Executive Director at National Network of Abortion Funds

Riverwalker Talent has been retained by National Network of Abortions Funds to lead this search. 

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt | Remote | $243,728–$270,810 annually + benefits

• Work closely with the Managing Director to maintain clear role delineation while intentionally building connections between external strategy, fundraising and communications, and member-facing and programmatic work. Collaborate across these areas to strengthen the organization’s relationships, programs, and overall strategy.
• Directly supervise Senior Leaders (listed above), including performance management, mentoring, professional development, performance evaluations and personnel actions.
• Support effective delegation and trust in strong functional leaders; provide genuine supervision and mentoring while respecting the expertise and authority of specialized teams. Create clarity around decision rights, delegation, and organizational roles, balancing trust in teams’ judgment with strategic clarity about when to step in.
• Uphold the collective bargaining agreement and model constructive labor-management relations in partnership with the Managing Director and Human Resources.

• Lead with curiosity first: Begin by understanding how the organization currently works - the relationships, the history, the culture - before making significant changes.
• Steward a values-forward, leaderful organizational culture that balances autonomy with clear guardrails, and that supports generative (rather than conflict-avoidant) engagement.
• Respond with clarity and thoughtfulness to organizational conflicts, unexpected events, and/or crises (both internal to the organization and external). Set tone and strategy for how the organization manages these issues.
• Understand and navigate the complex ecosystem of NNAF: the relationships and power dynamics among staff, member funds, Board, funders, and movement partners. Develop and apply strong relationship mapping and communication strategies.

• Provide Organizational Leadership: Alongside Executive and Directors teams, develop, advance, and communicate goals and priorities to all levels, ensuring clarity in decision-making, and setting the stage for collaboration across all organizational axes.
• Participate in the oversight and evaluation of the Strategic Plan, and implement fiscal strategy, ensuring the organization is financially healthy, compliant, and positioned for sustainability.
• Support the continuation and refinement of organizational strategy and structure that has already been established, informed by ongoing feedback from staff, member funds, and Board. Ensure this strategy remains grounded in NNAF's values and responsive to the network's needs.

• Serve as NNAF's "face for fundraising", boldly articulating NNAF/fund members' theory of change and resource organizing strategy.
• Maintain a personal portfolio of 8-10 major individual donors and 6-8 institutional funders at a six-figure giving level and above. 
• In close partnership with the Development team, sustain and deepen relationships with major individual and institutional donors, ensuring continued confidence and financial support. Maintain that trust through transparency, reliability and clear communication.
• In tandem with the Development team, create a pipeline for cultivating additional sustainable sources of support for NNAF’s role as a funding intermediary for member funds. 
• Lead principal gift cultivation + stewardship strategy in close partnership with the Development Senior Director and Development team.
• Ensure organizational financial stability and build sustainable, values-aligned fundraising momentum. 
• Develop and communicate clear financial forecasting and multi-year funding strategies. Ensure budget decisions and financial communications are grounded in NNAF's values and the ability to clearly explain the "why" behind financial priorities and spending decisions to staff, Board and funders.
• Ensure ongoing grassroots fundraising efforts remain aligned with and reflective of NNAF's economic and racial justice commitments, prioritizing stability and continuity.

• In partnership with Executive team and Senior Leaders, participate in and lead movement-level strategy around abortion access that lifts up the voice, power, and impact of abortion funds, guided by NNAF's values of compassion, autonomy, interdependence, and trust.
• Serve as a passionate and visible spokesperson for abortion access, and work with the Communications Senior Director to build a robust media presence.
• In collaboration with abortion funds, movement allies, coalition partners, and research partners, create coordinated campaigns and long-range, responsive strategies to political attacks on reproductive freedom.
• Represent NNAF publicly, ensuring organizational visibility, credibility, and stability by engaging proactively in media interviews, public speaking opportunities, and external communications focused on abortion access and Reproductive justice.
• Build and maintain cross-movement relationships and partnerships with peer organization leadership; ensure these relationships belong to NNAF as an institution.

• Support Board governance capacity, decision-making, and strategic direction, prioritizing organizational stability, strategic vision, and effective movement leadership.
• Support Board leadership with thoughtful recruitment support. Advise toward retention efforts for stability aligned with NNAF's values and leadership priorities.
• Provide timely, clear, and accurate financial and programmatic reports, maintaining transparent record-keeping practices.

