About Avow Texas
Avow Texas is working for a better Texas where every person is trusted, thriving, and free to pursue the life they want. Avow is leading this movement and changing the culture with an abortion-forward mindset. Through community building, education, and political advocacy, Avow is securing unrestricted abortion care and reproductive rights for every Texan. Avow is unapologetically pro-abortion and supports access to abortion for all Texans, for any reasons they may have.
In this new era of abortion rights work post-Dobbs, Avow believes that the true fight for abortion access will not be won in the legislature – it will be won in the community. It will be won when people recognize that we all deserve an abundance of care, dignity, and respect and collectively fight for it. Avow is looking beyond policy and the courts and doubling down on its community organizing, education, and culture-change work. Most importantly, Avow is following the lead of Black, indigenous, and people of color and their vision for reproductive justice, which requires chipping away at oppressive systems instead of legitimizing them.
For more information on Avow, please visit its website at https://avowtexas.org/.
The Opportunity
Avow’s next Executive Director will lead its work to advance abortion rights for all Texans. For this pivotal role, Avow seeks a visionary, pro-abortion leader and spokesperson who will prioritize those most marginalized by abortion restrictions and inspire a wide range of supporters, funders, decision-makers, and stakeholders at the local and state levels to build a world where all Texans can access abortion for any reason.
The Executive Director will be a bold and inclusive leader with a clear understanding and commitment to reproductive justice and intersectional principles, both externally (through Avow’s programmatic work) and internally (with respect to organizational policies, staff wellbeing, and a collective mindset). They will be adept at working strategically in a politically challenging environment and balancing the internal and external demands of the position for themselves, the Avow staff, and the Board.
The Executive Director will work with a passionate and committed staff of nine, each of whom brings deep expertise in their field. They will report into and work with a c3 Board and a c4 Board and manage a PAC (in consultation with the PAC assistant treasurer).
The responsibilities of the Executive Director include:
- Collaborating with the team to collectively set the overall direction of the organization and achieve Avow’s mission and vision; providing thoughtful guidance in setting a strategic path that is informed by values and past successes;
- Setting the tone for an organizational culture of care, wellbeing, and integrity; supporting and fostering the development of Avow staff and their work by ensuring that staff have the resources needed to meet priorities, achieve organizational and strategic goals, and fulfill the organization’s mission;
- Ensuring systems, processes, and work plans across the organization are aligned to a common, values-based vision and that day-to-day operations are designed to advance Avow’s mission; overseeing legal, financial, compliance, human resources, financial, and operational functions;
- Leading the organization to reach its objectives and make progress toward strategic goals; identifying challenges to timely progress and implementing solutions with foresight;
- Serving as a thought leader and spokesperson on behalf of Avow representing the organization’s mission, vision, and programs with nuance, courage, and clarity to a wide variety of audiences (including movement partners, community members, funders, legislators, and the media);
- Leading Avow’s fundraising strategy and initiatives; working with the Development Director and team to build fundraising capacity and cultivate and maintain a network of committed, engaged supporters;
- Managing annual budget preparation, expense and revenue management, and the development of long- and short-term financial plans in collaboration with the finance team;
- Overseeing and implementing a vibrant communications strategy responsive to media and social networking shifts and opportunities while simultaneously maintaining the priorities and goals of the organization;
- Partnering in the regeneration of values-aligned and representative Boards of Directors (both c3 and c4); ensuring Board members have the tools and information they need to engage constructively in important organizational matters; leveraging the talents and knowledge of Board members to further the work of Avow.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate for the position of Executive Director will have a deep understanding of and demonstrated commitment to Avow's vision, mission, analysis, and theory of change, including its focus on quality and long-term culture-change over quantity and short-term political wins. They will have a minimum of five years of experience as a leader in social change work within the pro-abortion movement or other movements for social justice, such as LGBTQ+ liberation, immigration justice, disability justice, or racial justice.
The ideal candidate will have a history of bold, strategic collaboration and bring active listening skills to the work of bridging philosophies and perspectives. They will have previous experience working effectively in a politically sensitive environment and will bring creativity, resourcefulness, resilience, respect for the importance of rest in social change work, and the ability to stay grounded in Avow’s vision in the face of opposition.
They will have a history of valuing staff as experts and people, be able to delegate effectively while cultivating space for accountability, and approach leadership with empathy, trust, and a willingness to work together and innovate to advance Avow’s mission.
Avow does not expect candidates to embody every quality and prioritizes values-alignment and a willingness to learn. With this in mind, the most compelling candidates will bring a combination of lived experience and some of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:
- Commitment to equity and anti-racism and demonstrated history of collaboration with people from a variety of ethnic, racial, socio-economic, educational, linguistic, and religious backgrounds, as well as people of various physical abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and generations;
- Demonstrated ability to take big ideas and ideals and convert them into solid strategies and action;
- Excellent intellectual, analytical, and strategic thinking skills with the ability to act persuasively and advance strategic opportunities;
- Compassionate and pro-worker management style with experience supervising, mentoring, and developing a diverse staff while creating a sustainable and supportive work environment and the ability to approach challenges with or between staff with care;
- Experience organizing for social change to shift the balance of power towards community care and access to community resources;
- A high level of emotional intelligence, a capacity for self-reflection and self- improvement, and a learning mindset i.e. a willingness to learn from mistakes, a desire to continuously improve and grow, and the capacity to foster this with teammates and partners;
- A commitment to and understanding of the importance of mobilizing resources for an organization, with either a demonstrated track record of raising significant funds from a variety of sources or relevant skill sets needed to excel in fundraising; an openness to innovative fundraising strategies that align with Avow’s values;
- Financial management and budget experience with a willingness and ability to develop further knowledge and expertise as required;
- Experience leveraging public presence and media savviness to further organizational mission and goals; outstanding communication skills – written and oral – with the ability to communicate with diverse constituencies and stakeholders;
- Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain a deep and effective working relationship with the Board of Directors.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary will be commensurate with experience. Expected salary is $150,000 with generous benefits that include a four-day work week; employer-paid medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; short- and long-term disability plans; a retirement plan with employer match; paid family and medical leave; unlimited time off and flex time; and stipends for remote work and wellness.
The Avow team works in communities across Texas, and the Executive Director is expected to be based in the state. The Executive Director can expect to travel for Texas’s legislative session and related policy work, fundraising, coalition building, and all-staff gatherings.
Contact
Trisha Sutrisno and Amber Gomes of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express your interest in this role please complete a Talent Profile or email tsutrisno@koyapartners.com and agomes@koyapartners.com directly. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
Avow is committed to investing in the leadership of people of color, people who have had abortions and/or who have received funding from abortion fund(s), low-income people, people with disabilities, immigrant people, Black and Indigenous communities, formerly incarcerated people, and queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people. Avow does not discourage applications from or discriminate against people with a conviction history, and it does not conduct conviction history checks as a part of its hiring process. Avow will not ask about your conviction history at any point in the hiring process.
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Koya Partners 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 NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
About Koya Partners
Koya Partners, a part of Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy—The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
For more information about Koya Partners, visit https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/koya-partners/.