Executive Director

Job Title: Executive Director, New England Women in Energy and the Environment

Location: Hybrid (New England-based: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)

Salary: $125,000-$145,000

Date Posted: May 6, 2025

About the Organization:

New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the energy and environmental sectors. Established over 15 years ago, NEWIEE has grown into a vibrant community of over 1,400 individual members and 100 organizational members. We are a historically women’s organization that is gender diverse and supports all underrepresented voices. Through programs focused on community building, career development, and celebrating achievements, NEWIEE creates a supportive environment for women+ to lead and contribute at all levels of the industry.

NEWIEE recently completed a strategic planning process to define its direction for the next five years. This process reaffirmed the organization’s mission and identified three key strategic goals:

1. Support women+ in growing their careers and becoming leaders in the energy and environmental industries.
2. Strengthen NEWIEE’s relevance, engagement, and impact with its community.
3. Build the organizational structures needed for the next phase of NEWIEE’s development.

Marie & Lee LLC has been retained to lead the search for NEWIEE’s first ever Executive Director.

Current Context:

NEWIEE is at an exciting turning point in its history. Having operated for over a decade as a volunteer-led organization with a committed Board, strong programming, and an engaged membership, the organization has recognized the need to evolve its structure to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.

With significant growth in membership, programs, and financial stability, NEWIEE is now taking a critical step forward by hiring its first Executive Director (ED). This role will lead the transition from a volunteer-driven model to a staffed organization, ensuring operational efficiency, enhancing strategic execution, and fostering deeper engagement with members and partners.

The ED will provide leadership to sustain and grow NEWIEE’s impact, build the organization’s capacity, and implement the strategic priorities outlined in its five-year plan. This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic leader who is passionate about advancing women+ in the energy and environmental sectors and shaping the future of a growing nonprofit organization.

Job Summary:

The ED serves as the chief executive officer of NEWIEE, responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategic direction, operational management, and program development. This hands-on role requires collaboration with the Board of Directors, committees, members, sponsors, and stakeholders to further NEWIEE’s mission. NEWIEE values diverse perspectives and experiences.

Reporting Structure:

This position has no direct reports at present but may in the future (see Year One Priorities). The Executive Director holds responsibility for development, operations and representing the organization externally. The role reports to the President of the NEWIEE Board of Directors.

Essential Job Functions:

• Strategic Leadership: Implement the strategic plan, ensuring alignment with NEWIEE’s mission and long-term goals. Work with the Board to refine organizational priorities as needed.
• Operational Management: Oversee daily operations, including budgeting, financial management, and compliance with nonprofit regulations. Manage NEWIEE’s technical systems, CRM, subscriptions, and IT security across platforms. Ensure efficient and effective administrative processes.
• Fundraising & Development: Lead fundraising initiatives, including grant writing, donor relations, sponsorship acquisition, and partnership development to secure financial resources for growth.
• Program & Membership Engagement: Strengthen existing programs and develop new initiatives to enhance membership value, professional development opportunities, and community engagement, including support to Regional Chapters who deliver local programs that increase the value of being a NEWIEE member.
• Community & Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the primary spokesperson for NEWIEE, building relationships with industry leaders, corporate partners, and the broader community. Represent NEWIEE at conferences, events, and media engagements.
• Board & Volunteer Collaboration: Work closely with the Board of Directors, providing regular updates and supporting governance functions. Foster a strong volunteer network to complement staff capacity.
• Team Leadership & Organizational Development: Supervise and lead existing team of staff and consultants, while developing staff model to support the goals of the strategic plan. Create a sustainable staffing model that supports NEWIEE’s long-term vision.
• Strategic Marketing and Communications: Oversee strategic marketing and communications function, via supervision of staff or outside contractor, including: email communications, social media strategy & execution, website content development & implementation, paid advertising, annual report development, NEWIEE store management, partnership marketing, brand strategy, etc. The ED should be media trained and able to represent NEWIEE to press, at conferences, etc.
• This position will also support other strategic priorities as defined by the board.

Year One Priorities:

• Develop recommendations for staffing and vendor support, aligned with the NEWIEE Strategic Plan, to present to the board for approval. Develop and issue job requisitions and request for proposals (RFPs) to hire staff and vendors (for things such as marketing, communications, event planning, administration, etc.) to support organizational priorities.
• Evaluate current membership and sponsor structures and develop plans, to present to the board, to structure for best growth of the organization.
• Create plans to grow development and fundraising efforts.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Proven experience in nonprofit leadership, preferably within organizations focused on energy, environmental issues, or diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Strong understanding of strategic planning, strategic plan implementation, program development, and operational management in a nonprofit context.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising, grant writing, and revenue development.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inspire a diverse range of stakeholders. Strong experience in public speaking is preferred.
• Experience managing budgets and overseeing financial aspects of an organization.
• Strong time management and the ability to prioritize effectively.
• Passion for NEWIEE’s mission and a commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the energy and environmental sectors.
• Significant experience creating new systems at a programmatic or organizational level, as well as implementing systems and assessing impact toward efficiency and improvement.
• A valid driver’s license is required.
• 10+ years relevant experience preferred.

NEWIEE values diverse perspectives and experiences. If you're passionate about our mission and believe you have the skills to succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply—even if you don’t meet every qualification listed.

Work Environment:

• Hybrid: Remote daily work with some required in-person events and meetings.
• This is a New England-based position with remote work options and flexible hours. Travel throughout New England to events and meetings is required, including attendance at some events and meetings outside of normal business hours (some evenings; infrequently weekends). All travel is subject to reimbursement by NEWIEE.
• Proficiency in using a variety of platforms including Microsoft suite, Google WorkSpace, and Zoom, as well as the ability to adapt and commit to using other software or technology, is needed.