Position Announcement

Executive Director

Summary

We seek a new Executive Director who will be the public face of the organization and who will lead us to a significantly higher level of Indigenous inclusiveness, visibility, financial security, and overall effectiveness. The ideal candidate will be experienced, dynamic, mobile, personable, media-savvy, and passionate about partnering with, empowering, and advocating on behalf of Indigenous Peoples.

What Cultural Survival Does

Most of the world’s 370 million Indigenous Peoples suffer from neglect, discrimination, or outright abuse from governments and/or corporate interests that usurp their power and perpetuate centuries-old patterns of domination.  These patterns disregard Indigenous autonomy, control over homelands, and governance. Poverty, isolation, and forced assimilation often go hand in hand with complex issues arising from land claims, degradation of the environment, theft of intellectual property, and loss of language and cultural traditions. Cultural Survival works hand-in-hand with affected communities to ensure that our efforts are in concert with local cultures and decision-making processes. To effectively improve the well-being of diverse peoples across the planet, Cultural Survival selects projects with lasting value that at the same time provide replicable models to others.  

Cultural Survival partners with Indigenous communities, at their request, to assist them in achieving their goals. Currently, we are partnering with Native American communities—over half of which risk losing their remaining elderly language speakers within the next five years—to find ways to pass their languages on to their children.  We are supporting locally-based and run community radio stations to provide educational and empowerment-focused broadcasting for remote Indigenous communities in Guatemala.  And, we are working on advocacy campaigns where Indigenous homelands are threatened by large-scale development projects in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Panama, Brazil, and the United States.  Cultural Survival partners with the United Nations and regional human rights bodies, supportive members of the U.S. Congress and Administration, nongovernmental human rights and environmental protection organizations, and, most importantly, national and local Indigenous leaders and communities. The efficacy of Cultural Survival’s work is promoted by transparency and by our accountability to an expert cohort of Indigenous leaders who serve on our Board of Directors and in advisory roles.

The Position           

Cultural Survival’s new Executive Director will have overall responsibility for the organization’s development and continued success. S/he will:

• Be a leading voice for Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
• Lead Cultural Survival’s growth and management.
• Work with the Board of Directors to set and implement Board policies.
• Build, expand, and support an outstanding staff.
• Collaborate with other Indigenous, rights-based, and environmental organizations.
• Develop effective strategies and initiatives to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and cultures.
• Inspire and engage philanthropists to support Cultural Survival.
• Sustain outstanding publications that inspire, educate, and engage the public and support a growing membership.
• Effectively leverage technology to foster Cultural Survival’s work and connections.

The Candidate

A strong candidate will offer many of the following qualifications:

• A passion for and commitment to Cultural Survival’s mission.
• Expertise in the history, trends, and current issues Indigenous Peoples face.
• Strong history of significant fundraising success.
• Readiness to lead a mission-based organization and a track record of successful management experience.
• Ability to build effective collaborative relationships with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, life experiences, and professions, including key Indigenous communities and activists from around the world.
• Facilitation skills that build consensus.
• Experience working with or in Indigenous organizations or communities.
• Vision in using social networking and technology to foster a community of organizational leaders, members, and supporters.
• Demonstrated leadership, follow-through, and ability to motivate others to a high level of achievement.
• Well-developed political, economic and environmental sensibilities regarding, for example, the impacts of globalization, climate change, technology, trade policy, international human rights and social justice movements on Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Peoples’ participation in these arenas.
• Outstanding public speaking experience and skills.
• Advanced degree (preferred).  Bilingual fluency a plus.
• Residence in or ability to relocate to the greater Boston, Mass. area.

To Apply

Please send cover letter, resume and salary history to Susan Egmont: segmont@egmontassociates.com, Egmont Associates, 85 East India Row #24F, Boston, MA 02110

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Cultural Survival is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates. We particularly encourage Indigenous individuals to apply and to identify their Indigenous community, but we welcome applications from all qualified candidates.