Employment Opportunities

Current Opening

Position Title: Executive Director

Position Type: Full Time, Exempt

Salary Range: $75,000-85,000

Benefits: 3 weeks paid time off plus holidays, 401k matching up to 3%, health insurance, flexible scheduling

To Apply: Deadline Extended! Please send a letter of interest and resume to board@sharpsburgneighborhood.org by Sunday, January 14, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

Our Story

Celebrating its tenth year of creating meaningful opportunities for civic engagement in Sharpsburg, Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization (SNO) is looking for the right leader and relationship builder to shepherd the organization into its next phase of sustainable growth, collaborative action, and equity-focused impact on community wellbeing.

Fueled by a group of dedicated neighbors in the small Allegheny River town of Sharpsburg Borough, SNO works to connect local residents, nonprofit organizations, and small business owners with the people, capacity, educational opportunities, funding, and other resources to implement the resident-driven local priorities identified in the Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan and Sharpsburg Ecodistrict Plan.

As our organization has expanded in size, scope and impact, we are seeking an Executive Director who aspires to support and work alongside existing community members to ensure that investment in the community is spent in service of those people and ecological systems whose needs have been historically deprioritized in economic development strategies.

With a stable runway of multi-year funding to expand the team from two to three with an additional full-time outreach and organizing staffer, and a variety of environmental, housing, and community equity programming commitments at SNO, the incoming director will be well positioned to evaluate existing organizational operations and make strategic changes to improve our effectiveness.

Some of our organizational values include:

Maximizing the community power of residents and other community stakeholders, like the natural environment and local business owners, who have traditionally been harmed by development and policy decisions that do not prioritize positive and equitable community impact
Continuous learning, storytelling, and expanding the shared local knowledge base on the technical and systemic issues that affect Sharpsburg and its human, built, and environmental circumstances, as well as the history of the community and the decisions that have shaped our current challenges, to ensure that the community can respond effectively to threats and opportunities
Actively fostering and adding human and technical capacity to a resilient and flexible community-wide ecosystem of mutual support, healthy collaboration, transparent and proactive communication, and human-to-human relationship building across sectors, socioeconomic backgrounds, and walks of life.

Position Overview

The Executive Director is a full-time employee responsible for the organization's consistent achievement of its mission and strategic plan objectives. The Executive Director will be a strategic, multidisciplinary thinker responsible for directing and managing the day-to-day operations of the organization; maintaining regulatory compliance; developing and implementing annual budget plans; creating strong relationships with philanthropic and other funders; working strategically with staff to strengthen and institutionalize a consistent and actionable feedback loop between local community members and government officials, nonprofit partners, and decisionmakers outside of the community whose decisions impact Sharpsburgers; developing, evaluating, and adjusting projects, programs, priorities, and resources to maximize equitable and sustainable achievement of community and organizational goals; guiding staff, interns, and volunteers to best achieve the organization’s goals while creating opportunities for meaningful personal and professional growth; and implementing long-term plans of the organization, including the 2019 Sharpsburg Community Vision Plan, 2021 Sharpsburg Ecodistrict Plan, and the 2021 Sharpsburg Climate Action Plan.

If you are a person passionate about the wellbeing of people; sustainable community development; and working on the ground with other humans directly impacted by economic, environmental, and social injustice to fix the systems that force them to disproportionately suffer the negative impact of an unsustainably operating society, then we want to talk to you.

The Executive Director will be expected to lead the following:

ADMINISTRATIVE, FINANCIAL, AND FACILITIES

Maintain official organizational records and documents, and submit all proper government paperwork annually, to ensure compliance with federal, state, local and other regulations as well as internal policies
Work closely with the chair of the board of directors to plan and facilitate full board meetings throughout the year, including support and guidance as needed to board committees (executive/governance, finance, and programs/outreach) and the development of agendas, board packets, and scheduling/communications leading up to meeting.
Lead the development of mid- and long-term funding diversification strategy to work toward funding sustainability
Maintain the timely reporting of all grant reports and submission of all grant applications
Lead grant writing and the development of new relationships and funding opportunities to increase organizational capacity, effectiveness, and positive impact for the community.
Manage the use of the SNO building and serve as the building management contact for its one residential apartment unit (currently occupied).

