begin to be contacted for interviews in July 2025. Applications may be reviewed over time, so please be patient if you do not hear from us immediately.
Research and experience tells us that women, as well as BIPOC and trans folks, are reluctant to apply for leadership roles unless they meet 100% of the position criteria. We wish to emphasize again: Highlander welcomes applicants who have many but not all of the skills and experiences outlined in the leadership profile above. We especially encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.
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Highlander is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor, and is committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. We actively seek to build and maintain a diverse staff with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the racial justice movement, Highlander is committed to fostering the leadership and elevating the voices of women, young people, people of color, Native people, immigrant and refugees, low-income people, LGBQ+, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, people with disabilities, young parents, people who were formerly imprisoned, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences.
Strategies for Social Change® (SSC) is conducting Highlander’s executive search and leadership transition. SSC is a woman of color owned…