RepresentUs
Chief Executive Officer

Compensation band: $250 - $300K
Location: Fully remote with a preference for ET time zone

 

About RepresentUs

RepresentUs is an organization primed to break through as the undisputed leader of a national movement to build a government that works for the people. They have a proven model and have achieved significant success with over 185 victories in cities and states across the country. At the same time, the audience of the traditional reform community is narrow, and they believe current events provide a historic opening to dramatically broaden the audience they reach and bring new activists and funders into their network.

As America’s leading nonpartisan pro-democracy organization fighting to fix broken and ineffective government, they unite people across the political spectrum to pass laws that fight political corruption, hold politicians accountable, defeat special interests, and force the government to meet the needs of the American people. RepresentUs brings together progressives, conservatives, and everyone in between. Using intuitive anti-corruption messaging, they are currently winning in red states and blue states, inspiring, energizing, activating, and empowering people to fight political corruption and make American democracy truly of, by, and for the people.

To achieve their vision of making America the world’s strongest democracy by 2050, RepresentUs is focused on:

1. Using the historically proven model of change to win victories at the state and local level to build momentum for national change. 

2. Winning the hearts and minds of the American people. Durable change happens when there is broad public support for it. They tell the story of a movement on the rise, elevating the voices of supporters and spokespeople, producing provocative messaging, and making a clear, compelling case for supporting democracy.

3. Putting country over party. To pass and protect laws that will last, democracy needs the support of a majority of voters, spokespeople, and lawmakers across the political spectrum. They work outside the constraints of the two-party system, activating people, building campaigns, and sharing messages that unite unlikely allies toward a common purpose.

They have had an impact across the country through their four-pronged approach to create change:

• Building public support through national education campaigns
• Establishing coalitions that include unlikely allies
• Providing tools and expertise that lead to successful campaigns
• Galvanizing and organizing people across the country to deliver victories in key states

RepresentUs works among a strong national coalition of organizations advancing shared priorities. They are governed by an engaged and high-performing board, have an annual budget of $7M, and 30 talented and committed staff. They believe success depends on attracting the best people, whether employees, volunteers, or partners, to work on the cause. To this end they continuously work on culture and values, first among them a performance-based culture committed to excellence, team performance, feedback, and constant improvement. They also believe this can be accomplished in a supportive, inclusive, transparent, kind, and accountable culture. To read more about the organization’s Cultural Agreements, click here.

RepresentUs is proud to live their organizational values through their first collective bargaining agreement signed in April 2022 with Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 153 (OPEIU), which is an important voice of accountability, culture and justice within the organization.

 

About the CEO Position

RepresentUs seeks a leader who can execute the breakthrough required to build a movement that makes government work for the people. This leader will be a bridge builder to multiple new audiences, is passionate about democracy reform, thrives in a non/post/bipartisan environment, and brings a record of authentically working with a variety of individuals across the political spectrum. They are rooted in change and impact, not in political parties, and they bring a fluent understanding of the current marketing and media landscape, which has been central to achieving success and impact. The strongest candidates will bring a record of successfully building and scaling a movement or organization, deeply understanding the intersection of movements and communities, developing effective relationships and coalitions, shifting culture and narrative, and driving revenue generation and growth through authentic engagement, deep partnership cultivation, and effective fundraising.

The ideal candidate drives performance, builds strong teams, and inspires staff across the organization in a manner consistent with their values. They also thrive externally, actively connecting with coalition members, partners, government and policy leaders, and the philanthropic community. They are adept at cultivating and sustaining trust with Board members, staff, partners, and stakeholders. They successfully navigate and stay on top of the complex terrain of democracy reform. They relentlessly focus on future growth and impact, thinking creatively and infusing innovation across all functions of the organization. They engage, include, delegate, share power, and amplify others. 

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced leader to succeed a high-impact founder and build on a 13-year record of success and change at a critical moment in history.

 

Responsibilities

Strategy and Leadership

• Own and refine the definition and execution of the RepresentUs strategy to achieve the desired breakthrough in collaboration with the Board of Directors and the executive team.
• Develop and implement plans that allow RepresentUs to weather unexpected challenges, adapt, adjust, and build resilience in staff, campaigns, and programs.

Movement Building

• Build a massive, winning movement of millions of Americans from across the political spectrum who want to be involved and active in democracy reform.
• Design and implement strategies that pass local and state laws around the country that build government of, by, and for the people.
• Pass laws across the country according to RepresentUs’ strategy in partnership with local and national political groups and networks in the democracy reform community.
• Be a thought leader in the democracy reform community and foster collaboration, cooperation, and impact  to advance shared goals.

Storytelling, Fundraising, and Brand Positioning

• Serve as the lead external voice and champion of RepresentUs with funders, local and state policy leaders, and coalition partners, advocating for results, policy change, legislative wins, and growth of the movement.
• Actively seek out partnerships and increase audience engagement and brand awareness in key states and across the country.
• In collaboration with the Board and key staff, design and implement comprehensive brand and marketing strategies to amplify priority areas of the organization.
• Grow the resources of the organization by developing, cultivating, and deepening relationships with major donors, key philanthropic funders, and institutional partners through stories of impact, policy results, and a clear strategy for growth and impact.

Team Management

• Engage, lead, develop, and mentor the executive team and inspire and empower all staff in the organization to set and reach meaningful, mission-driven goals.
• Ensure ongoing organizational growth and excellence, thorough performance evaluation, and consistent, high-quality finance, fundraising, communications, operations, talent, and marketing functions.
• Develop and implement a clear vision for advancing the RepresentUs culture internally across the staff and externally with stakeholders, while embodying, modeling, and promoting the culture in a remote environment.
• Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging among the staff, board, and stakeholders.
• Strengthen internal communications to cultivate strong, trusting working relationships at every level.
• Continually uplift and model nonpartisanship as a key organizational value.

Board Development

• Partner with individual board members and the board as a collective to ensure the strongest possible governance during a critical chapter of organizational growth.
• Ensure creation, adherence to, and maintenance of organizational policies and procedures to facilitate effective governance of the organization including workflow, decision-making, and communication protocols.
• Cultivate a transparent partnership with the Board, facilitating open dialogue around the successes and challenges facing the organization.

 

Qualifications

• Passion for and a deep, authentic, demonstrated commitment to the mission, vision, and values of RepresentUs.
• Previous experience leading similarly sized or larger organization, or demonstrated readiness to uplevel.
• A record of experience and success in movement building. 
• Strength in communications, storytelling, and fundraising and the ability to engage new audiences, donors, and champions.
• Demonstrated success defining and executing organizational strategy and experience adapting and pivoting to ensure impact.
• Demonstrated success and experience in organizational growth.
• A record of championing effective change management, ensuring stability, and centering culture and values while fostering creativity.
• Established ability to support staff and board commitment to further the mission of RepresentUs, leading the organization to achieve significant impact.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and a record of rooting these values in leadership and management,
• Successful record of team and individual management with an ability to set clear priorities, delegate, empower, inspire, and hold staff accountable in a remote environment.
• Ability to partner with the board of directors to plan strategy, recruit new members, and drive engagement.
• Commitment to partnering with and working with unions.

How to Apply

RepresentUs has retained the executive search firm LeaderFit to partner with the Board and Search Committee on this search. Interested candidates should upload a brief cover letter and resume above.

RepresentUs is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting at all levels the most qualified applicants without regard for race, ethnicity, color, age, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, transgender/transsexual identity, HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, matriculation, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran (collectively known as “Status Factors”). All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge will be based on competence, performance, and business needs.

Please note that being authorized to work in the United States is a condition of employment at RepresentUs. They are not able to sponsor applicants for work visas at this time.