• →Actively participate in required convenings, summits, retreats, and staff meetings, and participate in required virtual staff communications. 
• →Update professional knowledge by participating in educational opportunities approved by NNAF, maintaining networks, and participating in professional organizations as relevant to your role.
• →Perform duties required of all staff to support smooth internal operations such as submitting timesheets.
• →Meet performance benchmarks set by the Board and undertake responsibilities as assigned, supporting overall organizational health and movement leadership.

• →Submit all baseline work accurately and on time every cycle. 
  • →Baseline work includes bill.com (monthly) submissions or submitting reimbursements within 30 days of expenses, work planning (keeping your own annual and quarterly work plan updated and participating in maintaining your department's), Slack and email communication (daily), timesheets in ADP (bi-weekly), participating in all staff meetings and department meetings, and consistently working core hours.

The Executive Director should strategically prioritize travel engagements essential for sustaining organizational visibility, stability, fundraising, and effective movement-level strategy. For other travel opportunities—particularly those benefiting from specialized expertise, local influence, or deep movement relationships—the Executive Director will proactively coordinate with Board and Executive Team (ET) members to determine the most strategic representation. This approach will allow the Executive Director to maintain internal organizational focus and stability during the leadership transition period.

The following framework supports the ED in success and helps the organization identify early whether this role and person are well-matched:

• Robust onboarding process with clear orientation to organizational history, relationships, culture, and power dynamics. 
• Assigned Board mentor(s) for strategic thought partnership and support.
• Regular check-ins with Board Chair and relevant Board committees.
• Introduction to key movement partners, funders, and member fund leaders.

• ED and Board assess alignment on priorities, working style, and role fit.
• Opportunity to recalibrate expectations, working relationships or role as needed.

• Formal evaluation of progress on strategic priorities and relationship-building.
• Feedback on working relationships with ET, Board, staff, and movement partners.

• Build a deep understanding of NNAF's history, culture, and complex ecosystem through listening and relationship-building with staff, member funds, Board, funders, and movement partners. Begin mapping key relationships, and engage in early stage strategy development. 
• Become  grounded in NNAF's financial picture. With the Managing Director, the Development Senior Director, and finance leadership, review the current budget, revenue outlook, and fundraising plans, and meet with key institutional funders and major donors. Identify early priorities, risks, and gaps that will shape a multi-year financial forecast and fundraising strategy, developed together with teams.
• Begin to identify and communicate early priorities to the Executive team and Senior Leaders, staff, and Board, grounded in NNAF's strategic plan and its foundational commitments to Reproductive justice, racial justice, and access justice.
• Work with the Executive team and Senior Leaders to ensure clear role delineation and coordinated strategy across external and internal functions.
• Participate in hiring for open Executive Team roles.

• Build spokesperson presence and engage in media opportunities; ensure NNAF is visibly connected to Reproductive justice and abortion access strategy.
• Strengthen relationships with member funds through regular engagement, clear communication, and responsiveness. Ensure member funds feel heard and supported by NNAF.
• Take ownership of NNAF's top 15 institutional funder and major donor relationships through the transition. With the Development Senior Director, develop a plan to deepen institutional giving and begin cultivating a pipeline of five and six figure prospects.
• Ensure cross-departmental coordination around shared strategy, particularly connecting comms, member services, and fundraising. Reduce silos; improve clarity about decision-making and roles.
• In partnership with the Development Senior Director, finance leadership, and relevant teams, develop and communicate a clear financial forecast and multi-year fundraising strategy. Ensure the Board and staff understand the "why" behind financial priorities.
• Building on early priorities, develop and communicate clear organizational goals and priorities to the Executive team and Senior Leaders, staff, and Board.

• Demonstrate ability to navigate conflict with graciousness and boundaries. Address conflict avoidance where it exists; model and invite generative engagement.
• Set tone and strategy for how the organization manages external and internal challenges. Ensure consistency between stated values and daily actions.
• Establish strong media presence and be recognized as a visible, credible leader within Reproductive justice and abortion access movements.
• Deliver quarterly financial updates to the Board that make the revenue outlook and its risks legible, including a clear plan for any anticipated shortfall.
• Regular feedback loops with Board, staff, and member funds to refine strategy and ensure organizational responsiveness.

