President
Posted on: October 30, 2013Application deadline: November 15, 2013
Posted by: Hardy Girls Healthy Women
DESCRIPTION
Hardy Girls is a national, research-based nonprofit organization empowering girls with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and a platform to drive social change. Its core belief is that if a girl is struggling to make her way through society in a healthy manner, the problem lies with society, not the girl. Its vision is that all girls and women must experience equality, independence, and safety in their lives every day and in every setting. The organization's programs serve girls ages eight through 17.
As its work broadens, Hardy Girls is seeking a new, permanent president to join its team of educators, activists, and change-makers.
The president, based in Portland, Maine, will join 13-year-old Hardy Girls at a critical juncture in its history. The organization is poised for significant growth, supported by a board that is creating the conditions for expansion. The organization provides direct programming to girls in Central and Southern Maine, and nationally trains adults who work with girls themselves in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and other states. In this manner, its effect is growing exponentially. Hardy Girls' staff of six includes the president, as well as vice presidents of research and programming, and of development.
The ideal candidate will be a passionate advocate for girls and women, and will be a visionary leader and strategic programmer with a demonstrable record of success. The candidate will also be a strong fundraiser capable of high-level donor engagement, and will be self-directed, driven, and able to build broad, sustainable coalitions to support Hardy Girls' mission.
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
Drive growth and sustainability to increase the impact of Hardy Girls' work. Hardy Girls has more than a decade of research and performance behind it. Now, the organization is ready to focus more intensely on creating a broader network of advocates, collaborators, and partners as it brings its girls' programming from Central to Southern Maine. In addition, the Hardy Girls Training Institute—which works with educators, social workers, guidance counselors, and others who work with girls—is preparing to bring its approach and unique training and curricular materials to areas of the country in which it has not yet held trainings.
Raise the profile of Hardy Girls. Anyone who is exposed to Hardy Girls' work is impressed by the notion that creating hardiness zones for girls is a direct method of empowering them with the information, skills, and tools they need to grow into effective leaders. Research underscores the fact that girls who are introduced to their own strengths—and their own value—through intergenerational partnerships at a young age then go on to use their newfound strengths as activists for girl-driven change in their own schools and communities. The new president should be prepared to develop a cogent narrative for Hardy Girls and for the work it does.
Identify, cultivate, and work with existing and new Hardy Girls stakeholders. Historically, Hardy Girls has worked with educators and others who themselves work with girls in different aspects of their lives. Now, opportunities exist for Hardy Girls to work directly with parents—who first learn about Hardy Girls when their daughters take part in one or another of our programs, which often occur in area elementary and high schools. Furthermore, Hardy Girls, producer of the LGBTQ film, "Ugly Ducklings," wishes to turn its attention more to this community. Finally, Hardy Girls, which has been approached regularly over the last decade about doing its work with boys, has begun to develop strategic alliances with organizations in Portland and Southern Maine that provide services to boys.
Diversify the mix of Hardy Girls funders, and identify opportunities for Hardy Girls programming, including the Training Institute, to generate additional revenue streams. Hardy Girls has several direct-service programs for girls: Adventure Girls, which is aimed at girls in grades 2 through 6. Girls Rock Weekend, an annual event in Waterville, Maine, at which activist girls of all ages from across the state are recognized for their work throughout the prior year; the Girls Advisory Board, a leadership team of high school girls from Central and Southern Maine who advise Hardy Girls on current issues and organize annual Girls Unlimited! Conferences in Central and Southern Maine. Hardy Girls is actively creating the opportunity to bring additional programming to Southern Maine, and to introduce an annual fundraising event there that brings together mothers and daughters to celebrate the power of their relationships.
Lead the Hardy Girls board through a strategic planning process. Hardy Girls has begun operational and other assessments under its interim president, which must be advanced and completed by the incoming CEO. Furthermore, the board has identified changes and refinements in processes and programming that will better support Hardy Girls going forward; the board will naturally rely on the new president to give clear leadership to itself and to the HG staff.
Thoughtfully manage the Hardy Girls staff and volunteers as they create, produce, and staff programming for girls from the second grade through high school and scale out their unique strength-based approach to working with girls. The new president must be a talented organizer with a good mind for organizational design and management. The small staff at Hardy Girls shares a passion for the organization's unique mission, and is eager to have a permanent president in place with whom it can actively collaborate around all parts of the Hardy Girls program delivery system.
IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS
- Hardy Girls is interested in securing someone with in-depth experience at a comparable non-profit organization, someone with sophisticated leadership talents and a compelling presence developed through a minimum of 7+ years of management experience, preferably in a progressive, growing, best-in-class organization;
- The ability to offer specific, detailed examples of personally developed and executed strategies that have taken an organization to the next stage of growth and achievement;
- Compelling presence, credibility, and interpersonal skills paired with the charisma and passion to inspire others to invest in new partnerships; experience facilitating groups and networks with a common purpose and shared goals; a balanced and objective perspective that brings together a wide variety of new and existing stakeholders, partners, and contributors;
- The ability to see the potential in existing practices and programs, to spark innovation, and to move nimbly from concept to execution;
- A strategic approach to fundraising using both direct solicitation as well as cultivating new relationships and/or constituencies; a passion for recognizing prospective donor support and matching the right donor with the right program; an ability to generate new revenue streams; and the foresight to envision the next phase of Hardy Girls' development;
- Fluid and first-rate written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate complex data into a compelling narrative for a variety of audiences;
- A management style that values and actualizes respect, teamwork, and transparency; a proven capacity to coach, manage and develop high-performing teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget; an effective long-distance manager who can build and reinforce buy-in and mutual accountability even when geographically removed; and
- Passion, idealism, integrity, and the highest levels of professionalism combined with a sense of humor and perspective, and the ability to rise to any challenge.
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and salary history (all in Word format) electronically to Mary Fifield, Interim President of Hardy Girls Healthy Women, at fifield.mary@gmail.com, and info@hghw.org. As an attachment to your cover letter, please answer these two questions:
- From your perspective, what makes Hardy Girls' approach different from other girl-serving organizations, and why do you think it is a good approach?
- Please address what it means to you to lead a feminist organization.
Hardy Girls Healthy Women is an equal opportunity employer.
For more information about Hardy Girls, please visit www.hghw.org
