Join Us &  Make a Difference

Posting date: September 23, 2024
Position: Co-Directors or Executive Director
Salary: $100,000 – $135,000, annually
Hours: Full-time at 40 hours/week
FLSA status: Exempt
Location: Onsite (Oakland, CA)
Reports to: APSC Council
Deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and preference given to applications submitted by November 8, 2024.

About Asian Prisoner Support Committee

The Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC) was founded in 2002 to provide culturally competent services to the currently and formerly incarcerated Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. APSC has evolved and grown into a leading organization at the intersection of criminal justice, immigrant justice, and anti-detention/deportation for Asian Pacific Islander communities. With over 20 years of experience conducting organizing activities within California prisons, APSC is recognized as a national model for criminal justice transformation. ASPC is fiscally sponsored by Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE).

About Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality

The Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) network was launched in 2014 to focus on long-term movement building, capacity infrastructure, and leadership support for Asian Americans committed to social justice. Including APSC, there are currently 11 partnering member groups with unique strengths. Fiscal sponsorship, administrative, and operational support is provided centrally for all of these groups so they can focus on their core programs. Staff hired under APSC will be employees of AACRE.

About the Opportunity

Asian Prisoner Support Committee is looking for our next executive leadership. APSC has historically been led by a Co-Directorship model. In this transition phase, APSC is interested in moving toward an Executive Director model but is open to continuing a Co-Directorship, depending on the candidates that surface. This position is ideal for someone who is highly motivated to be APSC’s executive leader; seasoned, visionary, and deeply passionate about and connected to APSC’s mission/vision/values, ideally through lived experience. A strong candidate will have solid senior experience in managing healthy organizations internally through systems, people, and finances, and externally through public representation, advocacy, partnerships, and fundraising. This is a people-centered leader who is an approachable and thoughtful communicator and who can collaborate with our talented staff team and partners to move APSC forward in our next chapter. If you meet many of the qualifications and are called to this work, please apply.

Summary of the Position

The Executive Director/Co-Director, in collaboration with staff and accountable to the Council, will be responsible for executive leadership and strategy, people centered leadership, external partnerships and advocacy, and fundraising and financial management including:

• overall strategic leadership and management of all APSC’s internal and external work to fulfill its mission, vision, and values.

• lead clear decision-making processes to clarify organizational priorities and cultivate alignment among staff and close stakeholders.

• embrace leading, inspiring, and coaching a strong, cohesive staff team and strengthening internal systems to cultivate healthy organizational culture and practices.

• effectively represent APSC externally in advocacy efforts and movement spaces focused on impacted API communities and people at the intersection of criminal justice, immigration, and detention/anti-deportation.

• ensure financial sustainability of APSC through strategic fundraising, partnership development, grants, and responsible financial management.

Key Responsibilities and Qualifications

Executive Leadership & Strategy: In collaboration with staff and Council (oversight body), provide overall strategic leadership to APSC to fulfill its mission, vision, and values while balancing different viewpoints, capacity, and resources. Foster an effective and clear decision-making process that helps to clarify organizational priorities and cultivate alignment and cohesion among staff and stakeholders. Coordinate regular communication and collaboration with Council on key organizational priorities, challenges, and questions.

Key qualifications:

• Experience in a senior leadership position at a mission-driven organization (minimum 3-6+ years), or equivalent.

• Strong belief in, and commitment to APSC’s mission, as demonstrated by lived experience and/or a track record in advocacy, organizing work, and serving Asian Pacific Islander communities and people directly/systems impacted by incarceration and deportation.

• Adept at organizational and programmatic visioning and strategy.

• Experience developing, evaluating, and updating programs and organizational structures with an eye toward sustainable growth and deeper impact.

• Excellent communicator and active, engaged listener, with experience in building clear and transparent systems of decision-making that are also inclusive of others perspectives.

• Experience working with a board of directors or similar type oversight body.

People-Centered Leadership: Lead, inspire, and coach a strong, cohesive team by building upon a shared sense of community and purpose. Build on systems, practices, and policies to nurture a healthy and positive organizational culture. Commit to shared leadership by fostering leadership and growth across the staff as well as enhancing and growing their own current skills.

Key qualifications:

• Proven ability to develop thriving teams and organizations, as demonstrated by deep relationship building, a growth mindset, an orientation toward mentorship to coach and manage individuals to develop their strengths and talents.

• Proven ability and experience dealing skillfully with conflict in respectful ways that can accommodate diverse communication styles and responses.

• Experience building out and improving organizational processes that are inclusive and can manage differing points of view.

• Experience working with currently and formerly incarcerated people.

External Partnerships & Advocacy: Effectively represent APSC externally in advocacy efforts and movement spaces. Strategically build relationships with partner organizations and advocacy formations in the movement ecosystem on the local, state, and national levels. Engage in complex and impactful narrative development and storytelling about formerly incarcerated and systems impacted API communities and people at the intersection of criminal justice, immigration, and detention/anti-deportation.

Key qualifications:

• Demonstrable experience serving as a leading voice and advocate representing an organization (or a program or cause).

• Experience with leading strategic advocacy efforts or campaigns.

• Knowledge of and experience with navigating the landscape of the local/state/national movement ecosystem around relevant issues and communities.

• Track record of effectively representing an organization to diverse stakeholders and audiences, ranging from currently and formerly incarcerated people, to volunteers/activists, policy advocates, media, elected officials and staff, etc.

Fundraising and Financial Management: Ensure financial sustainability of APSC through strategic fundraising, partnership development, grants, and responsible financial management. Build strong relationships with existing and potential funders and partners. Maintain regular communication and collaboration with fiscal sponsor AACRE and Council to plan, track, and ensure fiscal health.

Key qualifications

• Ability to provide strategic leadership and sound decision making to balancing and stewarding resources, including making difficult choices that need to be communicated effectively to staff and stakeholders.

• Significant, proven experience securing funding from diverse sources e.g.,individuals, family foundations, private/corporate/community foundations, and/or government grants.

• Ability to build strong relationships with existing and potential funders and partners and engage in complex and impactful storytelling about API community experiences in detention and incarceration to build support for our mission.

• Experience with developing and managing organizational budgets and tracking organizational fiscal health.

Salary, Benefits & Location

This position is a full-time, exempt position, reporting to the Council, and includes an annual salary range of $100,000 – 135,000, depending on experience and leadership model. We are committed to supporting our employees to thrive in service of our mission by providing generous benefits, which include 100% health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for employee coverage and 65% for dependent coverage, employer-funded health reimbursement account, paid time off, contributions to retirement account after one year, and more. This role is onsite and based in our Oakland, California office and requires some travel to conferences and events.

How to Apply

Please visit https://bit.ly/APSC-ED-Search to apply. This search is managed by APSC’s Council and AACRE. Interested candidates must submit a complete application to be considered including:

1) Cover letter sharing your motivations, interest in, and connection to APSC and qualifications for the position. Also include answers to:

a) What’s a value you hold strongly that drives you to and would help you serve APSC’s mission?

b) What is a life experience and/or skill/quality that uniquely prepares you for this position?

c) Indicate if you are applying for Executive Director and/or Co-Director, and if applying individually or with another applicant (provide their name).

2) Resume of relevant experience. Please fully complete the application, and note that applications with stock cover letters will not be considered.

AACRE is committed to creating a work environment that is free from discrimination and a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Women, people of color, immigrants, queer and trans people, individuals with conviction and arrest records, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.