EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Encore.org is a widely recognized leader in helping millions contribute to solving some of our greatest social problems by pursuing second acts for the greater good. By vigorously promoting encore careers that combine personal meaning, continued income and social impact in the second half of adulthood, Encore.org consistently illuminates and advocates for the value experience brings to meeting our biggest challenges – from education to the environment, health care to poverty and homelessness. Encore.org’s goal is to mainstream the encore idea as an enduring, indelible chapter in the script of life for future generations as well as for today’s pioneers. As Encore.org focuses its core strategy on making encore a new social norm and an integral term in the lexicon of life’s stages, it seeks a results-oriented creative strategist to serve as President working in a synergistic partnership with the Founder & CEO to grow the idea of purposeful second acts into a powerful universally recognized message and movement.

Founded as Civic Ventures in 1998 by social entrepreneur Marc Freedman, Encore.org grew out of a desire to find talent for the work we most need done through transforming the aging of America – one of the most significant social phenomena of the 21st century -- into a powerful source of individual and social renewal. Now, from those origins, Civic Ventures has become Encore.org, to reflect its own transformation to building a movement aimed at engaging millions of baby boomers as a vital workforce for change and establishing a new social norm for the decades after midlife. As it undergoes this transition, Encore.org seeks a President to drive this vision by energizing the encore movement and advancing high performing operations, so that Founder & CEO Freedman can concentrate more deeply on thought leadership for the field, proselytizing—public speaking and writing – about the encore idea, as well as expanding encore champions, generating future leading edge ideas, raising the resources to fund them, and continued board development. As a results-oriented creative leader and strategist, the new President will work in a synergistic partnership with the Founder/CEO and with an exceptional board, talented staff and dedicated champions.

This role presents a unique opportunity to dramatically elevate the encore idea in the public consciousness, scale the contribution of encore talent to meeting community needs, make the encore stage of work the aspiration for the decades after midlife, and enable the talent and idealism of people in this stage of life to make a difference in some of the biggest social problems of our day. This is all a testimony to what Civic Ventures/Encore.org has accomplished to this point, and to the enormous potential for continued social change in the future.

This search is being conducted by Laura Gassner Otting and Allison Kupfer Poteet of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

Since its founding as Civic Ventures, Encore.org has been helping a generation reimagine and redefine later life for itself and future generations, shifting from the idea of retirement as the freedom from work to a new life stage that offers the encouragement and freedom to work in new ways and to new, socially significant ends. In its early years the organization served as the home for Experience Corps, a national service program designed to engage people over 55 as tutors and mentors in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods and lowest-performing elementary schools. Civic Ventures spun off Experience Corps in 2011 as a successful program (it is now part of AARP). Its inventive portfolio of programs has included The Purpose Prize, The Encore Fellowships Network, the Encore College Initiative, the Encore Opportunity Awards, and an annual Encore Summit, as well as original research that investigates and accentuates society’s need for human talent and the desire among boomers to serve that need through encore careers.

Encore.org’s current fiscal year budget is $5M and it has total net assets of $11M. There are 17 people currently on staff -- 9 located in the San Francisco business office and 8 working remotely in 6 different states. The organization has a solid history of financial stability and maintains a reasonable operating reserve while enjoying unqualified audit opinions and multi-year support from private and corporate funders.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Reporting to the Founder/CEO, and working in Encore.org’s San Francisco office, the incoming President will mobilize an experienced, resourceful team of staff, fellows and other stakeholders operating virtually to grow the encore idea in the public consciousness. Achieving the encore vision will require shaping and executing new strategies and rethinking organizational structures and operations to support the next phase of our strategy: moving from primarily expanding awareness and piloting programs, to shaping a movement built around leaders, catalysts, and partners around the country. In addition to overall responsibility for strategic leadership, the President will be accountable for ensuring that the programmatic, financial, technological and physical operations of the organization are mission-aligned and operating at the highest levels of excellence.

