Executive Director at National Network of Abortion Funds

To review full job description & apply: https://riverwalkertalentcareers.talentlyft.com/o/clrSagN Please cite PCDN as the source of the job posting.

Riverwalker Talent has been retained for this search. 

Title: Executive Director
Supervised by: NNAF Board of Directors Chair
Supervises: Managing Director, General Counsel, Communications Senior Director and Development Senior Director
Status: Full-time, exempt, salaried. Union eligible position: No

Compensation: $243,728-$270,810 (Step B to Step C)
Salary level: Executive
Location: Remote in the US
To begin:  March 2027

About the Organization

The National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) works to advance the movement for abortion access by investing in its member network of autonomous abortion funds. We aim to strengthen the network by sustainably resourcing abortion funds, amplifying the work of abortion funds across movements, and fortifying the interconnectedness of abortion funds. In so doing, we envision a world where every reproductive decision, including abortion, is fully accessible and free from shame, coercion, political interference, and criminalization. We also envision a world where abortion funds are connected to each other and move in partnership as they create and respond to their local conditions, resources, and communities. In this future, all people have the power and resources to care for and affirm their bodies, communities, and reproductive health, in all areas of their lives. 

We invite you to join us as NNAF's next Executive Director at a pivotal moment for the network. 

NNAF is comprised of a multi-racial, multi-religious, gender expansive staff of 75, located across the United States. We know how important it is to support our remote staff to maintain connection and cohesiveness as a team. To this end, we ensure weekly one-on-one supervision, face-to-face virtual staff meetings, quarterly in-person meetings, and more.

Position Description

The Executive Director (ED) is responsible for stewarding organizational stability, strategic alignment, and movement leadership at the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), particularly in response to the current political climate.

Reporting directly to the Board of Directors - composed of current and former abortion fund activists and leaders in reproductive and cross-sector social justice - the Executive Director guides strategic decision-making that aligns with NNAF's mission and the evolving needs of network members.

The ED role sits at a unique intersection: serving as the primary external voice and movement leader while maintaining genuine presence and connection with internal teams. The ED works closely with the Managing Director (MD) (who leads internal operations, culture, and day-to-day management) to ensure clear role delineation and coordinated strategy. This role requires someone who can balance bold external presence with humble curiosity about how the organization actually works, and who understands the complex power dynamics among staff, member funds, Board, funders, and movement partners.

The role emphasizes building on existing organizational momentum, ensuring financial sustainability and values-aligned fundraising, and representing NNAF as a stable, visionary leader in the movement for abortion access and reproductive justice. The Executive Director serves as the primary spokesperson, representing NNAF publicly to media, donors, funders, and movement allies, while nurturing an internal culture that supports a dynamic, geographically dispersed, and diverse staff and network

Essential Job Functions

Organizational Leadership: Living the Values (approximately 30% of the position)

Values in Practice

• Ensure all internal operations and external initiatives consistently embody NNAF's foundational commitments to Reproductive Justice, racial justice, and access justice, embedding these values explicitly into strategic planning, organizational culture, daily work practices, external engagements, and the newly established strategic plan guiding NNAF's work.
• Ensure the organization explicitly integrates and prioritizes Reproductive Justice, racial justice, and access justice in departmental planning, team management practices, decision-making and program implementation.

Leading and Supervising the Executive Team

• Work closely with the Managing Director to maintain clear role delineation while intentionally building connections between external strategy, fundraising and communications, and member-facing and programmatic work. Collaborate across these areas to strengthen the organization’s relationships, programs, and overall strategy.
• Directly supervise Senior Leaders (listed above), including performance management, mentoring, professional development, performance evaluations and personnel actions.
• Support effective delegation and trust in strong functional leaders; provide genuine supervision and mentoring while respecting the expertise and authority of specialized teams. Create clarity around decision rights, delegation, and organizational roles, balancing trust in teams’ judgment with strategic clarity about when to step in.
• Uphold the collective bargaining agreement and model constructive labor-management relations in partnership with the Managing Director and Human Resources.

Culture, Conflict and Complexity

• Lead with curiosity first: Begin by understanding how the organization currently works - the relationships, the history, the culture - before making significant changes.
• Steward a values-forward, leaderful organizational culture that balances autonomy with clear guardrails, and that supports generative (rather than conflict-avoidant) engagement.
• Respond with clarity and thoughtfulness to organizational conflicts, unexpected events, and/or crises (both internal to the organization and external). Set tone and strategy for how the organization manages these issues.
• Understand and navigate the complex ecosystem of NNAF: the relationships and power dynamics among staff, member funds, Board, funders, and movement partners. Develop and apply strong relationship mapping and communication strategies.

