Executive Director

THE OPPORTUNITY:

The need for Abrahamic House’s innovative approach to building relationships and understanding across divides is more needed now than ever, as the United States has become increasingly polarized. Having demonstrated proof of concept, and currently in demand beyond capacity, Abrahamic House seeks a new Executive Director to partner with the Founder and President, Mohammed Al Samawi, to lead the organization into a new era of expansion. The Executive Director will spearhead the effort to launch Abrahamic Houses in new locations across the United States with the goals of building a new generation of young adult interfaith leaders through the Fellowship while extending its impact to thousands of participants annually.

We're looking for a bold, collaborative, creative and strategic leader with experience in the nonprofit sector. If you are passionate about interfaith connection, energized by innovation, community-building, social change and empowering young leaders, this role could be for you.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

Abrahamic House seeks an innovative, inspiring, and experienced Executive Director to partner with the Founder and Board of Directors to catapult the organization into an era of strategic growth through cultivating new funding sources, building new program partnerships in interfaith and local community spaces, refining operations, and expanding organizational infrastructure while retaining excellence and continually implementing improvements based on data, learnings, and the changing landscape and opportunities.

The current team is nascent, with one full-time role (Founder and President) and a small team of hourly contract employees who help support administration, program, and communications. The new Executive Director will lead the growth of the organization as a whole, including building a staff team over time. In the early stages of this role, the Executive Director will need to ‘wear many hats’ as the team is lean.

The Executive Director will work closely with the Founder and President, and will take the lead on day-to-day operations, the opening of new houses in new locations, ensuring excellence with expansion, and foundation fundraising. The Founder and President will onboard the Executive Director. Over time, the Founder and President will primarily focus on public speaking engagements to represent the organization, stewarding and building relationships with current and potential donors and partners, and will continue to engage with Abrahamic House Fellows and participants to provide inspiration, support and mentorship.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership, Planning and Partnerships:

• Build on the recently-developed plan for organizational growth to continue articulating and promoting a compelling vision for Abrahamic House in partnership with key stakeholders, including the Founder and President, Board of Directors, current and past Fellows and program participants, and current and potential donors.
• Cultivate, build and manage strategic partnerships at the national and local level to support the increased impact of Abrahamic House and establish Abrahamic House as a key national player in building interfaith leaders.
• Lead an exploration process of whether or not to launch Abrahamic Houses in university or college communities, in addition to, or in place of launching new houses focused on post-college young adults, which is the current model.
• Continually refine the training curriculum and experience for a growing cohort of Abrahamic House Fellows, to ensure that this cadre of emerging interfaith leaders have the best training and skill to support robust interfaith leadership development.
• Keep abreast of trends in the interfaith and related spaces and build relationships with other national interfaith leaders.
• Ensure ongoing evaluation and analysis of Abrahamic House quantitative and qualitative metrics to drive future strategy and continually strengthen impact.

Board and Staff Management:

• In partnership with the Founder and President, continually improve engagement and functioning of the Board of Directors, including assessment of board member strengths and needs, and recruitment and onboarding of new members to complement current strengths of the board.
• Manage staff, lead all aspects of staff hiring in consultation with Founder and President as staff grows from the current 1 FTE to a small team that can best reflect and support the vision and values of Abrahamic House.
• Cultivate a culture of excellence and ongoing learning among staff and board.
• Oversee all aspects of human resources, including personnel policies, payroll and benefits.

Financial Resource Development & Management:

• Spearhead fundraising efforts, including cultivating and stewarding foundation support, writing grants and reports, developing and stewarding individual donors, and plan and direct fundraising events, email campaigns, and solicitations.
• In coordination with the Founder and Board of Directors, support solicitations and personally solicit donations from major donors and develop additional revenue sources.
• Starting in 2026, launch the new local funding program: Develop and implement a plan to cultivate new donors who are investing in the expansion of Abrahamic House to a specific location with which they have a relationship.
• Oversee all budgeting and financial management including budget planning and reporting, expense policies and periodic financial audits as the budget grows.
• Improve financial management systems and ensure organization’s fiscal integrity, including compliance and the accurate and timely submission of a proposed annual budget and financial statements to the Board.

Program Development and Oversight:

• Oversee development and expansion of training programs and ongoing programmatic support of growing cohort of Abrahamic Fellows.
• Ensure clear guidelines are in place and followed to guide Fellows’ development, promotion and implementation of community programs.
• Support healthy organizational culture that enables and empowers the staff and Fellows to engage in productive teamwork, even in cases of disagreement and differences.
• Recognize and adapt program to the changing societal climate.
• Ensure Abrahamic House is a safe space for all staff, Fellows, and participants.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience leading a small nonprofit or similar-sized mission-driven project or program to successfully drive measurable outcomes and sustainable growth and scale.
• Experience managing and developing others to accomplish excellent work and develop their potential.
• Experience working with or being part of a board of directors.
• Experience cultivating and raising funds from foundations and individual donors.
• Experience building and supporting thriving organizational partnerships that strengthen all partners involved
• Experience successfully managing a budget and ensuring sound financial management practices, including budget development and cost controls.
• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. We are unable to sponsor visas for this position.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE JOB:

• A bachelor’s degree is required; a master’s degree in a relevant area is a plus. We will consider a range of candidates’ experiences and credentials.
• At least 7 - 10 years of leadership experience in the business or nonprofit sector.
• Passion for Abrahamic House’s mission and an understanding of the interfaith space.
• Visionary leadership with a gift for inspiring participants, staff, board, funders and organizational partners.
• Strong people management skills and ability to bring out the best in others.
• Solid organizational skills, including planning, attention to detail, multi-tasking, and prioritization.
• A willingness - and eagerness - to lead an organization through dramatic growth which will entail significant change and challenges, e.g. excited to “build the plane while flying it.”
• Strong relationship-building skills and passion for working with diverse populations.

We know that no candidate will have every qualification listed here. If you feel passionate about our mission and believe you have the skills and vision to succeed in this role, we would love to hear from you.

TIMELINE:

Abrahamic House is launching a fundraising campaign to catapult the organization into a new era of growth and expansion. The first funding priority is to raise funds to support the new Executive Director role, as the new Executive Director will lead the organizational expansion in partnership with the Founder and President. We are hopeful and optimistic that we will have the needed funds in place for a new Executive Director to begin work sometime in late summer or early fall 2025.