The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas

is looking for our next Executive Director!

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Thank you for your interest in working at the Bureau of Fearless Ideas.

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The Job

We are seeking a visionary Executive Director with well-honed leadership and management skills with experience helping nonprofits thrive and grow. Our ideal candidate will embrace the qualities that have made BFI a valued and successful organization focused on inclusivity, creativity, and community. This person will support and inspire our staff, students, volunteers, and partners in their mission to encourage youth to let their individuality shine and teach them that their ideas are worth writing down and sharing with others. Our Executive Director must engage current supporters and attract new donors, manage and prioritize our financial and operational resources, and lead staff to strong outcomes for students.

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Who We Are

The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas (BFI) is a community of youth and adults, staff, volunteers, and families who believe that writing and storytelling can help young authors find and develop their voice and share their story with kindness, creativity, and fearlessness. Founded in 2005 as 826 Seattle, BFI has evolved to become a local community institution, with locations in the Greenwood and Yesler Terrace neighborhoods, along with connections at schools and other organizations across the Puget Sound region. Our tutoring, writing, and publishing programs have served thousands of young people ages 6 - 18 in in-school and afterschool writing and storytelling programs, published hundreds of books of student works, run a multitude of field trips, workshops and summer programs in partnership with community groups, and helped young people tell their own stories. All programs at both our Greenwood and Yesler Terrace centers are free and open to families from any socio-economic background. 

 

Our Mission

The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating equitable learning communities that encourage youth to reimagine our world through writing and storytelling. 

 

Who We Serve

We work to create equitable learning communities made up of young writers from linguistically and racially diverse communities at our Greenwood and Yesler Terrace locations and in schools around the Seattle area. We prioritize partnering with Title 1 schools for our in-school and field trip programs.

 

We also run the Greenwood Pencil Box, a store and public reading space, to increase awareness of our programs, engage with the Greenwood community, and generate additional revenue to support our programs.

 

Commitment to Equity

Central to the pursuit of our mission is providing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning and working environment for our students, staff, and volunteers. We respect and celebrate our community, which includes members of many genders, identities, races, ethnicities, national origins, ages, sexual orientations, educational backgrounds, and disabilities.. We value diverse life experiences and heritages and support an inclusive environment that centers equity in our decision making. 

 

We also acknowledge it's not enough to merely espouse diversity, inclusion, and equity, we must also practice them and participate in deepening our understanding of them whenever possible. Therefore, our work in this area is, and will remain, ongoing, in partnership with our board of directors, staff, volunteers, students, families, teachers, and community partners.

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Job Responsibilities

 

Organizational Leadership

• Collaborate with the board and staff to carry out our mission and sustain the excellence of BFI programs, events, and activities.

• Chart the organization’s strategy and progress to goals and communicate the organization’s mission and vision in a clear and compelling way to key stakeholders.

• Maintain a staff and organizational culture that centers our core values of fearlessness, kindness, and creativity.

• Oversee the hiring, development, and outcomes of staff to support their success at BFI.

• Develop collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships with youth organizations, nonprofits, arts organizations, families, schools, foundations, corporations, local officials, and community partners.

 

Fiscal Management & Fund Development

• Develop, implement, and monitor BFI’s annual budget in collaboration with the BFI Board of Directors and Director of Strategy & Advancement to support program goals.

• Monitor the day-to-day financials of the organization, including deposits, bills, payments, invoices, QuickBooks, and other financial instruments in partnership with bookkeepers and our payroll provider. 

• Partner with the Director of Strategy & Advancement in ongoing fundraising for the organization, including cultivating, engaging, and stewarding donors, grant writing, partnerships, and other funding sources at all levels of giving.

• Support the planning and implementation of major fundraising events.

• Ensure our programs meet the requirements of funding sources and achieve the intended outcomes for the students involved.

 

Operations

• Oversee all human resources and employee life cycle processes such as hiring, onboarding, benefits management, and performance reviews.

• Oversee the Greenwood Pencil Box, our retail and community connection storefront. 

• Oversee the volunteer program to ensure that all volunteers are properly vetted, trained, and assigned to different program spaces.

• Oversee two BFI facilities at Greenwood and Yesler Terrace, including upkeep and management of vendors.  

• Ensure that BFI technology and information systems are maintained, monitored, and updated as needed, and that funding is available for the technology required for efficient operations.

• Establish and oversee contracts and MOUs with district and community partners in collaboration with Program Managers. 

• Ensure that program evaluation and record-keeping processes accurately capture and report all BFI activities, demographics of and frequency of participation in BFI youth programs, and notable trends, achievements, and problems or issues. 

• Regularly collect outcomes and feedback data from parents, community and school partners, and funders to inform organizational strategy and support and further our mission.

 

Outreach and Marketing

• Work with staff to develop and implement an annual marketing communications plan to increase the visibility of our work and keep supporters well-informed.

• Oversee all public communications — including emails and letters, social media postings, web site, newsletters, brochures, and public relations materials.

• Demonstrate outstanding written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.

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Board Relations

• Report to the board, co-lead each monthly meeting, and keep the board thoroughly informed of BFI's progress and any obstacles to success.

• Meet regularly with the Board President or Executive Committee for strategic counsel and updates.

• Engage each board member in BFI's work to build a lasting commitment; enlist their support whenever needed to help achieve immediate and long-term goals.

• Cultivate relationships between staff and board of directors.

• Work with the board to develop a strategic plan, monitor its implementation, and measure progress on an annual basis.

• Help the board identify, recruit, and develop active and diverse board members.

• Assign and oversee staff liaisons to board committees to ensure they have the necessary information and support to achieve their objectives.

 

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's or Master’s degree in education, arts, nonprofit management or other relevant specialty from an accredited college or university is preferred. Equivalent experience will be considered.

• Nonprofit Management: Four+ years' experience managing nonprofit youth programs, staff, and operations, with notable experience in education and/or the arts. Experience in grant writing, event planning, and major gifts is preferred.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Possesses a foundational understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion principles and best practices. Has a personal and professional commitment to equity and anti-racism. Demonstrates humility and a genuine desire to grow their learning while looking for opportunities to operationalize equity. 

• Background Check: Must pass a background check for ability to work with children.

 

Compensation

Salaried, Full-Time, Exempt

Reports to the Board President / Executive Committee

Annual starting salary range: $90,000-$100,000

Benefits include:

• Health Insurance plan, of which BFI covers a portion of the cost; 

• 2% contribution for retirement fund; 

• Very generous time off - up to 7 weeks per year to start (this includes holidays, vacation, and gift time). 

 

Working Conditions 

Primary location in our Seattle office, with frequent meetings and event attendance at a variety of off-site locations. Hours are variable, including some evenings and weekends. This position is eligible for up to 25% remote work. 

 

Starting Date

August 1, 2024

 

How to Apply

Please email your resume, along with a one-page cover letter, to edsearch@fearlessideas.org. Your email’s subject line should read “Executive Director.” We are accepting applications through June 30, 2024. Please no phone calls.

 

 

 

The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and empowering workplace. We believe that having staff, interns, and volunteers with diverse backgrounds enables BFI to better meet our mission and serve our communities around Seattle. We recognize that opportunities in non-profit leadership have historically excluded and continue to disproportionately exclude Black and Indigenous people, people of color, people from working class backgrounds, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people. We strongly encourage individuals with these identities to apply.