Job Details

Achieve believes in the potential of every child. Celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, Achieve has worked since its founding to bridge disparities, provide meaningful educational experiences, and close opportunity gaps for students throughout Miami-Dade by providing educational and enrichment programs that demonstrate the power of students learning with and from each other. Grounded in the values of opportunity, sharing, learning, equitable access, community, and connections, Achieve currently has two main priorities: Achieve Miami and the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP), addressing significant areas of need in the community.

Partnering with public and private schools, Achieve Miami designs and manages programs that extend learning opportunities for students, teachers, and educators through programs including Achieve Saturdays, Achieve Summer, Achieve Scholars, Achieve Club, Achieve Alumni, and Achieve Music. Achieve Miami currently serves over 1,000 students a year in 70 schools and will broaden their impact by increasing programmatic presence in the communities they serve and creating additional opportunities for future students.

Continuing to innovate and respond to community needs, Achieve created the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) in 2022, in response to the national teacher shortage. TAP is building a pipeline of skilled educators by recruiting, training, and mentoring aspiring teachers, preparing them to inspire and educate the next generation of students. By investing in future educators, TAP helps ensure that every student has access to passionate, well-prepared teachers who make lasting impact on the lives of children. With incredible success and growth in its first two years, TAP is poised for significant expansion throughout Florida and nationally.

Achieve is seeking a dynamic and seasoned leader to partner with Founder and President Leslie Miller Saiontz to continue to grow the organization's reach and impact. With a new strategic plan in place, priorities include: continued growth of Achieve Miami programs and the Teacher Accelerator Program, building the visibility of Achieve, and ensuring the sustainability of the organization, including finalizing an organizational structure for Achieve Miami and TAP. Building on a strong foundation, the Executive Director will partner with a passionate team and engaged Board of Directors to lead the execution of the strategic plan, oversee key operational and fundraising functions, and continue to build systems and structures to support the organization's growth and success. Finally, the new Executive Director will embody the values of Achieve and continue to develop an organizational culture based in shared commitment, trust, communication, high expectations, and innovation. This role offers an exciting opportunity for an individual with demonstrated success in organizational leadership, relationship management, and team empowerment to work alongside a dynamic and respected Founder to significantly increase Achieve's impact.

Key Responsibilities:

Organizational Strategy and Management

• Lead the Achieve team, Founder, and Board in implementing the current strategic plan, guiding decisions that will position Achieve to grow sustainably while upholding programmatic excellence.
• Ensure ongoing excellence across programmatic and administrative functions, partnering with the Founder, Board and key staff to put into place systems and structures to ensure effectiveness and impact.
• Provide leadership and support to the senior management team with a focus on ensuring clarity of vision and goals, promoting staff retention, and supporting managers in building effective teams.
• Work with the Founder, Board, and key staff to develop budgets and financial management practices, human resource strategies, and other operational systems to support plans for growth and ensure accountability.
• Serve as a key leadership liaison to the Board, ensuring effective communication with Board as well as strong preparation for and follow-up from Board meetings.

Development and External Relationship-Building

• Partner with the Founder and Director of Philanthropy to implement a development plan to meet revenue goals related to program growth and expansion.
• Act as one of the primary external representatives of Achieve in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, collaborating with the Founder, development team, and Board members to tell Achieve's story of impact, build donor relationships in support of ambitious fundraising goals, and increase organizational visibility.
• Partner with Founder, program staff, and Board members to build and sustain strong relationships with key community partners and school districts.

Team Leadership and Culture-Building

• Uphold Achieve's commitment to providing a supportive work environment, including attention to how to best support connection and cohesion among members working in different settings.
• Serve as a strong listener, engaging with team members throughout the organization to promote a culture of feedback and continuous learning.
• Build structures to support teamwork and collaboration across programs as the organization continues to grow, identifying opportunities for team members to advance in order to increase retention.

Candidate Profile

Achieve is open to considering a variety of professional backgrounds and recognizes that no one individual will possess every qualification outlined. As a successful candidate for the Executive Director role, you will bring many of the following professional qualifications and personal attributes to this role:

• You demonstrate passion for Achieve's mission and commitment to the populations Achieve and TAP serve.
• You bring significant organizational leadership experience, preferably in a high-performing and growth-oriented nonprofit; prior experience as a nonprofit Executive Director is preferred. You bring the ability to engage and inspire others while fostering collaboration and accountability across the organization.
• You have experience working with an innovative and entrepreneurial Founder and are excited to leverage the Founder's passion, energy, experience, and networks.
• You have demonstrated experience developing and implementing strategic plans, utilizing data to inform decision-making, and building and supporting growing teams.
• You have led an organization through growth and change, providing stable and confident leadership, setting up systems, structures, and policies to support program growth and team development.
• You bring outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal, and use those skills to build visibility, create buy-in, and share stories of impact to a variety of audiences.
• You have a proven record of success in building effective relationships with external constituents (donors, partners, districts, community members) and with internal teams.
• You have experience fundraising from multiple sources (individual, corporate, foundation, and/or government) or transferrable relationship-building experience.
• As a staff leader, you demonstrate a dedication to empowering and growing team members as leaders at all levels.
• You are a skilled strategic thinker, able to move a team from ideation to implementation.
• You bring strong business acumen, understanding the complexity of the organization and experience developing and/or overseeing budgets and financial management; experience in a non-profit environment would be ideal.
• You demonstrate sound judgment, impeccable ethics, and integrity. You use data to inform decisions and resolve issues with clarity.
• You are able to both adapt to changing circumstances and also serve as a centering presence.
• Knowledge of the Miami-Dade County School system would be valuable.
• An advanced degree in education, nonprofit management, public administration, or similar field is preferred but not required.

The Executive Director will report to the Founder and President. The salary range for the position is $170,000 - $200,000 and benefits include full medical, dental, and vision benefits for the employee, generous time off, a retirement plan, and cell phone and mileage stipends.

Achieve currently utilizes a hybrid model where team members work in the office 2 days a week and virtually/in the field 3 days a week. In addition, the Executive Director is expected to demonstrate significant presence at program sites and with community partners and supporters.

Contact

Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Cassie Scarano, Lauren Smith, and Ariella Pasackow. Please submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile . All inquiries are strictly confidential.

Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group 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 ...@divsearch.com . If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

Achieve is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, communities, and identities to apply for this position.

About DSG | Koya

DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation's premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.