EXECUTIVE VOLUNTEER STRATEGIC PLANNING & ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR

Location

Remote; Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia candidates preferred but not required

Commitment

Approximately 5–8 hours per week

Initial Term

Six months, renewable if needed by mutual agreement

Initial Review

Performance and scope review after 90 days

Reporting

ADUD Executive Office

Functional Assignment

ADUD Relaunch; Interim People & Volunteer Operations

Status

Unpaid senior volunteer advisory position

Update Date

August 25, 2026

ABOUT ADUD

African Diaspora United, Inc. is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014. ADUD mobilizes African diaspora communities, professionals, volunteers, institutions and partners to advance humanitarian impact, community development, education, leadership, economic opportunity, and constructive engagement between the United States and Africa.

ADUD is undertaking an organization-wide relaunch and strengthening process that includes reviewing and updating programs, governance instruments, operating procedures, communications, digital systems, funding materials, staffing needs and implementation plans.

POSITION PURPOSE

ADUD seeks an experienced Volunteer Strategic Planning & Organizational Development Advisor to help leadership connect the organization’s existing plans, current relaunch decisions and work under development into a practical sequence of priorities, responsibilities, milestones and capacity requirements.

The Advisor will help distinguish established baselines from proposed changes, identify matters requiring Executive Office or Board consideration, and translate authorized decisions into a coordinated relaunch roadmap. The role will also assess how ADUD’s programs, policies, systems, communications, governance support and people capacity fit together so implementation does not depend on disconnected documents or one person.

During the relaunch period, the volunteer will serve as ADUD’s interim People & Volunteer Operations resource. The role will assess what work must be performed, what skills are missing, and whether each need should eventually be met by a volunteer, paid employee, consultant, officer, Board committee or partner.

This is a senior advisory and implementation-support role. It does not replace the authority of ADUD’s Board, Executive Office, officers or program leadership, and it is not a fundraising-development position.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Planning and Relaunch Coordination

• Review ADUD’s Ten-Year Business, Strategic & Growth Plan, existing organizational materials, current relaunch decisions and materials under development.
• Prepare a strategic-alignment crosswalk connecting ADUD’s mission, program architecture, policies, governance support, operational systems, communications, people capacity and implementation priorities.
• Identify gaps, overlaps, dependencies, sequencing problems and decisions that must be resolved before implementation can proceed.
• Help translate decisions, once authorized, into defined workstreams, responsibilities, milestones, resource requirements and reporting relationships.
• Prepare a practical 12–18-month relaunch implementation roadmap that distinguishes immediate priorities, next-phase actions and matters appropriately deferred.
• Recommend measurable relaunch milestones, performance indicators, review points and a concise leadership dashboard.
• Prepare concise decision briefs for matters requiring Executive Office, officer, committee or Board consideration.
• Monitor progress across authorized relaunch workstreams and recommend corrective actions when dependencies, delays or capacity constraints arise.

Organizational Development and Capacity Design

• Assess ADUD’s current workload, strategic priorities, program responsibilities, operating-capacity gaps and implementation readiness.
• Map essential organizational functions and clarify which responsibilities belong with officers, employees, volunteers, consultants, committees, program leadership or external partners.
• Identify duplicated, unassigned, unclear or over-concentrated responsibilities that increase leadership workload or create operational risk.
• Develop practical responsibility matrices, reporting relationships, escalation paths and decision-right recommendations for leadership review.
• Prepare recommendations for phased staffing and volunteer capacity without prematurely locking ADUD into a final organizational structure.
• Recommend operating systems, coordination practices and implementation routines needed to sustain the relaunch after the advisory term ends.
• Support practical change management by identifying who must be informed, consulted, responsible or accountable as approved changes are implemented.

Interim People & Volunteer Operations

• Establish an orderly interim process for recruiting, screening, interviewing and recommending volunteers.
• Review and improve volunteer position descriptions before publication.
• Help develop interview questions, evaluation criteria, candidate scorecards and reference-checking practices.
• Coordinate volunteer onboarding, orientation, confidentiality requirements, policy acknowledgments and role documentation.
• Maintain an interim roster of applicants, active volunteers, assignments, supervisors, service commitments and required screenings.
• Recommend practical supervision, check-in, performance-feedback, recognition, debriefing and offboarding procedures.
• Help leadership distinguish responsibilities suitable for volunteers from those requiring paid, licensed or otherwise specialized personnel.
• Protect applicant, volunteer and personnel information through appropriate access controls, confidentiality and recordkeeping.

Workforce, Transition and Succession Planning

• Prepare a phased people-capacity roadmap tied to workload, funding availability, implementation milestones and compliance requirements.
• Recommend when the interim combined assignment should be separated into strategic planning, organizational development, human resources and volunteer-engagement functions.
• Identify positions that may begin as volunteer assignments but should convert to paid employment when scope, continuity, compliance or funding warrants.
• Advise on knowledge transfer, backup coverage, succession readiness and continuity for critical functions.
• Prepare a closeout and handoff package so approved systems, decisions, trackers and responsibilities can be sustained by ADUD personnel.

FIRST 90-DAY DELIVERABLES

An ADUD relaunch baseline and gap assessment distinguishing existing baselines, matters under review, proposed changes and decisions requiring approval.

A strategic-alignment crosswalk connecting ADUD’s plans, program architecture, policies, governance support, operational systems and people-capacity needs.

A draft 12–18-month relaunch implementation roadmap for leadership review.

A relaunch priority, dependency, decision and risk register.

An ADUD workforce and volunteer-capacity assessment.

An existing-skills, workload and responsibility inventory.

An immediate-versus-future recruitment matrix.

A preliminary staffing, volunteer-capacity and responsibility structure.

A standardized volunteer recruitment, screening and interview process.

A volunteer onboarding, confidentiality and role-acknowledgment package.

A volunteer supervision, feedback, performance, debriefing and offboarding framework.

A recommendation on when and how to separate the interim strategic-planning, organizational-development, human-resources and volunteer-management functions.

COORDINATION WITH CURRENT RELAUNCH ROLES

The Advisor will coordinate across the relaunch without absorbing the duties or authority assigned to other positions:

• The Documentation & Project Support Coordinator manages proofreading, formatting, version control, document registers, review packets and follow-up; the Advisor identifies strategic priorities, dependencies and capacity needs.
• The Managing Editor & Editorial Operations Coordinator manages The Voice of the African Diaspora® editorial calendar, contributors, assignments, editing and production under ADUD direction.
• The Website Redesign & Development Consultant assesses and implements the authorized digital solution; the Advisor may clarify organizational requirements but does not replace the technical consultant.
• Program and initiative leadership retain responsibility for substantive program design, approved implementation and results within their assigned areas.
• The Executive Office, officers and Board of Trustees retain their respective decision-making, executive, fiduciary and approval authority.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least five years of relevant experience in strategic planning, nonprofit organizational development, change management, people operations, volunteer management, workforce planning or organizational consulting.
• Demonstrated experience translating strategy into implementation roadmaps, priorities, responsibilities, milestones and measurable outcomes.
• Experience conducting organizational, operational, workforce or capacity assessments for a nonprofit, association, public-interest or mission-driven organization.
• Experience developing organizational structures, responsibility matrices, recruitment plans or people systems in a growing or renewing organization.
• Experience supporting executive leaders, Boards, committees or cross-functional teams through structured analysis and decision preparation.
• Strong facilitation, interviewing, analytical, documentation, project-management and written-communication skills.
• Strong judgment, discretion and understanding of confidential information handling.
• Ability to work effectively with volunteer-led or resource-constrained organizations undergoing growth, restructuring or renewal.
• Interest in African diaspora engagement, international development, nonprofit capacity building or community service.

SHRM, HRCI, nonprofit-management, strategic-planning, organizational-development, project-management or comparable credentials are preferred but not required. Experience with culturally diverse and internationally engaged organizations is strongly preferred.

ROLE BOUNDARIES

The Advisor will not:

• Rewrite ADUD’s mission, program architecture, strategic direction or governance structure independently.
• Treat drafts, proposals or recommendations as approved ADUD decisions before the required review and authorization.
• Make final appointment, termination, compensation, disciplinary or organizational-structure decisions.
• Provide legal advice or represent themselves as ADUD’s employment counsel.
• Approve policies, budgets, contracts, public positions or external commitments without the required ADUD authority.
• Act as the final decision-maker over ADUD officers, programs, volunteers, consultants or partner relationships.
• Assume the operational responsibilities assigned to the Documentation Coordinator, Managing Editor, Website Consultant or program leadership.
• Treat organizational development as fundraising, grant writing or donor development unless a separate written assignment is approved.
• Receive unrestricted access to banking, payroll, federal-registration or global-administrator credentials.
• Commit ADUD to a permanent staffing structure, technology, vendor, expense or implementation obligation without authorization.

SUPERVISION AND SUPPORT

The Advisor will report to the ADUD Executive Office and participate in scheduled working sessions with authorized leaders and designated relaunch contributors. ADUD will provide access to approved organizational materials, current drafts, role descriptions, operating plans and leadership interviews necessary for the assignment. Access to personnel, financial, governance or other sensitive information will be limited to what is necessary for authorized responsibilities.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

ADUD’s relaunch involves interconnected program, governance, policy, communications, technology, people and implementation decisions. Without coordinated strategic planning, strong documents can remain disconnected from responsibilities, timelines and operating capacity. This role will help leadership convert the relaunch into an organized sequence of decisions and actions, determine what support is genuinely required, recruit in the proper order and establish a manageable people system before additional positions are added.

STUDENT SERVICE LEARNING AND VOLUNTEER CREDIT

ADUD is an approved Student Service Learning (SSL) organization. Qualified participants in this volunteer opportunity may earn verified SSL hours for eligible service completed with ADUD. ADUD records and validates completed service hours, signs applicable verification forms and can provide an official service-confirmation letter. ADUD may also verify service completed toward school, college, university, scholarship, civic-engagement, community-service and other recognized volunteer-credit requirements.

Volunteers seeking SSL hours or another form of service credit must notify ADUD when they begin their assignment and provide any required forms, instructions and submission deadlines. Credit verification is based on documented hours actually completed, satisfactory performance and compliance with ADUD’s volunteer policies.

SCREENING AND APPOINTMENT

Final appointment and assignment of ADUD responsibilities or access are contingent upon satisfactory completion of identity, reference, credential and background screening appropriate to the confidential and people-related duties of this position. Screening will be conducted only with the candidate’s authorization and in accordance with applicable law and ADUD policy.

The existence of a criminal record will not automatically disqualify a candidate. ADUD will consider the nature, seriousness, timing and position-related relevance of any information identified.