Executive Director

Executive Director

• Climate Justice Alliance
• September 19, 2024
• Remote or Berkeley, CA

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About Climate Justice Alliance

Founded in 2013, Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) brings together frontline communities and organizations to form a powerful force within the climate movement. CJA’s goal is to drive a away from extractive systems of production, consumption, and political oppression and towards economies that are resilient, regenerative, and equitable.

CJA employs a unique strategy that combines local organizing with a robust capacity to mobilize, ensuring that the voices of those most affected by climate change are heard and prioritized. CJA believes that a truly Just Transition must place race, gender, and class at the center of all solutions to ensure inclusivity and equity.

Today, CJA consists of 72 diverse community, frontline, and environmental justice organizations. CJA’s members represent a wide range of cultural, generational, and geographical backgrounds, prioritizing leadership among women, gender-oppressed individuals, and people of color. These members come from traditionally underrepresented communities—Indigenous, African American, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and low-income white communities—often located near highly polluting industries such as oil refineries, fracking wells, coal mines, and other extractive sites.

Together, Climate Justice Alliance’s members focus on:

1. Empowering communities on the frontlines of climate change to take bold, transformative actions against the harm caused by the extractive economy.

2. Building resilient, regenerative, and equitable economies that are grounded in local, ecological, and social networks.

3. Uncovering and challenging false solutions to the climate crisis, ensuring that valuable resources are directed toward genuine, sustainable change.

4. Holding governments and industries accountable and advocating for bold, courageous climate actions.

CJA members have achieved significant victories against polluting industries, preventing new carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere and championing local solutions that incorporate traditional ecological and cultural knowledge. The alliance is committed to not just combating climate change but also creating a regenerative and just future.

Learn more about Climate Justice Alliance at .

The Opportunity

As Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) builds on momentum from strategic power-building across communities and begins a new strategic planning process, CJA seeks a talented Executive Director dedicated to creating a world where everyone can thrive. This leader will be dynamic, innovative, and adaptable, spearheading efforts to strengthen coalitions and empower organizations, groups, and leaders committed to climate justice.

In the years ahead, the new Executive Director will collaborate with a strong network of passionate partners to address critical issues at the intersection of climate change, equity, and social and racial justice. With a focus on communities most impacted by systemic inequities in the current climate landscape, the Executive Director will play a pivotal role in fostering deep-rooted, authentic relationships with individuals and communities leading climate justice movements across the nation.

As a result, CJA is seeking an inclusive, thoughtful, and strategic leader who aligns with its mission and has the expertise to elevate the membership base to greater levels of impact.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

· Cultivating an empowering organizational culture, advancing strategic vision and planning, and maintaining accountability to the membership base.

· Enhancing leadership, capacity, and commitment among CJA staff, board, member groups, allies, and donors.

· Promoting coordination, communication, and collaboration within CJA's internal team and across its membership.

· Ensuring accountability and appropriate delegation of all organizational duties and tasks.

· Collaborating with the lateral leadership team to effectively implement CJA’s strategic plans, drive innovation, and achieve success in organizational strategies and programs, including leading strategic communications, external relations, and fundraising.

· Prioritizing and advancing racial equity within CJA’s operations, culture, and programmatic efforts.

· Developing and sustaining CJA's political and strategic vision alongside the Board of Directors while ensuring fiscal health, governance, and legal compliance.

Candidate Profile

While no candidate is expected to possess every quality outlined, a successful candidate for the Executive Director (ED) role will demonstrate many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:

Passion for Climate Justice and Community Empowerment

The Executive Director will reflect integrity and commitment towards truly supporting communities to exercise their power and voice around the climate crisis. This leader will believe deeply in the power of community-led organizing, coalition-building, and social justice. They will have a deep-seated passion for building power among and across communities, focusing on amplifying empowerment and self-determination and creating lasting change. Through values-aligned practices, action, and communication, this leader will demonstrate a commitment to supporting and uplifting the expertise of BIPOC communities, elevating their power to realize common goals, and strengthening the movement around a shared vision of climate justice.

