Executive Director - Abode of the Message Share:
Employment Type
Full-Time
Description
The Abode of the Message, Inc. is a retreat and conference center located on over 400 acres within a historic Shaker complex in New Lebanon, New York. Founded in 1975, the Abode began as a residential community with a variety of enterprises. Over the years, the size of the local community has ebbed and flowed, and various business models have been tested.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the Abode has been dormant and is now preparing to open again for business in May 2022. An entrepreneurial Executive Director is sought to lead the reopening process and to bring the Abode back to full rental and program capacity within one to three years.
Prior to the pandemic, our annual budget was $650,000, with income generated primarily through program and business rentals, internally-developed programming, and donations. The Abode is in the process of considering sustainable models for its future. Financial support exists for the rebuilding process.
The Executive Director position has oversight of all aspects of this very special property, its programs, services, and staff. To learn more about the Abode, please visit theabode.org.
Responsibilities
Strategic Vision and Leadership
- Provide inspirational leadership and direction
- Ensure that the budget, staff, and priorities are aligned with the mission
- Cultivate a strong and transparent working relationship with the Abode Board of Trustees (BOT); develop and support a strong BOT; serve as ex-officio of BOT committees; seek and build up board involvement with strategic direction
- Cultivate the role and branding of the Abode in alignment with, and complimentary to, other Inayatiyya sacred sites
Relationship Management and Community Relations
- Oversee the creation and execution of all communications, including in-person, print, and digital
- Cultivate, maintain, and grow relationships with the Abode-s local and extended community members, donors and board members
- Speak officially on behalf of the organization Resource Development
- Provide overall leadership and responsibility for developing and managing business planning, resource development, and related fundraising efforts
- Ensure adequate operating funds annually Administration
- Hire and supervise staff with a strong commitment to professional development
- Lead, coach, develop and retain high performance senior management team
- Ensure that fiscal, operations, fundraising, marketing, administration, and technology strategies are effectively implemented
- Oversee the financial status of the organization and development of annual budget
- Regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other constituents
- Ensure effective systems for tracking progress
Oversee operations and contracts Property Management
- Oversee a 400-acre property including historic Shaker buildings, forests, trails, gardens,
organic farm, and pond
- Develop, recommend, negotiate and implement capital improvement plans, annually and
multi-year, creating and managing related budgets, timelines and staff
- Ensure ongoing maintenance and care of the property, with a focus on conservation,
preservation and sustainability
Qualifications
- At least five years of senior management experience
- Proven experience with fiscal management, budgeting, and operations, including responsibility for developing and managing at least a $500,000/year budget
- Ability to provide visionary and strategic leadership based in a contemplative stance, and translate that vision into measurable strategies that advance the mission
- A deep awareness of, and experience in, spirituality, balanced with management/business experience and acumen
- Proven networking ability, exceptional interpersonal skills, with well-developed written and oral communications skills
- Well-honed collaborative servant-leadership skills and style, including openness to where the organization is being called, and ability to have significant vision for the organization while attending to details
- Experience and comfort working with people of different faith traditions
- Experience with change-management and the effects of change
- Past success supporting a board of directors in its governance role, fostering its ongoing development, and keeping it informed about internal conditions and external developments
- Significant professional experience with progressive leadership and management responsibility, preferably in a spiritually-based, hospitality and/or non-profit organization
- Past property management experience a plus
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