Data For Democracy is in the search for an Executive Director. This person will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, programs and objectives for developing and utilizing the resources and services available to the Data For Democracy community. You will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Data For Democracy’s staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission. You will initially develop deep knowledge of core programs, operations, and business plans around data science and civic technology initiative that the organization promotes.

Founded by Jonathon Morgan in December 2016, Data For Democracy is a community of 4000+ volunteers looking to use data science to make a social impact. In the past year, dozens of community led projects have launched that were focused on making a difference in society, while also proving that tech can be a place of inclusion, steadfast mission, and strong social impact. Some of these projects include:

• Working with ProPublica to make campaign spending data more usable by journalists
• Revealing a massive Russian influence operation across multiple social media platforms
• Partnering with Indivisible to build software that makes it easier to coordinate grassroots organizing in cities and states across the US
• Launching a partnership with Bloomberg and BrightHive to develop a code of ethics for data science
• Helping submit a brief to the Supreme Court to combat gerrymandering
• Collaborating with the City of Boston to use data science to reduce traffic deaths

Responsibilities:

Leadership & Management:

• Create timelines and source resources needed to achieve your strategic goals.
• Actively engage and energize Data For Democracy volunteers, board members, event committees, partnering organizations, and funders.
• Develop, maintain, and support a strong Board of Directors; seek and build board involvement with strategic direction for both ongoing online operations as well as for the global rollout.
• Ensure effective systems to track scaling progress, and regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other constituents.

Fundraising & Communications:

• Expand revenue generating and fundraising activities to support existing operations and global expansion.
• Deepen and refine all aspects of communications—from web presence to external relations with the goal of creating a stronger brand.
• Use external presence and relationships to garner new opportunities.
• Maintain a close working relationship with businesses, organizations, non-profits, and civic tech communities.

Planning & New Business:

• Design the global expansion and complete the strategic business planning process for the program expansion into new markets.
• Begin to build partnerships in new markets, establishing relationships with the funders, and political and community leaders at each expansion site.
• Be an external local and global presence that publishes and communicates program results with an emphasis on the successes of the local program as a model for regional and national replication.

Qualifications:

The ED will be thoroughly committed and passionate about Data For Democracy's mission. All candidates should have proven leadership, coaching, and relationship management experience.

• Advanced degree, ideally an MBA, with at least 10 years of senior management experience; track record of effectively leading and regionally and/or nationally scaling a performance- and outcomes-based organization and staff; ability to point to specific examples of having developed and operationalized strategies that have taken an organization to the next stage of growth
• Strong commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget
• Past success working with a Board of Directors with the ability to cultivate existing board member relationships
• Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to business planning
• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people
• Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed