President

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), an influential research and advocacy organization advancing human rights in the Americas, seeks a president with a proven track record of successful leadership. The president works with WOLA’s staff, its board of directors, and partners in Latin America to advance WOLA’s critical human rights and social justice mission.

The president leads WOLA’s management team to implement programmatic, communications, and fund-raising strategies. The president is responsible for the financial well-being of the organization and fostering an ethical, collegial, and motivated workplace culture committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in achieving WOLA’s goals. Ideal candidates will have extensive engagement with Latin America and knowledge of its culture, languages, history, and human rights challenges, as well as familiarity with WOLA’s advocacy work.

WOLA is an organization in which everyone is self-motivated, goal-oriented, and passionate about our work. We are committed to what we do. Our leadership works hard to support us with a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. WOLA was recognized twice by Washingtonian Magazine as one of DC’s “Best Places to Work” and by The Washington Post as one of DC’s best-managed nonprofits. WOLA’s office has a full-time staff of approximately 29, plus three interns and seven fellows. Our office is currently remote through at least April of 2021 due to COVID-19. The selected candidate will be expected to move to the D.C. area once public health officials have determined that it is safe for the office to reopen. International travel will not recommence until it is considered safe.

Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership and Direction:

• Provide strategic direction to WOLA’s staff, including the management team and program directors, to advance WOLA’s mission with a culture of innovation, collaboration, excellence, and results. WOLA’s has a paid staff of 27, plus several interns and Senior Fellows.
• Represent WOLA in public and maintain working relationships with a broad range of actors including policymakers, funders, and partners in the United States and Latin America.
• Work closely with the board of directors in guiding WOLA’s strategic direction and vision. Including responsibility for implementing WOLA’s current multi-year strategic plan and taking a leading role with the Board in developing future strategic plans.
• Report to the Board on WOLA’s activities and ensure that regular Board Meetings are well-organized with relevant and pertinent information to facilitate effective Board oversight.

Programs:

• Work with the Vice President for Programs in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of WOLA’s programs, as well as supporting program staff and ensuring effective coordination among programs.
• Contribute to WOLA programming according to the president’s own interest and expertise.

Fundraising:

• Work with the Vice President of Development on the design and execution of fundraising strategies to secure financial support for WOLA’s priorities, including the development of new fundraising initiatives for individual and institutional donors, while growing current funding sources.
• Build and maintain relationships with institutional donors and major gift-level individual donors.

Communications:

• Work with the Vice President for Communications on communications strategies for WOLA as an organization and for specific programs.
• Act as the principal spokesperson for WOLA as an organization and, along with WOLA program experts, is able to speak compellingly on specific issues.

Finances, Operations, & Human Resources:

• Work with the Vice President for Finance and Operations and the board to prepare a comprehensive budget, ensure sound financial procedures, and direct the prioritization of funds.
• Design organizational structure, determine staffing requirements, and supervise overall performance evaluations with the human resources representative.
• Support staff and human resources in the hiring process for new staff members.
• Ensure and continue to build an organizational culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion to attract, keep, and motivate top quality staff.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to human rights and social justice in the Americas.
• An understanding of the changing dynamics in Latin America and in U.S. relations with the region.
• Experience in advocacy and U.S. foreign policy processes.
• Management experience, including staff supervision and the ability to provide strategic collaborative leadership to diverse teams.
• Outstanding communications skills including public speaking and writing for both traditional and social media.
• Commitment to fundraising from individuals and foundations.
• A deep engagement with Latin America, including experience working or living in the region.
• English and Spanish fluency required. Knowledge of Portuguese a plus.
• Willingness to travel, both internationally and nationally, up to 20% of the time, when it is safe to do so.
• Some long hours, weekend work, and work outside of traditional hours required.

Preferred

• Familiarity with WOLA and/or has experience as a colleague or partner with WOLA.
• Relationships with partners or potential WOLA partners in the region.