The Redress Movement - Executive Director
The Opportunity
The Redress Movement is seeking its first Executive Director to lead the next frontier of the civil rights movement—redressing the systemic, structural, and intentional segregation in housing policy in the United States.
Housing segregation is as pernicious as it is pervasive. It is at the heart of the racial wealth gap, and central to disparate health outcomes; it has played a central role in the failure of public schools for so many African American children. It is a critical factor in the dynamics of policing and the killing of unarmed African Americans at the hands of police.
In order to change these outcomes, we must build a multiracial movement that is rooted in an accurate telling of how communities became segregated, changes the public narrative around the continued impact of housing segregation, and leverages local organizing to enact policy change and restitution for those most impacted.
The Executive Director will take the helm of the Redress Movement at a critical juncture for our country. Civil rights that took generations to be fully applied to all Americans are being taken away. In the last few years, a record number of Americans from every walk of life have taken to the streets to proclaim that Black Lives Matter, but not enough has been done to leverage this new energy and activism to enact systemic policy change. We must take a different approach.
The Redress Movement, under the leadership of the Executive Director, will fundamentally change how we engage, educate and organize communities for action when it comes to housing equity. Through intentional and long-term organizing that will ultimately lead policy changes, the Redress Movement is at the next forefront of the civil rights movement.
About the Redress Movement
The Redress Movement seeks to answer a single question–what can be done to redress policies that intentionally segregated America? Over the past three years a working group of housing policy experts, organizers, advocates and practitioners, brought together by Richard Rothstein’s “The Color of Law,” sought to create an organization dedicated to answering this question and winning what is the next critical fight in the civil rights movement: righting the many wrongs that housing segregation intentionally caused for African Americans.
The Redress Movement envisions a society where people are no longer divided and separated across space and place by design. We envision a society where the damage done through segregation has been addressed and repaired, where all our citizens live in well-resourced neighborhoods, all our citizens have equal access to home ownership, and where what zip code you were born into no longer determines the shape of your life. While we know that segregation that took decades to establish cannot be undone overnight, we are determined to take the first steps on an unwavering path to redress it as a moral and constitutional obligation.
The Redress Movement will empower multi-racial community-based organizations to document the specific history of segregation in their community, expose the lasting impacts of segregation and then take action to redress it.
Each community has its own unique history and needs. The Redress Movement will provide resources for each community to redress segregation in the manner best suited for that community. The solutions to improve under-resourced African American neighborhoods, prevent massive displacement from gentrification, promote African American homeownership, desegregate white neighborhoods, and otherwise redress segregation are well known. What is missing is the popular will to enact those solutions; we are dedicated to creating that popular will and winning significant reforms to redress segregation.
The Role
The Executive Director is a builder. A builder of organization, people, movements, and solutions that have a meaningful and lasting impact. As the Redress Movement’s inaugural leader, the Executive Director is a skilled communicator and savvy strategist with a deep belief and commitment to fixing one of America’s most complex problems.
While the Redress Movement is an emerging organization, it has an articulated strategy, an engaged and renowned Board of Directors, and organizers and researchers on the ground in three pilot cities—Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Denver.
The Executive Director will develop a vision and build a narrative that grows and refines the approach to building a multiracial movement.
The Executive Director is expected to be a fearless and thoughtful risk-taker. The gravity of redressing segregation grounds the work, but finding the solutions fuels their soul.
The ideal candidate has expertise in housing policy or other issues related to segregation and systemic racism. They thrive in multiracial organizing. They have led meaningful and innovative movements, teams, and campaigns.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership
● Refine and cement a strategic vision for the organization that galvanizes funders, allies, and supporters.
● Serve as a leading voice on issues related to segregation and housing with allies, policymakers, and the press.
● Lead a strategic planning process that establishes clear goals and metrics.
Organizational Development and Management
● Build the organizational infrastructure to support the strategic goals.
● Hire, empower, and develop a dynamic team of organizers, researchers, and communicators.
● Intentionally establish a culture of innovation, perseverance, and inclusivity.
Policy Expertise
● Devise and advocate for policies that support the mission of the Redress Movement.
● Integrate the Redress Movement’s mission and approach into national housing policy and advocacy conversations.
Fundraising
● Partner with the Board of Directors to achieve fundraising goals.
● Develop and expand relationships with current and potential funders.
Narrative and Communications
● Craft a strategic narrative that educates and elevates the intentionality of segregation and its continued effect on African Americans.
● Serve as the spokesperson for the Redress Movement in front of a variety of audiences.
CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTES
The inaugural Executive Director of the Redress Movement will be:
● Deeply committed to ending systemic and structural racism in the United States
● In love with the power of organizing people
● Unafraid of big, nuanced problems and energized by finding solutions
● Excited to tackle the single biggest impediment to positive societal outcomes for African Americans
● Grounded in an innate need for justice
● A self-starter, with an entrepreneurial spirit
● A powerful and compelling communicator, comfortable in front of a variety of audiences
● Systems thinker, organizational builder
CANDIDATE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
The Redress Movement recognizes that the next Executive Director could bring a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds to the role. We are seeking candidates with a proven track record of accomplishment and who will bring a majority of the following to the role:
● Expertise in affordable housing, housing finance policy, or other issues related to segregation or systemic racism
● Experience building multiracial campaigns
● Experience developing successful strategies for winning public policy victories
● A proven track record of successfully leading teams, programs, or organizations, including of setting, supporting, and achieving impactful goals
● Superb interpersonal skills, with an impressive history of forging strong relationships with stakeholders and allies
● Staff management expertise with a knack for empowering and supporting staff
● Outstanding communications skills, both written and verbal
● Ability to work with and support an engaged Board of Directors
SALARY, LOCATION AND TRAVEL
The expected salary range for this position is $180,000-$200,000.
This position can be located anywhere in the United States with close access to a major airport; applicants from areas of the country where we are already building our movement (Charlotte, Milwaukee and Denver) are especially encouraged to apply.
The Executive Director will be expected to travel up to 40% of their time.
TO APPLY
To apply for this position, submit a resume and cover letter online at https://grossmansolutions.applytojob.com. The cover letter should be concise and compelling and outline the specific ways in which you would be a good fit for this position. Only applications submitted through this website will be considered. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
The Redress Movement does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected category under local, state or federal law.