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EMEAC Seeking Visionary Leader for Co-Director

January 9, 2020





About the Co-Director Role:

East Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC) is seeking a visionary, talented, and resourceful leader to serve as co-director of the organization.  The role of the co-director will be to advance the organization’s dual frameworks of locally rooted and nationally impactful community organizing and stewardship of the Cass Corridor Commons as a vibrant, viable space for grassroots political and cultural presence in 21st century Detroit. The organization is at a crucial transition point and we are looking for a strategic and dynamic leader who brings experience in institution building and grassroots political leadership. EMEAC is an organization with $400K annual budget and approximately $2M in property and assets.  Experience in Detroit is desired but not required, if the right person is willing to relocate.

The ideal co-director for EMEAC is confident in their leadership experience managing social justice programs and institution building.  They are ready to ask questions, jump in, and co-create new visions.  They listen well and work well in a variety of teams and collaboration.  They take care of their health and well-being in such a way that allows them to be fully present and encourage others to be at their best.  
While we appreciate all applications, experience in administrative leadership is a requirement of the position.

Below are the shared responsibilities of the Co-Director role  (current job position working closely with the current Financial Director) and the combined skills we are seeking. These may be divided between the two Directors as appropriate. To apply: please submit a cover letter and resume to Fred Vitale, EMEAC Board President freddetroit@gmail.com no later than February 1, 2020.

Objectives:

The new co-Director will help 
  • Design EMEAC’s structure and programming for the next 3-5 years.
  • Advance EMEAC’s multi-dimensional resource generation strategies
  • Develop strategic relationships with the Detroit grassroots, national (and international) justice movements, funders and institutional supporters, and our wide membership base

Shared Responsibilities include:
  • Raise funds to maintain and grow EMEAC and the Commons
  • Communications & Community Relations & strategy
  • Promote use and understanding of the EMEAC Commons (and Commons University)
  • Promote use and understanding of the EMEAC Just Transition
  • Establishing and maintaining of good relationships with organizational and individual donors. Develop and nurture relationships with new and potential donors.

Ideal candidates will bring skills and capacity in some or all of these areas:

  • Membership engagement
  • Business incubation and/or grassroots fundraising
  • Funder development and relations
  • Budgeting
  • Strategic plan development
  • Political education development
  • Staff management and supervision
  • Volunteer recruitment and management

Qualifications

Required:
  • A desire to learn about EMEAC’s history in Detroit and Michigan and a passion to advance the legacy into the future.
  • Strong organizational abilities including planning, delegating, and program development
  • Knowledge of fundraising strategies and donor relations unique to social justice and environmental justice nonprofits. Knowledge of fundraising strategies for building maintenance and management is a major PLUS.
  • Adept collaboration skills to support working with a wide array of participants, partners, tenants, and customers of EMEAC/ Cass Corridor Commons.
  • In-depth familiarity with Google applications (forms, drive, docs, sheets) and Microsoft Office.
  • An extensive understanding and commitment to learn and practice Social Justice values (Including Environmental/ Climate Justice, Racial Justice, Gender Justice, Disability Justice, Decolonization, etc.)

Ideal:
  • A working knowledge of Detroit, and a great love for Detroit communities!
  • Strong written and oral communication skills.
  • Familiarity with grant-writing and administration of grants.
  • Demonstrated experience with organizing systems, practices and processes that make a healthy work culture and production of excellence possible.
  • Good facilitation, group skills and comfort with public speaking.
  • Solid, hands-on, budget management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making, data management, both qualitative and quantitative and reporting for maintaining organizational fiscal health.
  • Ability to convey a vision of EMEAC’s strategic future to staff, Advisory Board, volunteers, partners, community members, and donors.
  • Experience with designing and facilitating effective workshops and meetings.
  • A passion to steward the Environmental Justice principles.

Ideal Start Date: Mid to Late March, 2020