The qualifications (skills, experiences, and qualities) below describe what the team needs in its next Executive Director. The skills are non-negotiable, but we recognize they can be developed through many different paths and experiences. If you bring what is described here and you are excited about this work, we want to hear from you. Tell us how your experience, wherever you gained it, prepares you to lead NNAF.

• 15+ years of leadership in mission-driven organizations, with a proven track record managing institutional growth and change and navigating complex stakeholder ecosystems.
• Experience managing and developing a diverse staff; experience with remote management and with managing leaders across different organizational functions is highly desirable.
• Strong financial acumen: budget development, financial forecasting, and the ability to communicate financial decisions in clear, values-aligned language.
• Genuine curiosity about how organizations work and how to lead within complexity; willingness to understand context before imposing change.
• Model organizational accountability by adhering to established policies, procedures, and staff-wide operational processes, including those stewarded by functional teams.

• Visionary thinker with demonstrated experience setting and communicating progressive strategy grounded in movement principles and values.
• Creative, proactive, and resourceful approach to planning and strategy formation, including strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong judgment, political sensitivity, and savvy.

• Proven ability to identify, cultivate, and secure new institutional funders and individual donors, with experience closing six-figure gifts.
• Experience personally managing a portfolio of major donors and institutional funders at the six-figure level and above, in close partnership with a Development team.
• Experience sustaining relationships with funders and major donors through competing priorities, organizational transitions, and a shifting political and funding landscape, and building donor confidence along the way.
• Experience building strategic fundraising plans in collaboration with Development teams.
• Experience fundraising for a network, coalition, or intermediary is a plus.

• Proactively champion abortion funds and their leadership, bringing both the appetite and ambition to identify opportunities for NNAF to elevate their voices, build their visibility, and strengthen their influence across the movement.
• High level of comfort and skill as a public speaker and/or spokesperson with a track record of media engagement and clear communication.
• Clear and direct communicator, with the ability to translate abstract political ideas into compelling stories and to adapt communication style for different audiences (media, funders, staff, movement partners).
• Ability to build a compelling, values-driven case for support with existing and potential funders and donors. Proven experience sustaining relationships through organizational transitions and building donor confidence. Enthusiasm for sustaining strong relationships with existing and prospective board members, funders, individual donors, and others.

• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships across constituencies with different (sometimes competing) needs; ability to navigate power dynamics and make decisions that serve organizational mission even when not everyone agrees.
• Experience navigating complex power dynamics and stakeholder relationships; ability to map and understand relationship ecosystems.
• Reputation as a principled strategic collaborator with keen listening skills and the ability to bridge philosophies and perspectives.
• Demonstrated experience building effective partnerships and coalitions among organizations and activists working at all levels, from the grassroots to national level.
• Experience leading in a unionized workplace, or working knowledge of what it requires. Able to maintain constructive labor-management relations, lead and make decisions with a clear understanding of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), respect the rights of represented staff, and partner effectively with HR and management leadership.

• Ability to hold boundaries while maintaining graciousness and openness to relationship; comfort with giving and receiving feedback, especially when power differentials exist.
• A stance that balances flexibility and rigor, with the ability to thrive as part of a dynamic, generative, and fast-moving organizational culture.
• Strong reading comprehension skills and willingness to absorb a considerable amount of reading materials.
• Excellent computer skills; proficiency with Google Suite, Slack and Zoom.

• Committed to abortion access and full reproductive health care for all, grounded in Reproductive Justice, racial justice and economic justice.
• Committed to an intersectional framework that includes Reproductive Justice, access justice, disability justice, racial justice, economic justice, and gender justice.
• Belief in bucking the trend through progressive policies to create a new vision for our future.
• Shares NNAF's vision of a world where every reproductive decision, including abortion, is fully accessible and free from shame, coercion, and criminalization. Committed to leading through NNAF's values of autonomy, compassion, interdependence, and trust, in service of a strong, connected network of autonomous abortion funds.