Specifically, the President’s responsibilities include:

• Strategic Planning and Leadership
  In pursuit of a strategic vision for a new era, the President will engage swiftly and thoughtfully with a rich field of opportunities and chart ambitious yet practical ways forward, demonstrating a keen sense of urgency and accountability. S/he will need to vet new ideas in an environment that is filled with possibility, developing specific strategies and allocating resources in order to: mainstream and democratize the encore idea as a widely sought after role and source of talent; stimulate the creation and expansion of services, pathways and destinations that will make it easier for individuals to move to their encore as a force for good in society; empower and enable external activists and organizations to lead this change in their networks, fields and communities; and develop business models to sustain the encore movement.

• Operational Excellence
  The President will bring a sophisticated understanding of how to develop organizational capacity and operationalize the strategic vision by executing plans and tracking progress, identifying gaps and reorganizing to fill them, balancing best-in-class practices with attention and dedication to mission, establishing and consistently communicating organizational priorities, and assuring alignment and cross-cutting integration of work, strategic vetting of ideas, and innovative problem solving.

• Talent Development and Management
  The President will build thought partner relationships with the exceptional Encore.org team, working collaboratively and decisively to ensure that each individual is supported to perform at the highest levels, and engaged with their virtual working community. S/he will recruit, retain and develop a diverse staff, including strategic expansion of the Encore.org team of fellows, volunteers and consultants.
            S/he will ensure that communication within the organization is fluid and effective, foster a culture that fully embraces teamwork, communication, accountability, integrity and the highest standards of quality, and establish the systems to support this culture.

• Complementary and Synergistic Partnership with Founder/CEO
  The President will build a complementary and synergistic partnership with the Founder/CEO in a way that maximizes the talent and impact of both leaders. The Founder/CEO’s focus will be on: fostering strategic leading edge ideas in specific areas that leverage his expertise, networks, and passion; developing resources and relationships with funders and other external stakeholders; working closely with the board; and continuing to demonstrate national thought leadership through speaking and writing.
            The President will extend the CEO’s reach by representing the encore idea and organization as a public spokesperson; identifying new ideas; developing new revenue sources and partners; and leading the strategic exploration and assessment of opportunities. In addition, s/he will build organizational capacity to support and take advantage of opportunities the Founder/CEO, Board and others create.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will be an entrepreneurial, proactive, and nimble leader who possesses passion for the cause, innate strategic and operational excellence, in-depth understanding of how an idea takes hold and spreads throughout a population, and the capacity to lead a team and enable a movement to achieve the encore vision.

While no one person may embody all of the qualities enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences.

• A strategic thinker with a track record of success leading change in societal culture and/or social movements;

• Capacity to recognize and capitalize on mission aligned opportunities to grow the encore idea in an evolving environment; develop new programmatic and revenue possibilities; and identify, nurture and expand strategic relationships;

• A sophisticated understanding of communications, networks, business development, fundraising and executing program;

• Demonstrated success leading an organization of similar scale and scope through a period of change, including filling gaps; recruiting, motivating and retaining top level talent; managing and developing an entrepreneurial and high functioning virtual staff; and problem-solving around strategic and operating challenges;

• Experience mobilizing external activists and organizations as partners in a campaign for change;

• Entrepreneurial, self-motivated style with exceptional organizational skills and demonstrated ability to produce results;

• Capacity to be a trusted advisor and partner to CEO and Encore.org team;

• Keen and discerning intellect that can deftly move from concept to execution, handle a large, diverse portfolio and be responsive and decisive to enable momentum;

• Demonstrated success building relationships to expand stakeholders and opportunities paired with the charisma and passion to inspire others to invest in and champion the encore idea;

• Flexibility, humility, and sense of humor; ability to share credit and spotlight others’ contributions; and

• Impeccable written and oral communications skills.

TO APPLY

More information about the Encore.org may be found at www.encore.org. 

Due to the pace of this search, candidates are strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history and where you learned of the position should be sent to: enc-pres@nonprofitprofessionals.com. In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.

Experienced individuals seeking an encore career are encouraged to apply.

It is Encore.org’s policy to employ, compensate and advance personnel without regard to sex, race, gender identification, color, religion, age, national origin, veteran status, physical disability, sexual orientation or marital status.