Executive Director

Job Description - Executive Director

Organization

The Social Justice Film Institute (SJFI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that champions film and storytelling as vehicles for powerful ideas and diverse perspectives. Through educational programs, a professional network, and its national film festival, SJFI creates community-building experiences designed to drive social change in Seattle and beyond. The Festival and Institute serve as reliable platforms for discovering social justice films and developing social justice storytelling skills. SJFI organizes grassroots events for film lovers, community groups, and activists to explore important issues through film. By harnessing the power of social justice storytelling, SJFI aims to inspire, empower, and educate. SJFI's mission is to function as a community resource and critical perspective, democratizing filmmaking and promoting bold documentaries and narratives often missing from mainstream media. SJFI provides a space for activism where content creators use visual storytelling to foster transformational change.

Located in Seattle, Washington, SJFI has grown over the past 14 years. At the 2025 festival—which ran from April 9th to April 20th—over 1,500 attendees participated in both virtual and in-person screenings of more than 60 films, including 15 feature-length and 45 short films representing over 33 countries. The next festival will take place from April 16 to 26, 2026.

SJFI is led by an active Board of Directors, has two full-time employees, and is supported by over 25 volunteers. For 2026, the organization’s operating budget is $571,172, with roughly 80% of its income sourced from contributions, grants, and fundraising activities.

Position Summary

The Executive Director is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership to the Social Justice Film Institute. Serving as the organization’s spokesperson, team leader, and mentor, the Executive Director fosters a collaborative, effective workplace culture in which staff and volunteer contributions are valued and organizational goals are achieved. Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, this role oversees the delivery of high-quality and diverse film programming for both the annual festival and year-round educational events. The Executive Director also manages the organization’s finances, ensuring operations remain within budget and that resources are pursued to support long-term sustainability. Furthermore, the Executive Director plays an active and essential role in securing ongoing financial support to advance the organization’s mission.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategic and Operational Leadership:

• Collaborate with the Board of Directors to develop, refine, and execute a comprehensive strategic plan for the organization, while leveraging board relationships to identify and pursue additional fundraising opportunities.
• Ensure consistent and transparent leadership throughout the organization by establishing a sustainable strategy that promotes artistic innovation, fiscal responsibility, and long-term organizational stability.
• Work with the SJFI team to implement decisive action plans featuring a clearly articulated internal structure aimed at achieving strategic, operational, and tactical objectives supported by measurable goals.
• Act as the chief spokesperson, ambassador, and advocate for the organization, cultivating strong partnerships and cooperative arrangements with the City of Seattle, King County, the State of Washington, as well as community and educational leaders, in support of SJFI and its initiatives.
• Undertake additional strategic and operational leadership responsibilities as required.

Fiscal Oversight and Revenue Management

• Create and manage the annual operating budget, ensuring the highest levels of financial accountability with proactive transparency in financial reporting with staff, board members, and other stakeholders.
• Manage financial reporting systems, provide financial analysis, develop earned and contributed revenue forecasting models and scenario plans, and alternative revenue streams to supplement fundraising, and make recommendations to support decision-making.
• Oversee and guide all marketing and communication efforts to develop strategic marketing initiatives designed to create long-term engagement and increase attendance.
• Strengthen long-term donor engagement strategies, increase individual donor, large gifts, government, foundation, and local and regional corporate support.
• Embrace other fiscal oversight and revenue enhancement responsibilities as needed.

Programming and Community Engagement

• Enhance the programming of the Social Justice Film Festival in partnership with the Creative Director to uplift the vision and mission of fostering a greater appreciation of social justice storytelling, increasing diverse audiences, and a deeper understanding of the many people, cultures, and perspectives of the world.
• Implement key strategies to make the festival a destination event through innovative thinking, new opportunities, fresh ideas, and new technologies to increase the profile of the Social Justice Film Festival, bringing it to the next level of creativity and artistic expression.
• Maintain a consistent presence with and engage the community by expanding the festival’s year-round activities and events, focusing on increasing visibility and reputation in the arts, education, culture, public, government, and philanthropic communities.
• Embrace other programming and community engagement responsibilities as needed.

Team Leadership and Supervision

• Provide consistent, transparent, and inspiring leadership across the organization to build and maintain a culture of collaboration and establish a sustainable strategy that encourages artistic innovation and fiscal responsibility, establishing a reputation in the community as a desirable workplace.
• Ensure a unified sense of direction and strong support to the organization through calculated and thoughtful guidance of team members to ensure programming aligns with SJFI mission.
• Schedule and convene regular meetings with team members, facilitating timely communication and transparent information exchange among team members.
• Support team members by monitoring their productivity, setting clear professional expectations, providing job specifications, constructive feedback, and encouraging accountability through proactive approaches, including coaching, and mentoring.
• Embrace other staff leadership and supervision responsibilities as needed.

Traits and Characteristics

The Executive Director will thrive as a team player and lead with an outward focus on others’ needs, appreciating their strengths and providing active coaching. The Executive Director is expected to be inspiring, cooperative, and future-oriented, empowering colleagues and helping them achieve their best. They should skillfully listen to feedback, practice transparency, and welcome new ideas and innovations, making the most of organizational, human, financial, and technological resources. As a prominent advocate within the organization and broader community, the executive director will excel at motivating individuals, establishing clear goals, and encouraging involvement from various stakeholders. They should also value ongoing learning and take a service-driven approach to fostering strong partnerships across diverse communities.

Other Key Competencies Include:

• Personal Accountability and Teamwork – The integrity to be answerable for personal actions while also committing to cooperating with others to meet objectives.
• Time and Priority Management – The dexterity to prioritize and complete tasks to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames.
• Leadership and Goal Orientation – The fortitude to organize and influence people to believe in a vision, creating a sense of purpose and direction, while also setting, pursuing, and attaining goals, regardless of obstacles or circumstances.
• Resiliency and Continuous Learning – The ability to quickly recover from adversity while still demonstrating a commitment to taking the initiative to regularly learn new concepts, technologies, and/or methods.

Qualifications

Demonstrated expertise in financial and organizational management, fundraising, and public advocacy is essential. Exceptional verbal and written communication abilities are required, along with a verifiable commitment to social justice across all stakeholders, including board members, team members, volunteers, and audiences. Comprehensive knowledge of, enthusiasm for, and management experience within the arts and culture sector—or comparable experience in an arts-related for-profit or nonprofit environment—is highly desirable. Familiarity with film festivals and/or the broader creative industries such as film and television is greatly valued. Possession of a bachelor's degree or equivalent professional industry experience is preferred, and the successful candidate must be prepared to reside in the Seattle area.

Compensation and Benefits

The Social Justice Film Institute provides a compensation package that includes an estimated salary range of $72,000 to $75,000. Employees also receive health and dental coverage, as well as vacation, sick, and holiday leave.

To Apply

Please submit the following:

• A cover letter that demonstrates how your experience and skills lead you to be a good fit for this position, and what about this opportunity most interests you.
• A complete chronological resume.
• Also, tell us how you heard about this opportunity.

The Social Justice Film Institute values the strengths that a diverse workforce offers and is committed to honoring the dignity of every individual. Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We would encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of our qualifications described though feel you are capable of meeting expectations.

The Social Justice Film Institute provides a compensation package that includes an estimated salary range of $72,000 to $75,000. Employees also receive health and dental coverage, as well as vacation, sick, and holiday leave.