• Grounded in humility and curiosity; committed to ongoing learning about how NNAF and the broader movement work.
• Open to giving and receiving feedback and committed to practicing this regularly

• Ability to enjoy collaboration and be a part of a dynamic, highly productive and integrated team; maintain flexibility and effectively manage ambiguity in a responsive work environment.
• Ability to navigate conflict with both firmness and grace; can hold boundaries about how you will be treated while keeping doors open for relationship and change.
• Appreciation of working with diverse staff and board in an organization committed to racial justice.

• Self-motivated, resourceful, creative, and able to work without significant day-to-day supervision.
• Dependable and consistent; someone staff and funders can rely on during periods of uncertainty.
• Demonstrates steadiness, sound judgment, and transparent communication during periods of uncertainty or pressure

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with different abilities to perform the essential functions. 

• NNAF is a fully remote organization, thus this role is fully remote. Must be able to participate in online virtual communications including email, video conferencing, and other online tools used to facilitate virtual office culture and work sharing.
• This position is full time, with the employee's regular full time schedule to be approved by the Board of Directors. Regular hours must include attendance during core business hours from 12:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern Time, Monday through Thursday. Occasional work on evenings and weekends as needed.
• Must be able to conduct business in English; however, fluency in languages other than English is a plus. 
• Must commit to upholding a smoke- and drug-free environment.
• Some work at off-site locations may be required; NNAF aims for accessibility in any off-site location that we have control of, but some of them may not be fully accessible.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and scanners. Employee is regularly required to communicate effectively via computer, via phone, and in person.
• This role requires frequent sitting. 

• Applications reviewed on a rolling basis, priority deadline is October 21, 2026
• Initial screening interviews conducted by Riverwalker Talent in November 
• Semi-finalist panel interviews with NNAF Board and staff representatives over Zoom in December 2026
• Finalists will complete a compensated work assessment in January 2027
• Final interviews with NNAF board representatives via zoom in January / February 2027
• Estimated start date: March 2027

We do not require a cover letter. Instead, we ask that candidates respond to the following prompts to help us understand your experience, judgment, and approach.

We are committed to accessibility in our hiring process. If written responses are not your preferred format, you are welcome to respond via video or audio recording (up to 2 minutes per question). If you choose this option, please include links to your recordings in place of written answers and ensure sharing permissions allow us to access your submission.

1. What is drawing you to NNAF and to this role right now? 
2. What is your relationship to abortion access work, and how has it shaped the way you lead?
3. NNAF staff are represented by a union. Tell us about your experience leading in a unionized workplace, such as working under a contract, being part of bargaining, or building a working relationship with union leaders. If you have not done this directly, what is the closest experience you would draw on?
4. This role works with a board, nearly 100 independent member funds, institutional funders, major donors, and movement partners. Tell us about a time you led through competing needs or complicated relationships among key stakeholders. 
5. Briefly tell us about the biggest fundraising portfolio you have been personally responsible for. Include numbers and any successes you would like to highlight. 
6. Tell us about an organization-wide budget decision you made that people disagreed with. How did you explain it?

• Which city, state are you based?
• Will you now (or at any time in the future) require visa sponsorship in order to work in the United States?
• Where did you hear about this role?
• Do you require any accommodations to participate in the interview or hiring process? If so, please let us know how we can support you. 
• Optional: Is there anything else about your background, experiences, or perspective that would help us understand your connection to NNAF's mission and this role? Share only what you are comfortable sharing.

The priority deadline is October 21, 2026. We will accept applications on a rolling basis until the role is filled. 

We believe AI can be a helpful tool in work and learning and are not opposed to its use in general. We use 100% human review of these applications. For this application process, we ask that responses reflect your own thinking, experience, and communication style. This role requires strong independent judgment and problem-solving, and we want to understand how you naturally approach real situations. 

NNAF is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor, and is committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. In fact, NNAF actively seeks to build and maintain a diverse staff with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the reproductive justice movement, NNAF is committed to fostering the leadership and elevating the voices of women, young people, people of color, Native people, immigrant and refugees, low-income people, LGBQ+, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, people who have had abortions, people with disabilities, young parents, people who were formerly imprisoned, people who have received funding for abortions, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences. We encourage people from these communities to apply.

If you have any accessibility questions or need accommodations, please contact Jessye Kass Karlin (jessye@riverwalkertalent.com or jessyekasskarlin@abortionfunds.org) . No phone calls, please.