Direction, Strategy and Stewardship

• Provide Organizational Leadership: Alongside Executive and Directors teams, develop, advance, and communicate goals and priorities to all levels, ensuring clarity in decision-making, and setting the stage for collaboration across all organizational axes.
• Participate in the oversight and evaluation of the Strategic Plan, and implement fiscal strategy, ensuring the organization is financially healthy, compliant, and positioned for sustainability.
• Support the continuation and refinement of organizational strategy and structure that has already been established, informed by ongoing feedback from staff, member funds, and Board. Ensure this strategy remains grounded in NNAF's values and responsive to the network's needs.

Fundraising (approximately 30% of the position)

• Serve as NNAF's "face for fundraising", boldly articulating NNAF/fund members' theory of change and resource organizing strategy.
• Maintain a personal portfolio of 8-10 major individual donors and 6-8 institutional funders at a six-figure giving level and above. 
• In close partnership with the Development team, sustain and deepen relationships with major individual and institutional donors, ensuring continued confidence and financial support. Maintain that trust through transparency, reliability and clear communication.
• In tandem with the Development team, create a pipeline for cultivating additional sustainable sources of support for NNAF’s role as a funding intermediary for member funds. 
• Lead principal gift cultivation + stewardship strategy in close partnership with the Development Senior Director and Development team.
• Ensure organizational financial stability and build sustainable, values-aligned fundraising momentum. 
• Develop and communicate clear financial forecasting and multi-year funding strategies. Ensure budget decisions and financial communications are grounded in NNAF's values and the ability to clearly explain the "why" behind financial priorities and spending decisions to staff, Board and funders.
• Ensure ongoing grassroots fundraising efforts remain aligned with and reflective of NNAF's economic and racial justice commitments, prioritizing stability and continuity.

Movement-Level Strategy (approximately 25% of the position)

• In partnership with Executive team and Senior Leaders, participate in and lead movement-level strategy around abortion access that lifts up the voice, power, and impact of abortion funds, guided by NNAF's values of compassion, autonomy, interdependence, and trust.
• Serve as a passionate and visible spokesperson for abortion access, and work with the Communications Senior Director to build a robust media presence.
• In collaboration with abortion funds, movement allies, coalition partners, and research partners, create coordinated campaigns and long-range, responsive strategies to political attacks on reproductive freedom.
• Represent NNAF publicly, ensuring organizational visibility, credibility, and stability by engaging proactively in media interviews, public speaking opportunities, and external communications focused on abortion access and Reproductive justice.
• Build and maintain cross-movement relationships and partnerships with peer organization leadership; ensure these relationships belong to NNAF as an institution.

Board Management (approximately 10% of the position)

• Support Board governance capacity, decision-making, and strategic direction, prioritizing organizational stability, strategic vision, and effective movement leadership.
• Support Board leadership with thoughtful recruitment support. Advise toward retention efforts for stability aligned with NNAF's values and leadership priorities.
• Provide timely, clear, and accurate financial and programmatic reports, maintaining transparent record-keeping practices.

Shared Responsibilities (approximately 5% of the position)

• Actively participate in required convenings, summits, retreats, and staff meetings, and participate in required virtual staff communications. 
• Update professional knowledge by participating in educational opportunities approved by NNAF, maintaining networks, and participating in professional organizations as relevant to your role.
• Perform duties required of all staff to support smooth internal operations such as submitting timesheets.
• Meet performance benchmarks set by the Board and undertake responsibilities as assigned, supporting overall organizational health and movement leadership.

What We Need From You: Qualifications

The qualifications (skills, experiences, and qualities) below describe what the team needs in its next Executive Director. The skills are non-negotiable, but we recognize they can be developed through many different paths and experiences. If you bring what is described here and you are excited about this work, we want to hear from you. Tell us how your experience, wherever you gained it, prepares you to lead NNAF.

Skills & Experiences

Leadership and Organizational Management

• 15+ years of leadership in mission-driven organizations, with a proven track record managing institutional growth and change and navigating complex stakeholder ecosystems.
• Experience managing and developing a diverse staff; experience with remote management and with managing leaders across different organizational functions is highly desirable.
• Strong financial acumen: budget development, financial forecasting, and the ability to communicate financial decisions in clear, values-aligned language.
• Genuine curiosity about how organizations work and how to lead within complexity; willingness to understand context before imposing change.
• Model organizational accountability by adhering to established policies, procedures, and staff-wide operational processes, including those stewarded by functional teams.

