Executive Director

Founded in 1987, Dakota Rural Action (DRA) is a grassroots, community organization organizing people and building leadership in rural South Dakota. DRA’s mission is to protect environmental resources, advocate for resilient agriculture systems, and empower people to create policy change that strengthens communities and cultures.

Position Summary

We are seeking an Executive Director who will embrace our mission and history while bringing fresh energy and new leadership. The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization, leads our staff, and works with the board to plan the long-term direction, priorities, and policies of DRA. This means developing relationships with and between staff and board members, community members, funders and donors, and a wide variety of community organizations.

This position is based in either Sioux Falls or Rapid City, South Dakota, where DRA’s offices are located. Other locations within South Dakota will be considered for the right applicant.

Our new Executive Director will join a financially strong organization with a budget of $1 million, a grassroots base, board members who work with the organization’s staff to advance our members’ priorities, and a committed and talented staff team of seven. We are excited to work with our new Executive Director to strengthen the structures we have in place to support our board and staff to do their best work, and chart an updated strategic direction toward the transformative future we’re working toward in South Dakota.

Primary Responsibilities

Leadership and Values:

• Building relationships of trust with Dakota Rural Action’s staff, board, members, and allies;
• Creating with the board and staff strategic planning that engages our members and South Dakota’s residents to build our collective power to affect change;
• Seeing the big picture — envisioning long-term possibilities with a focus on goals as much as on tasks;
• Bringing community organizing values to our conversations along with strong facilitating skills and a commitment to building consensus;
• Honoring and promoting member-leaders as spokespeople for the organization and as visible leaders and voices for DRA.

With the board:

• Reporting to and working as a partner with DRA’s board to ensure strong governance policies and fiscal health;
• Cultivating an engaged board equipped with necessary information, shared understanding and analysis of issues, and ownership of the organization;
• Bringing policy recommendations to the board, and engaging the board in strategic decisions;
• Preparing with the board chair meeting agendas and materials, and assisting the chair in facilitating meetings to encourage participation, open discussion, and group decision-making.

With the staff:

• Ensuring best practices and equity in staff hiring, training, development, supervision, and dismissal;
• Ensuring that staffing assignments are aligned with priorities set by the board;
• Directly supervising some DRA staff positions, including developing work plans;
• Directing routine staff meetings and other staff gatherings in person and virtually;
• Updating DRA’s staff structure when needed to increase DRA’s impact and sustainability.

With financial matters:

• Ensuring that the organization is fiscally sound and financially healthy;
• Preparing with the board the yearly budget to ensure that financial resources are used effectively and appropriately in advancing DRA’s mission;
• Monitoring and regularly reporting on the budget and finances;
• Overseeing fundraising strategy, annual internal and external fundraising plans including developing and maintaining relationships with major donors and foundations, and preparing and submitting grant proposals and reports;
• Overseeing coordination of membership development and renewal;
• Ensuring proper accounting procedures, the filing of required financial reports, and activities required to maintain the organization’s 501(c)3 status.

With outside organizations:

• Representing DRA at Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) meetings and conferences;
• With DRA staff, developing strategic relationships with key partner organizations, public officials, and industry representatives in South Dakota and nationally, to represent DRA’s policies and interests, advance DRA’s priorities, and elevate DRA’s work.

Travel, evening, and weekend work are sometimes required. In addition to the responsibilities listed above, the Executive Director is occasionally asked to carry out other duties as assigned by the board of directors.

Qualifications

We seek candidates who value the power of grassroots community organizing, embrace DRA’s mission, and bring substantial experience in key areas. We encourage interested applicants to apply even if they feel they do not meet every qualification listed below:

• Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with staff, member-leaders and others, including people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and to bring people together, build trust, and work through and resolve conflict;
• Experience building grassroots power through member-led community organizing;
• Experience working with and cultivating an engaged board of directors, including supporting leadership development and facilitating transparent, informed, shared decision-making;
• Experience with foundation and grassroots fundraising and a demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with funders; existing relationships with movement funders are a plus;
• Experience with financial management and budgeting;
• Demonstrated experience working with and in rural communities, including Indigenous communities;
• Dedication to advancing justice and equity, and demonstrated skill in navigating difficult multi-generational, multi-racial, multicultural and multi-ethnic conversations with care;
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to communicate vision, values, goals and strategy information clearly and for a variety of audiences;
• The ability to think strategically, including working at the individual, team and organizational levels to set and prioritize goals that are grounded in a clear theory of change.

DRA offers to staff members a benefits package that includes health, vision, and dental insurance, flex time, 14 paid vacation days annually and 21 paid vacation days after two years, 13 holidays/self selected PTO, up to 21 days of paid sick leave, two week organizational closure at the end of each calendar year, flexible parental leave, eligibility to apply for a paid sabbatical leave after each five years of service.