Executive Director

Position Overview:

Hudson River Park Friends seeks an inspiring, strategic, and civic-minded Executive Director who will serve first and foremost as a dynamic fundraiser, relationship builder, and public ambassador for one of New York City's most treasured public spaces.

This is an exceptional opportunity to lead one of New York City's premier public-private partnerships at a moment when the focus is shifting from building the originally conceived Park to supporting the stewardship of a beloved, maturing civic asset for generations to come. As Friends expands its philanthropic ambitions, the Executive Director will have the opportunity to unlock significant untapped giving potential, particularly among individuals and families along Manhattan's West Side, while deepening corporate and institutional partnerships and strengthening Friends' civic presence.

Reporting to an engaged Board of Directors, the Executive Director serves as the organization's chief executive officer, chief fundraiser, and public ambassador. The Executive Director will be highly outward-facing and will devote significant personal attention to cultivating and soliciting principal gifts, major donors, developing new networks of supporters, attracting and retaining committed Board members, and growing established well-relationships across New York City's philanthropic, business, civic, and community landscape. The Executive Director will also lead an accomplished team and serve as Friends' primary partner to the leadership of the Hudson River Park Trust.

The Executive Director will inherit an organization with a compelling mission, an outstanding reputation, and extraordinary opportunities for philanthropic growth. Success will require a leader who believes in the Park’s value and genuinely enjoys asking for financial support, is persuasive and relationship-driven, brings curiosity and learning agility, and can navigate a complex public-private environment with diplomacy, political savvy, and respect for community interests. Above all, the next Executive Director should care deeply about the Park and Friends' mission, bringing a service-oriented rather than self-promotional approach to this highly visible role.

Internally, they will pair this external orientation with an accessible, collaborative leadership style—setting clear direction, communicating openly, and empowering experienced staff to lead within their areas of expertise while simultaneously exploring and implementing new strategies.

Key Responsibilities:

Reports to: Board of Directors

Team: Manages a team of 15

The Executive Director provides the fundraising, strategic, operational, and financial leadership necessary to advance Hudson River Park Friends' mission, while ensuring the organization's long-term sustainability and continued philanthropic growth.

Fundraising will be the Executive Director's primary external priority. They will devote a substantial portion of their time to personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors; expanding individual giving; converting strong corporate relationships into deeper personal philanthropy; strengthening Board engagement in fundraising; and identifying creative new approaches to donor engagement.

The Executive Director serves as Friends' primary external representative, building a broad and multigenerational constituency for supporting the Park across New York City's philanthropic, civic, business, and nonprofit communities.

Working in close partnership with the Board of Directors, the Executive Director establishes strategic priorities, ensures sound governance and financial stewardship, and leads a talented staff responsible for development, communications, operations, and administration. The Executive Director also serves as Friends' principal liaison with Hudson River Park Trust, ensuring close coordination between the organizations while advancing shared priorities that support the Park's continued growth, stewardship, and public impact. The Executive Director will engage staff meaningfully in shaping organizational strategy and will value the deep institutional knowledge across the Friends team.

Ultimately, the Executive Director is responsible for positioning Hudson River Park Friends as one of New York City's leading civic and philanthropic organizations—expanding its visibility, strengthening its fundraising capacity, fostering exceptional partnerships, and ensuring the organization continues to serve as an indispensable champion for one of the City's most treasured public spaces.

Strategic Leadership:

• Provide visionary leadership that advances Friends' mission, strategic priorities, and long-term sustainability.
• Partner closely with the Board of Directors and President of the Trust to establish organizational goals, priorities, and annual objectives developed in consultation with senior staff and with clear communication of organizational priorities.
• Foster a high-performing, collaborative organizational culture grounded in accountability, innovation, inclusion, and service. The Executive Director will be accessible and approachable across levels of the organization, fostering trust while giving senior leaders appropriate autonomy.
• Identify emerging opportunities that strengthen Friends' impact and expand philanthropic investment in Hudson River Park within all legal, regulatory, and fiduciary responsibilities.
• Serve as the organization's chief spokesperson and representative.

Philanthropy & Fundraising:

• Serve as Friends' chief fundraising strategist and most visible fundraiser, devoting a significant portion of time to personally building philanthropic support for the organization.
• Oversee and lead a team of development professionals to execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy that encompasses individual giving, major gifts, corporate partnerships, institutional philanthropy, special events, planned giving, and special campaign initiatives.
• Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors and prospective philanthropists, with particular focus on expanding individual major giving and developing new relationships among residents, families, and business leaders who live near, work near, and personally experience the Park.
• Build meaningful relationships across New York's philanthropic, business, civic, and nonprofit communities, leveraging existing corporate partnerships and new networks to broaden Friends' donor base.
• Bring an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy, identifying new ways to convert corporate partnerships, events, volunteer engagement, park usage, and community relationships to sustain philanthropic support.
• Partner with the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Development Committee, and volunteer leadership to strengthen fundraising capacity and donor engagement.
• Lead Board and committee communications related to fundraising strategy and donor cultivation.
• Recruit, engage, and orient new Board members who expand Friends' philanthropic reach and strategic expertise.
• Oversee fundraising events and donor stewardship activities that deepen engagement and strengthen long-term relationships, while bringing fresh thinking to how Friends engages the next generation of donors and supporters.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to development staff while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and excellence.
• Collaborate with Trust executives to identify opportunities and strategies for increased fundraising and engagement within the Park.
• Manage foundation and government grant strategy, proposal development, reporting, and stewardship, including direct oversight of institutional fundraising activities.
• Monitor fundraising performance and ensure the organization achieves ambitious annual goals.

Board Partnership & Governance:

• Build a strong and productive partnership with the Board of Directors.
• Support effective governance through timely communication, strategic planning, and transparent reporting. Maintain regular communication between formal meetings so Board members remain connected to organizational priorities, progress, and opportunities for engagement.
• Prepare Board and committee meeting materials and facilitate productive discussions.
• Partner with Board leadership to identify, cultivate, recruit, and develop engaged trustees who bring philanthropic capacity, networks, expertise, diversity of perspective, and a genuine commitment to the Park.
• Support committees in fulfilling their responsibilities while maximizing Board engagement in fundraising and strategic planning. Work with Board leadership to reinforce meaningful trustee participation in fundraising and other Board commitments.
• Ensure adherence to governance best practices and organizational policies.

Organizational Leadership & Operations:

• Oversee the effective management of Friends' operations and administrative functions.
• Provide leadership for finance, budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning.
• Ensure sound fiscal management and stewardship of organizational resources.
• Oversee human resources, including recruitment, performance management, succession planning, and staff development with COO/CFO.
• Foster an inclusive workplace that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional talent. Support professional development, coaching, and ongoing feedback while preserving the flexibility and healthy work environment staff value.
• Guide organizational development initiatives that improve operational effectiveness and organizational capacity.
• Oversee information technology, administrative systems, and organizational infrastructure with COO/CFO.
• In partnership with the Trust’s President, develop and oversee processes that foster productive information-sharing, communications, and partnerships between the two organizations related to fundraising and volunteerism.
• Establish performance expectations and accountability across the organization.
• Ensure effective risk management and operational compliance.

Communications, Marketing & Brand Stewardship:

• Serve as Friends' primary public philanthropic ambassador.
• Independently and in partnership with the Trust, oversee communications and marketing strategies that increase awareness of Friends' mission and impact with communications team including donor communications, annual reports, digital engagement, in-park messaging, and organizational messaging.
• Strengthen Friends' brand and public visibility among donors, civic leaders, and the broader community.
• Represent Friends through public speaking engagements, media opportunities, and community events.
• Ensure consistent messaging across fundraising, communications, and public affairs in cooperation with Hudson River Park Trust.

Strategic Partnership with Hudson River Park Trust:

• Serve as the primary executive liaison with Hudson River Park Trust leadership.
• Foster a collaborative, transparent, and diplomatically effective partnership that advances shared priorities for the Park while respecting the distinct roles, authorities, and responsibilities of Friends and the Trust.
• Coordinate fundraising priorities, communications, stewardship activities, and strategic initiatives with Trust leadership.
• Build strong relationships across Trust staff to ensure alignment between Friends' philanthropic efforts and the Park's operational, programmatic and capital priorities.
• Represent Friends as an independent and trusted strategic partner committed to the Park's long-term success, navigating the nuances of the public-private relationship with judgment, self-awareness, and mutual respect.

Advocacy, Government & Community Relations:

• Build productive relationships with City and State elected officials and agency leadership.
• Advance public understanding of Friends' mission and Hudson River Park's civic importance.
• Support advocacy initiatives that strengthen investment in Hudson River Park.
• Cultivate partnerships with NYC businesses, community organizations, cultural institutions, and environmental organizations, and understand community perspectives and considerations as Friends advances fundraising and strategic priorities.
• Recognize volunteers as an important extension of Friend’s community and philanthropic reach, creating pathways for deeper involvement with the Park.
• Represent Friends within New York City's nonprofit, philanthropic, and civic sectors.
• Strengthen community and business engagement and participation throughout the Park.

The Leader:

The successful candidate will be an exceptional fundraiser and relationship builder with the executive capacity to lead a complex civic organization. While experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, cultural, environmental, or civic sectors is welcome, the Board is open to leaders from government, business, finance, corporate philanthropy, and other sectors who bring strong networks, genuine comfort asking for money, and a demonstrated ability to inspire investment in a mission. Formal fundraising titles are less important than fundraising instinct, persistence, credibility, and results. Experience in nonprofit leadership and New York City philanthropy will be particularly valuable, though the Board remains open to compelling candidates from adjacent sectors.

The Executive Director will possess exceptional emotional intelligence, curiosity, adaptability, sound judgment, political acumen, and the ability to build trust with diverse stakeholders. Equally comfortable making a major gift ask, commanding a Board room, engaging community stakeholders, inspiring and managing staff, or representing the organization publicly, the successful candidate will understand the nuances of nonprofit-government partnership and bring the diplomacy and self-awareness required to work closely with the Hudson River Park Trust.

They will be motivated first and foremost by lifting the mission of the Park and Friends' externally and, as an internal leader, will be approachable, decisive, and communicative, able to establish a shared vision while trusting staff expertise and avoiding unnecessary micromanagement.

Preferred Experience:

The ideal candidate will bring many of the following qualifications:

• Significant senior leadership experience within a nonprofit, philanthropic, cultural, environmental, civic, government, corporate, or other relevant organization; prior Executive Director experience is not required.
• Demonstrated success personally asking for and securing philanthropic support, major gifts, sponsorships, or comparable high-stakes commitments; experience leading comprehensive fundraising programs or capital campaigns is advantageous.
• Understand the power of place-based philanthropy and will be able to translate that connection into sustained engagement and giving.
• Experience partnering effectively with an engaged Board of Directors.
• Strong financial management, budgeting and organizational leadership experience.
• Experience overseeing communications, marketing, and external affairs.
• Knowledge of foundation, corporate, government, and individual philanthropy.
• Demonstrated ability to build productive partnerships with nonprofits, public agencies, elected officials, neighborhood stakeholders, and other constituencies, with sensitivity to the political and community dynamics surrounding major public assets.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
• Experience leading high-performing teams through collaboration, coaching, and accountability.Experience effectively leading teams in a flexible remote/hybrid environment is strongly valued.
• Demonstrated passion for parks and public spaces, environmental stewardship, publicly accessible arts and culture, or civic engagement is highly desirable; direct parks-sector experience is not required, but curiosity and the ability to quickly master a complex operating and political environment are essential.

Leadership Competencies:

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Mission-Driven Leadership: A genuine commitment to Friends' mission and the importance of accessible, vibrant public spaces to public life.
• Strategic Vision: Ability to translate long-term aspirations into actionable organizational priorities.
• Fundraising Excellence: A natural and enthusiastic fundraiser who is comfortable making major asks, inspires philanthropy through relationships, and makes donors at every level feel valued and connected to the Park.
• Collaborative Leadership: Builds trust across Boards, staff, volunteers, donors, and external partners. Invites Board and staff input into strategy. Communicates priorities clearly and empowers colleagues to lead within their areas of expertise. Identifies opportunities for Board members and staff to explore new avenues for organizational growth.
• Executive Presence: Represents Friends with credibility, confidence, warmth, and authenticity; is very comfortable as a media, social media and community ambassador and advocate, and centers the Park and its community.
• Operational Acumen: Balances strategic leadership with strong organizational management and financial stewardship.
• Political & Community Savvy: Navigates complex public-private, political, Board, and community relationships with diplomacy, sound judgment, and respect for differing perspectives.
• Inclusive Leadership: Creates an organizational culture that values diversity, equity, collaboration, humility and continuous learning. Recognizes staff contributions and remains accessible to colleagues across the organization.

Hudson River Park Friends provides competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and leave packages.