Employment Opportunities
Job Announcement: Executive Director
New Mexico Voices for Children, the state’s leading research-based advocacy organization for New Mexico’s children and families, is seeking an executive director. Download the full job description, which include instructions for applying, here.
Role
The Executive Director: serves as New Mexico Voices for Children’s primary leader and principal spokesperson; directs the work of the organization through strategic planning and oversight of program development and implementation, public policy development, fundraising, communications, management of staff, and day-to-day operations; upholds and nurtures a workplace culture that centers belonging and well-being; and ensures NM Voices’ human and financial resources are utilized to fulfill the organization’s mission. The Executive Director shall advocate and pursue the policy agenda items approved by the Board of Directors in a nonpartisan manner with a focus on the best outcomes for New Mexico.
NM Voices has a unique and deeply held workplace culture that centers employee wellness and equity, an inclusive team-based approach, and mutual respect and trust built of honest, open, and non-judgmental communication. We believe in celebrating our wins and learning from our losses. While we know our sum is greater than our parts, we understand that our overall strength is a product of the unique and individual strengths of each part and that we work best when we work together. The strength and depth of our inclusive work culture is largely underpinned by our long-time commitment to engaging in racial and gender equity work. This commitment reflects not only the external focus of our work, but also a recognition that the personal and interpersonal work of examining power, privilege, and issues of identity as a team builds trust and makes us more effective. We carry these workplace cultural beliefs into our coalition work with other organizations and in how we advocate for policy change. We work from home/office on a hybrid basis.
Core Competencies
The successful candidate will bring the following core competencies:
- Strong aptitude for building and sustaining meaningful relationships with key stakeholders, funders, policymakers, and partner organizations;
- A commitment to and understanding of cultivating and maintaining a healthful, inclusive, empathetic, equity-centered workplace culture;
- Deep understanding of New Mexico’s complex policy landscape, including but not limited to legislative and lawmaking processes, policymaker dynamics, political environment, nonprofit partner and coalition dynamics, and communications and media landscapes;
- Excellent public speaking, media interview, and communications skills;
- Experience in developing and implementing strategic plans;
- Excellent understanding of fundraising, including cultivation and stewardship specifically of charitable foundation relationships and funds, grant acquisition and maintenance, and building individual donor relationships;
- Mastery of nonprofit management with specific attention towards finance and regulation;
- Knowledge of and experience with board development and operation best practices; and
- Ability to skillfully supervise and support a team of high performing and engaged staff (includes guiding the team in their professional development).
About NM Voices for Children
NM Voices was founded in 1987 by pediatricians who wanted to change the root causes of poor child well-being – causes like poverty, inadequate nutrition, violence, pollution, and homelessness. They knew that such entrenched problems would only be solved by changing the systems that perpetuated them. These systems include underfunded schools, the prevalence of low-wage jobs, wage theft by unscrupulous employers, unchecked predatory lending, substandard housing, and the criminalization of drug use, among others. Changing these systems requires educating lawmakers and other leaders about the problems and their solutions, and then holding them accountable.
Thirty-plus years later, this nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide advocacy organization still works to create systems-level sustainable change to improve the status, well-being, and racial and ethnic equity of New Mexico’s children, families, and communities. Our work is categorized under three main pillars – family economic security; cradle-to-career education; and health care and healthy communities – all with a unique focus on the state’s tax and budget policies. We look at every issue through a lens of racial/ethnic and gender equity.
We work with state and national lawmakers and officials to help shape and implement public policies to improve opportunities and outcomes for hard-working families and their children. Because we believe in evidence-based advocacy, we conduct rigorous research and data analysis. NM Voices is the only nonprofit child advocacy organization in the state focused on examining tax and budget policy issues specific to the needs of workers earning low wages, under-resourced families, and communities of color.
We work in coalition with other New Mexico advocacy groups, as well as unions and grassroots organizers.
To Apply
Download the full job description, which include instructions for applying, here.