Executive Director

The Executive Director reports to the Executive Board and is responsible for working with the Board to implement the mission of the organization as articulated in the Strategic Plan and to successfully promote, among members, potential members, liaison organizations and other stakeholders, an awareness and understanding of NAWL’s mission, in order to obtain their support. The Executive Director’s responsibilities fall into several broad categories.

Primary Responsibility:

Organizational Management and Leadership

NAWL is similar to other non-profit organizations in that the Executive Board is responsible for setting the policy of the organization and the staff is responsible for putting those policies into effect. As the most senior person on staff, the Executive Director creates an organizational structure that best serves the timely, efficient and orderly presentation of NAWL’s programs, events and services. As such, the Executive Director:

• Hires accomplished and motivated employees to support the programs, events and services provided by NAWL and oversees their work
  
  • Permanent staff will include an Assistant Director (full time), a Database Manager (full time) and a Communications Coordinator (full time), in addition to the Executive Director
  • Student interns also join the NAWL staff from time to time
• Prioritizes staff workloads and confers with the Executive Board in program planning to ensure that events meet the mission of NAWL and are suitably spaced throughout the calendar year
• Attends programs and events and oversees the coordination of related planning activities
• Creates annual and day-to-day operational methodologies to improve service to the Executive Board and NAWL members
• Sets up financial and accounting systems to ensure the organization’s fiscal health and help guide those NAWL volunteers (such as committee chairs) who may not have long-term or wide-ranging knowledge of NAWL practices, procedures and priorities in effective financial practices
• Cooperates with and assists accountants and auditors in performing their duties, including maintenance of all necessary financial documentation and the preparation of reports for the Executive Board
• Coordinates legal issues involving the organization, including leases, trademarks, copyrights, domain names and taxes

The Executive Director also provides leadership by identifying gaps in NAWL’s operational procedures and suggesting possible solutions. For example, the Executive Director might:

• Either alone or in tandem with NAWL’s marketing or PR consultant(s), work to increase NAWL’s visibility in target audiences, including law firms, corporations, individual attorneys, and the general public
• Create and maintain synergistic relationships with individuals and organizations whose missions complement NAWL’s or who can support NAWL’s mission in some way (for instance, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce)
• Investigate ways to “add value” to NAWL membership, such as by increasing or diversifying benefits to members

Although the Executive Director must maintain familiarity with all the operations of the organization, the size of the permanent staff is very small in comparison to the number of programs and services offered throughout the year, requiring the Executive Director to balance the demands of board and committee members to help with various projects with the finite resources available to the Executive Director. Thus, the Executive Director must be able to delegate certain operational tasks to committee members and other NAWL volunteers while still retaining oversight capacity over all NAWL activities.

Supplemental Responsibilities:

Focus Areas

In addition to the overarching managerial responsibilities described above, the Executive Director focuses on several specific operational areas.

1 Membership

With the Membership Committee, the Executive Director seeks to increase both individual and institutional membership. Membership initiatives require the identification of new potential members and the creation of new means of attracting and retaining those members. The Executive Director and the NAWL office also act as the face of the organization in all communications with members, making customer service a high priority of the NAWL staff.

2 Development

The Executive Director works with the Executive Board and outside consultants to create and implement an effective marketing plan to develop and maintain new law firm and corporate sponsors.

3 Communication

The Executive Director coordinates communication between and within the Executive Board and the individual and institutional members, including sponsors. The Executive Director also coordinates communications with the press and with likeminded organizations regarding matters of concern to NAWL, with the aim of increasing NAWL’s exposure and credibility on issues touching on NAWL’s mission.

4 Coordination

The Executive Director ensures that NAWL activities and initiatives (such as membership recruiting, educational programming, liaison activities and advocacy) are cohesive and function as a whole in support of its mission. The Executive Director also works with the program committee to make sure that the annual calendar is evenly and appropriately organized so as to facilitate the smooth running of both the outside events and the day-to-day responsibilities of the office.

Minimum Qualifications

Professional Skills: The Executive Director should hold a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, with 5-10 years of professional experience, including 3 years in a senior management position. A law degree is not necessary, although a graduate degree in a relevant field such as business administration, public policy, non-profit management or law is desirable.

The Executive Director should have experience working in the non-profit field, with professional association expertise a plus. The Executive Director must be willing to be proactive in setting and implementing goals and working within the larger policy agenda set by the Executive Board. The position requires hands-on familiarity with all areas of office administration as well as excellent time management, multi-tasking and general problem-solving skills.

Interpersonal Skills: The Executive Director must be able to operate independently while also respecting the Executive Board’s oversight and policy-making capacity. In particular, the Executive Director needs to be able to direct the work not only of the paid staff, but of volunteer committee members who may have little experience in the areas in which they will be contributing. The position requires the ability to work with and direct the activities of a very broad range of personalities, skill levels and interests. The Executive Director also needs to be able to implement long-term, forward-looking plans while also reacting to urgent and constantly changing short-term demands. The ability to prioritize and to communicate the need for such prioritization is key, as is the ability to work under pressure.

Other desirable qualifications

The Executive Director must have or be willing to cultivate connections and relationships with law firms, legal organizations and women’s organizations to assist with the development and delivery of educational programs.