Company description

Founded in 2003, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) is a leading membership network that helps funders and investors strengthen connections within the sustainable agriculture and food systems community, foster collaboration with their peers, and build capacity to be more effective in their philanthropy and in their advocacy for change. SAFSF’s members include individual investors, private and corporate foundations, community foundations, regranting organizations, and impact investment organizations, approximately 100 organizations in all, operating throughout the U.S. and abroad. At the end of 2018, SAFSF transitioned from fiscal sponsorship to incorporation as their own 501(c)3 and evolved their governance from a Steering Committee to a Board of Directors. Today, SAFSF operates under five values of collaboration, equity, respect, stewardship, and integrity with a broadened interpretation of “sustainable” to encompass environmental, economic, and social concerns. With a $2 - 3 million annual operating budget, SAFSF consists of 11 talented full-time staff and 2 part time CBFN staff based across the United States.

Job description

Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF) is a network of grant makers and investors working together to amplify the impact of philanthropic and investment communities in support of just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. SAFSF’s mission and vision are grounded in the belief that resources invested to support just and sustainable food and agriculture systems enhance our collective well- being. SAFSF combines the power of convenings, education, and public policy to mobilize funders around issues critical to rebuilding community food security and agricultural resilience to support and amplify work within all parts of the food and farming systems at the intersection of climate change and resilience, community health, equity and justice, and rural development.

This year, long-serving Founder/Executive Director, Virginia Clarke, announced her retirement after a long and successful tenure. At a critical moment of continued and sustained transformation, SAFSF seeks a dynamic, visionary, and equity-driven leader as its next Executive Director. The ideal candidate will be a strategic and tactical leader and expert relationship builder with a strong equity lens. They will bring 7+ years of philanthropic or nonprofit leadership experience in sustainable food and agriculture systems. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will work closely with board and staff to articulate and implement the next strategic direction for SAFSF’s work. The position requires a strong vision for the role of networks as agents of purposefully disruptive change as well as deep relationships with, and appreciation for, the funders and partners who are critical to advancing SAFSF’s mission.

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OPPORTUNITY

The new Executive Director will join a dedicated staff team, a committed Board of Directors, a passionate membership, and a broader philanthropic and investment community working to advance just and sustainable food and agriculture systems. They will be a leading visionary who puts SAFSF’s vision and mission into action, inspires alignment across the network, and serves as an anchor building long-term financial security for the organization. Building on SAFSF’s strong reputation and leveraging the skills and talents of its staff, the new leader will set and drive the strategic direction and next level vision of the organization. Key opportunities for the next Executive Director include:

• Strategic Visioning
• Board Engagement and Development
• Fundraising and External Relationships
• Organizational Leadership

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• Minimum 7 years of experience leading people, teams, and major bodies of high impact work through periods of significant change and/or growth in a senior leadership capacity for a multifaceted organization comparable in size and complexity.
• Deep understanding of and commitment to building equitable, just, and sustainable agriculture and food systems change in the United States.
• Experience working with and understanding of core functions of a network and/or membership organization.
• Prior experience working directly with/within philanthropy, movement building organizations, investment organizations, and/or non-profit organizations in a position that included direct interaction with philanthropy.
• Prior experience with an intersectional approach to equity and justice and the ability to think across systems and sectors to foster movement building and identify opportunities for collaboration and shared outcomes across movement partners and politically diverse networks.
• Deep board-facing experience and foundational knowledge of nonprofit governance.
• Demonstrated ability to align vision, strategy, and execution with various internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities, navigating change management, and proposing new ways of achieving desired outcomes through inclusive process.
• Demonstrated experience as a versatile and effective fundraiser with a measurable track record of securing funding and sustaining deep relationships with funders.
• Strong fiduciary and operational skills including developing and managing annual budgets in excess of $2 million, meeting multi-year fundraising targets, and demonstrating responsible management of expenditures to meet budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully manage and nurture teams within a fully remote environment.
• Strong convening and facilitation skills and an authentic interest in listening to and learning from others; ability to establish trust with a diverse set of stakeholders and a commitment to honoring and elevating diverse lived experience.
• Advanced fluency in racial and gender justice and commitment to SAFSF’s values - collaboration, equity, respect, stewardship, and integrity.

Additional requirements include a willingness and ability to travel within the U.S. up to several times per year, including multiple times per month as needed.

COMPENSATION

The compensation range for this position is $170,000 - $220,000 and is commensurate with candidate experience. SAFSF also offers a compelling benefits plan that include paid medical, vision, dental, and prescription insurance; short and long-term disability; life insurance; retirement plan contributions; contributions to health and fitness, internet, cell phone, and home office set up costs including a Mac computer; half-day Fridays; and robust paid holiday, sick leave, and vacation accrual policies.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, more than $100,000

Location

job can be done remotely

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline