Regional Director

POSITION TITLE: Regional Director

REPORTS TO: Vice President, Central Division

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Supervise all programs, staff, and interns directly located in Region

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Grade/Class: Grade J, Exempt, PSA-Eligible

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.

PRIMARY FUNCTION:

In coordination with the Vice President, Central Division and National Regional Operations team, plan and/or execute the direction and administration of all regional office activities, including: program delivery, leadership development, communications, government relations, fact-finding/research, fundraising, and office management in order to advance ADL’s mission within the assigned region. Represent ADL in the community, to the media and to public officials. Manage, motivate and develop regional board, committees and staff.

Primary:

• Community Leadership: Be the face of ADL in the region.  Promote visibility and leadership of ADL in the community by establishing and maintaining relationships with appropriate community institutions and leaders, elected and appointed officials, media representatives, law enforcement personnel, ethnic and interfaith group leaders and the Jewish community.  Lead community outreach efforts, including initiatives and joint ventures with elected leaders, interfaith and cross cultural organizations active within the region.
• Public Affairs & Media Relations: Represent ADL and give speeches in a variety of forums to promote public awareness of ADL’s mission.  Respond to inquiries from the press and from members of the public, demonstrating knowledge of ADL’s policies and positions and relevant local, national and world events.  Read, monitor and respond to media reports and opinion articles.  Work with ADL communications staff to write pross releases, social media statements, and opinion pieces to be approved by appropriate supervisory and/or National staff.
• Government Affairs: Participate in government affairs activities, maintaining regular contact with state, local and national officials.  Advocate for ADL issues in state and local legislature.
• Volunteer Leadership: Recruit, engage, communicate, and work with volunteer leadership. Establish guidelines for including volunteer leaders in regional activities and advisory boards. Identify community leaders for involvement and recruitment to ADL.  Staff a variety of committees, as appropriate for the scope of your region.
• Vision & Strategic Direction: Coordinate the vision and strategic direction both for the Southwest Region and the state of Texas.
• Programming: Direct the implementation of ADL programs and policies tailored to local community needs and issues. These include outreach, programs (conferences and seminars) and legislative networking.
• Fundraising: Serve as an active member of the regional fundraising team. Lead a culture of philanthropy in the region for both staff and board members, ensuring that both board and staff members understand their fundraising responsibilities, encourage meaningful giving from regional board members and partner with the Senior Director of Philanthropic Engagement (SDPE) and assigned development team members to implement a fundraising strategy to achieve the annual regional target. As the regional subject matter expert, the Regional Director is responsible for leveraging professional connections, effectively communicating ADL’s mission and impact through compelling stories and data, initiating and nurturing strategic partnerships for substantial funding opportunities and in partnership with development colleagues soliciting financial gifts to support all ADL fundraising campaigns.
• Incident Response: Oversee regional incident management and constituent services. Lead team responding to discrimination, bias and hate complaints and ensure community awareness to reporting, appropriate consultation and escalation are conducted with subject matter experts at ADL and partner organizations, and respond in appropriate and timely ways.
• Management: Oversee regional operations staff, as applicable. Recruit and hire regional staff; supervise staff; and establish performance standards and monitor results.
• Administration: Monitor regional operating budget.  Work with National Staff to oversee management of physical office space/lease.

Attributes

• Commitment to and passion for ADL’s mission and work
• Enjoys working in a highly collaborative team environment where continuous learning and adaptive, solutions-oriented problem-solving are at the forefront
• Possess the desire and ability to coach teams to excellence
• Bias for action and urgency coupled with the judgement to know when a crisis calls for calm and restraint
• Visionary leader excited by the opportunity to grow ADL’s impact in the community

Skills:  

• Must excel at building relationships and coalitions across lines of difference and convening diverse groups of partners towards aligned goals and priorities
• Proven record of results in translating vision and strategies to action
• Excellent communications and interpersonal skills including strong public speaking and writing
• Ability to represent complex and diverse issues in an articulate and compelling manner
• Proven diplomatic and conflict resolution skills are required 
• Demonstrated experience as a cultural leader
• Ability to multi-task and respond to changing priorities is essential

 Work Experience:  

• Five to seven years prior experience in a leadership role in community relations/community service organization. Experience in program development, fundraising, volunteer relations and/or staff management.

 Education:  

• A Bachelor’s degree plus additional related college courses or professional training, or equivalent experience.

Work Environment: 

• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends when necessary to represent ADL and to attend community events. Travel within the region is required.  Occasional overnight travel is required.
• ADL is a hybrid environment; this role requires 3 days a week in the office.

Compensation: 

• This position has a salary range of $140,000 to $150,000. This salary range is reflective of a position based in Houston, Texas. Please note that actual salaries are commensurate with experience and reflect the budget for a given position, and since ADL has a location-based compensation structure, there may be a different range for candidates in other locations. For an overview of our total rewards package, please visit https://www.adl.org/about/careers.

ADL values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of underrepresented ethnic groups, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. ADL is an equal opportunity employer. Recruitment, hiring, promotions and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment shall be maintained in a manner which does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, marital status, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or military status, or in violation of any applicable Federal, state or local laws.    

ADL will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation to support the interview process, please contact Talent & Knowledge at [email protected].

ADL will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable State, Local, and Federal laws. 

The information in this job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of employees in this classification. It is not designed to contain, or be interpreted as, a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and objectives required of employees assigned to this job, nor is it to be interpreted as a contract for employment.