A Change Agent and Organizer

Guided by a deep understanding of the indispensable role that movements play in creating social change, the Executive Director will bring experience leading grassroots, movement-based climate justice work to support systems-level change. Deeply committed to the visions of movement-centered environmental justice groups, this leader will also bring an ability will draw upon relevant knowledge to guide CJA in building coalition partnerships and advancing structural change across ecosystems related to climate justice, indigenous communities, sovereign food systems, and racial and economic justice. This experienced advocate will employ power-building strategies to empower impacted communities, including communities of color, to upend unjust systems and advance climate justice for all.

Collaboration, Partnership, and Coalition Building

A natural and deliberate collaborator valuing varied perspectives and opinions, the Executive Director will be skilled at building and sustaining excellent relationships across all levels of the organization, including the staff, Board of Directors, funders, members, other external allies, and the media. Leading with humility, the ED will bring a compassionate and empathetic approach to their leadership style and stakeholder interactions while moving groups and teams forward toward a clear vision and defined impact goals. Fundamentally, the ideal candidate will foster a culture where all staff can thrive, and new allies and partners feel welcomed.

Skill in Fundraising and Communicating Impact

The Executive Director will bring an ability to communicate effectively and with integrity to a broad group of stakeholders, including current and potential funders and donors. As an engaged and active listener with strong communication and collaboration skills, this leader will build and enhance the work of CJA through strong funding partnerships. With a focus on deepening the alliance’s impact and implementing the strategic plan, the ED will be skilled at continually strengthening engagement and visibility with existing advocates and new potential supporters to face the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Shared Purpose, Equity, and Belonging

Understanding the value of maintaining a collaborative culture where all individuals feel welcome and valued, the Executive Director will bring enthusiasm for leading a team of individuals from varied backgrounds and lived experiences. They will bring prior experience helping to build and foster a supportive atmosphere that invites individuals from various backgrounds and opinions to contribute their ideas and feedback. With the ability to bring together groups with differing agendas and priorities, this leader will be skilled at coalition building toward key strategic goals. The ED will also be comfortable engaging in conversations around anti-racism and equity. Most importantly, this leader will demonstrate a capacity and willingness to bridge differences regarding issues of race, socioeconomic status, gender, and other aspects of identity.

Compensation, Benefits and Work Environment

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $140,000-$150,000, with a generous benefits package, which includes:

· 20 days of vacation leave per year;

·14 standard holidays per year;

·12 sick days per year;

· 1 month of paid parental leave during the first year; eligible for an additional 2 months of paid parental leave in the second year of employment, and up to 3 months overall;

·3-month sabbatical leave after 5 years of continuous full time employment;

· Medical, vision, and dental insurance for employees and dependents (requires a 30 -ay waiting period);

·100% employer-sponsored basic life, short-term and long-term disability insurance coverage;

·Access to Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Benefits.

Schedule: Standard days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m in your time zone. Daily schedule is flexible within the proximity of this time frame and will be decided in consultation with CJA’s Board and team.

Travel: Moderate domestic travel (2-4 times per quarter) for meetings or conferences would be required for this position.

Physical duties of this role: Ability to work at a computer and participate in video conferencing, speaking and typing for extended periods of time.

Occasional physical duties: Responsible for logistics during travel which includes lifting items (not in excess of 25 lbs.), coordinating meals/catering, and driving. (CJA is willing and able to make reasonable accommodations for candidates who may not be able to fulfill these tasks).

Contact

Koya Partners has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Express interest in this role by . All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.

Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email . If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

Climate Justice Alliance is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, disability, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or any other status protected by law. People of color and LGBTQ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

About Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group

Koya Partners, a Diversified Search Group company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

Diversified Search Group is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.

Learn more about Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group via the .