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

Ensure the activation of SNO’s 2021 organizational strategic plan, acting as a catalyst for organizational change and working with the board and local stakeholders to continue evolving and implementing a shared vision for the organization, its operations, and its priorities.
Actively pursue funding opportunities with a priority of growing the organization’s staff capacity according to the organization’s 2021 Strategic Plan with a priority for shared staffing opportunities with partners.
Work directly with the Board of Directors and partner organizations to proactively identify and develop missing capacities and skill sets in the organization through proactive board education as well as the development of a sustainable, transparent, accessible, and welcoming local leadership pipeline for ensuring that a diversity of perspectives, experiences, and skill sets is represented on the board.
Provide leadership in developing program, organizational and financial plans with the Board of Directors; formulate and carry out plans and policies authorized by the board.
Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the fields of community/economic development, public policy, nonprofit management and finance, sustainability, intersectional justice movements, and grassroots organizing.
Research, summarize, and communicate to the board of directors and the broader community the potential impacts of various development projects, policy proposals, and program investments to aid in the transparent and effective facilitation of community engagement

COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT

Develop and maintain strong relationships with various local community organizations, churches, and small businesses; public officials and government agencies; regional nonprofit organizations and mission-relevant advocacy coalitions; volunteers and in-kind donors; and philanthropic and corporate funders.
Actively promote Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization and the organization’s events and initiatives at public speaking engagements and with the media.
Work with staff to create a plan for the consistent and sustainable development of educational and informative web content, social media communications, and other diverse outreach activities to build awareness of the organization’s work in the community as well as increase the shared community understanding of the researched causes and potential solutions of issues facing Sharpsburg.
Consistently create and promote opportunities for residents and other community members to get involved, share their experiences/perspectives/feedback, strengthen their skills, and deepen their understanding of local issues and systems.

BUDGET AND FINANCE

Use priority-based budgeting principles to guide strategic funding development and use of staff time and other resources.
Monitor expenditures in support of programs, policies, and legal/financial requirements
Responsible for developing and maintaining sound financial practices in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
Work with the board Finance Committee annually to prepare a realistic, actionable budget (currently approximately $450k per year) that is impactful, compelling, and feasible enough to be sufficiently funded.
Ensure that adequate funds are available to allow the organization to carry out its goals and objectives.
Jointly, with the board of directors, conduct official correspondence of the organization, and jointly, with designated officers, execute legal documents.

Preferred Qualifications

People with existing connections to the community or history of Sharpsburg are strongly preferred for this role.
Ability to work effectively and respectfully in collaboration with diverse groups of people with different, and at times conflicting, priorities and opinions
Lived experience with issues relevant to Sharpsburg residents
Prior experience growing, developing, and adequately resourcing a nimble, diverse, and collaborative team of mission-driven staff
Ability to simultaneously and effectively manage multiple projects with staff, volunteers, and cross-sector partners in a fast-paced and culturally diverse environment
Prior experience providing timely, thoughtful, nuanced, and transparent communication of complex community issues
Prior experience developing nonprofit budgets, maintaining financial records, and generating and explaining financial reports

Additional Desired Skills, Experience, and Areas of Expertise

Community and economic development experience with tools and concepts such as land banking, micro-enterprise, community land trusts, asset-based community development strategies, transit-oriented development, affordable and efficient housing development, supporting MWDVBE and small businesses, zoning/code/land use, brownfield development, multi-modal transportation, and incorporating academic research and best practices recommendations into action on the ground
Training or experience in de-escalation, conflict resolution, and meeting facilitation
Understanding of the racial, environmental, economic, and other social justice movements, the various community organizing strategies used through history, and the existing Pittsburgh-area and Sharpsburg-specific manifestations of national and global systemic equity and sustainability issues
Strong organizational abilities including project planning, meeting preparation and follow-up, program development, and task implementation/delegation.
Knowledge of strategies related to fundraising, event and campaign planning, donor outreach/engagement, friendraising, grant writing, and other sources of sustainable organizational funding
A respectful, encouraging, and transparent interpersonal communication style with strong writing and editing skills
Proficiency with Google Office Suite and/or Microsoft Office applications (primarily spreadsheets, presentations, and documents), Quickbooks Online, Wix or other website management software, Zoom, graphic design, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ability to work on evenings and weekends, as needed, with the option to comp that time.

The Executive Director will be required to work in the office and community at least three days per week to maximize visibility and activate the organization’s building on Main Street. The position offers flexible scheduling and generous benefits.

Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization is an equal opportunity employer.