Executive Director

Title: Executive Director, Akanksha Education Fund 

Location: New York City with occasional travel to other regions of the United States and an annual trip to India 

Reports To: Board of Trustees 

Direct Reports: 4 part-time staff members 

Benefits & Salary: Competitive salary & benefits

About the role:

The ED’s charge is to strengthen and grow the organization within the U.S. This requires leading a team to oversee the execution and growth of fundraising on the East Coast and potentially to other regions of the country as well, building corporate partnerships, overseeing all development efforts, ensuring a sustainable funding pipeline, developing the team, working with the board, and elevating Akanksha’s brand.

Akanksha Education Fund is an organization with lots of room to grow - this should excite you!

The Team:

The ED will report to the Board. The ED will manage a part-time team to support the work.

Our Mission:

To advance better educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in India, the Fund is a public charity in the U.S. and raises financial support from individuals, foundations and corporate partners based in the U.S. for this work. The Fund makes grants to the Akanksha Foundation in India which runs 21 schools to carry out our mission.

What You'll Do:

Fundraising and Sustainability (40%)

• Develop and set annual and long term fundraising goals and key strategies to achieve these goals
• Plan and execute fundraising events with the team and board
• Measure progress of initiatives utilizing metrics and keep the board engaged and informed of progress.
• Build an online donor community that increases annually over the next 5 years
• Maintain, grow and diversify a sustainable funding base that will include gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government
• Deepen a sense of community among Akanksha donors, especially in the virtual world
• Ensure Akanskha’s communication strategy is telling a strong story and executing with consistency
• Assist in board member cultivation

Strategy and Operations (20%)

• Implement a comprehensive multi-year strategic plan and help us expand our presence in other key regions of the US including the West Coast
• Develop a strategic plan to set ambitious and feasible goals and a clear strategy for the team
• Work with accountants, auditors, board and staff to ensure tax filings, reporting and annual audit
• Consider grant-making opportunities, administer grant applications and manage the grant consideration and approval process of the board
• Manage ongoing reporting from grantees
• Develop ongoing support and connection to Akanksha alumni studying in the US in collaboration with the Board and the Young Professionals.

Stakeholder Management and Awareness Building (20%)

• Ensure the health of key stakeholder relationships in the United States, including the Akanksha
• Foundation in India, corporate partners in the US, and donors
• Build a strong relationship with the India team through regular communication and an annual trip
• Raise Akanksha’s brand awareness through traditional and social media

Team Leadership and Management (20%)

• Attract, hire and develop a team of diverse and talented staff members
• Coach and develop staff members to exhibit strong cultural leadership skills and orientations
• Coordinate board and committee meetings including development and early dissemination of materials and agendas
• Manage strong working relationship(s) with the Akanksha Foundation in India and ensure tight coordination of messaging and information

Experiences, Skills, and Traits

• The ideal candidate will be a great relationship builder, strong communicator, results oriented, entrepreneurial and excited to dive into a fundraising organization, ready to take their goals to the next level.
• 5-7 years leadership experience either as an Executive or leading a Department with a verifiable track record of fundraising, strategic execution and team development
• Excitement and capacity to fundraise including an ability to tell our story in an inspiring way and build champions
• Experience working in partnership with a Board of Directors
• Experience taking an organization to its next stage of growth
• Deep roots and networks in the Indian-American community in the United States
• Ideally identifies with the background of the students attending Akanksha schools
• Demonstrated passion and commitment to the mission and values of Akanksha
• Sense of urgency around accomplishing goals and objectives
• Communication skills, relationship-building skills, presence, and maturity that engender respect and facilitate a strong partnership with very senior-level donors, corporate leaders and Akanksha senior team.

To Apply:

Please forward a resume and cover letter with desired salary range to edposition@akankshafund.org by December 15, 2020. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.