Strategy and Judgment

• Visionary thinker with demonstrated experience setting and communicating progressive strategy grounded in movement principles and values.
• Creative, proactive, and resourceful approach to planning and strategy formation, including strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong judgment, political sensitivity, and savvy.

Fundraising

• Proven ability to identify, cultivate, and secure new institutional funders and individual donors, with experience closing six-figure gifts.
• Experience personally managing a portfolio of major donors and institutional funders at the six-figure level and above, in close partnership with a Development team.
• Experience sustaining relationships with funders and major donors through competing priorities, organizational transitions, and a shifting political and funding landscape, and building donor confidence along the way.
• Experience building strategic fundraising plans in collaboration with Development teams.
• Experience fundraising for a network, coalition, or intermediary is a plus.

Communications and Public Voice

• Proactively champion abortion funds and their leadership, bringing both the appetite and ambition to identify opportunities for NNAF to elevate their voices, build their visibility, and strengthen their influence across the movement.
• High level of comfort and skill as a public speaker and/or spokesperson with a track record of media engagement and clear communication.
• Clear and direct communicator, with the ability to translate abstract political ideas into compelling stories and to adapt communication style for different audiences (media, funders, staff, movement partners).
• Ability to build a compelling, values-driven case for support with existing and potential funders and donors. Proven experience sustaining relationships through organizational transitions and building donor confidence. Enthusiasm for sustaining strong relationships with existing and prospective board members, funders, individual donors, and others.

Relationships, Power, and Coalition Building

• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships across constituencies with different (sometimes competing) needs; ability to navigate power dynamics and make decisions that serve organizational mission even when not everyone agrees.
• Experience navigating complex power dynamics and stakeholder relationships; ability to map and understand relationship ecosystems.
• Reputation as a principled strategic collaborator with keen listening skills and the ability to bridge philosophies and perspectives.
• Demonstrated experience building effective partnerships and coalitions among organizations and activists working at all levels, from the grassroots to national level.
• Experience leading in a unionized workplace, or working knowledge of what it requires. Able to maintain constructive labor-management relations, lead and make decisions with a clear understanding of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), respect the rights of represented staff, and partner effectively with HR and management leadership.

Working Style and Practical Skills

• Ability to hold boundaries while maintaining graciousness and openness to relationship; comfort with giving and receiving feedback, especially when power differentials exist.
• A stance that balances flexibility and rigor, with the ability to thrive as part of a dynamic, generative, and fast-moving organizational culture.
• Strong reading comprehension skills and willingness to absorb a considerable amount of reading materials.
• Excellent computer skills; proficiency with Google Suite, Slack and Zoom.

Qualities

Values and Political Commitments

• Committed to abortion access and full reproductive health care for all, grounded in Reproductive Justice, racial justice and economic justice.
• Committed to an intersectional framework that includes Reproductive Justice, access justice, disability justice, racial justice, economic justice, and gender justice.
• Belief in bucking the trend through progressive policies to create a new vision for our future.
• Shares NNAF's vision of a world where every reproductive decision, including abortion, is fully accessible and free from shame, coercion, and criminalization. Committed to leading through NNAF's values of autonomy, compassion, interdependence, and trust, in service of a strong, connected network of autonomous abortion funds.

Learning and Feedback

• Grounded in humility and curiosity; committed to ongoing learning about how NNAF and the broader movement work.
• Open to giving and receiving feedback and committed to practicing this regularly

Collaboration and Conflict

• Ability to enjoy collaboration and be a part of a dynamic, highly productive and integrated team; maintain flexibility and effectively manage ambiguity in a responsive work environment.
• Ability to navigate conflict with both firmness and grace; can hold boundaries about how you will be treated while keeping doors open for relationship and change.
• Appreciation of working with diverse staff and board in an organization committed to racial justice.

Steadiness and Self-Direction

• Self-motivated, resourceful, creative, and able to work without significant day-to-day supervision.
• Dependable and consistent; someone staff and funders can rely on during periods of uncertainty.
• Demonstrates steadiness, sound judgment, and transparent communication during periods of uncertainty or pressure

How to Apply

We do not require a cover letter. Instead, we ask that candidates respond to the prompts to help us understand your experience, judgment, and approach. To review full job description & apply: https://riverwalkertalentcareers.talentlyft.com/o/clrSagN