What does an ED do?
Multi-tasking unicorns
By Marlo Turner Ritchie
Primary Consultant
Executive Directors in non-profit organizations and charities have extremely demanding positions. In the average small to medium-sized organization, they wear many hats simultaneously. ED positions tend to attract people who aren’t afraid of taking on complex leadership roles, and people who are ambitious, visionary, charismatic, caring, creative, tenacious and very hardworking.
The equivalent in the private sector would be a person who has to simultaneously wear the hat of CEO, CFO, Director of Human Resources, Director of Business Development, Director of Communications and more…all at the same time. Larger, well-funded non-profits and charities tend to have various departments in place, with Coordinators or Directors hired and supervised by the ED to manage these different departments.
ED job postings are kind of hilarious (and sad) to read because they usually consist of a giant laundry list of all of the above department-related responsibilities, with some kind of sentence like “if you have some of this experience, please apply!” In other words…we are looking for a magical unicorn but we’ll settle on a trainable workhorse.
It is really important when going into an interview as a potential ED that they ask some very direct questions of the hiring committee before taking the job. Some examples of good questions would be:
What kind of training and onboarding will be offered? Is there an ongoing professional development budget offered to the ED?
What salary and benefits are offered? How often does the board review the salary and benefits of ED?
Will there be an initial evaluation process and how will that be managed?
What kinds of experience do the board members have and how long have they been on the board?
Are there currently any unresolved conflicts on the team? If so, is there a grievance policy in place and has it been followed?
How healthy are the organization's finances? If I am expected to fundraise in this fiscal year, how much and by when? Will I have any support? Who manages the bookkeeping?
What kinds of policies are in place and when was the last time they were revisited?
How big and engaged is the membership of the organization?
Is there a strategic plan in place? If yes, how is it going? If not, is there a budget set aside to build one? If not, what are your current organizational objectives?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current staff team?
How welcoming, inclusive, diverse and equitable is the organization? (Give examples)
etc.
Working conditions & dynamics
In the nonprofit sector, EDs are hired by volunteer-run Boards of Directors who are elected by the membership at the AGM. Sometimes there are staff members who sit on the hiring committee as well. Far too often when job call-outs are shared, there are no details listed around the salary range and benefits, which tends to further marginalize women and people of colour. The interview process varies wildly but often involves at least two interviews.
The onboarding process for EDs in the sector varies widely. Rarely does the incoming ED have access to the outgoing ED. Sometimes the documents that are left behind aren’t well organized and it can take months to just get situated and up to date on everything. Professional development opportunities tend to fall to the ED’s own initiative unless there is a more active Board that does regular evaluation and promotion of PD with the ED.
Let’s consider a typical small to medium-sized organization in Canada with a budget of around 1 million / year. In the very rare case of there being a Fundraising or Development lead, a Communications lead and a Finance lead in place, the ED takes on more of a support and oversight role with their work. In ideal cases, this staff person will have more knowledge in the area than the ED, so they will drive the creation of an annual fundraising, communications and financial management plan, with input and approval from the ED and ultimately the Board. In ideal cases, there are fundraising, communications and finance committees on the Board, in which case the ED will often chair and cheerlead for this group of volunteers, especially in the absence of these crucial positions. Occasionally board volunteers will chair and steer the work of these committees. In more collaborative organizations, there can be responsibilities distributed across the team, with everyone participating and playing a role in a way that fits with their skills, interests and availability. In the absence of these crucial positions, the tasks inevitably fall to the ED, with sometimes board or committee support.
People & culture
Rarely is there a head of HR in small to medium-sized organizations. Those responsibilities tend to fall primarily to the ED. Sometimes there is an active HR committee on the Board which the ED tends to report to and draw on for guidance. Rarely will the ED have access to HR management software which can facilitate their work, although we see that changing. Sometimes staff members will be involved in the recruitment and evaluation of staff, depending on how collaborative the work culture is. Professional development, grievance, and disciplinary matters fall to the ED to manage. EDs are often recruiting and hiring contract workers as well, such as people to support graphic design, strategic planning, or fundraising.
HR is one of the core responsibilities of the ED: recruiting, training, evaluating, supporting, dealing with disciplinary issues…everything under the sun! This is also one of the more time-consuming parts of an ED role. In a typical medium-sized non-profit there are about 10 staff which means a lot of regular supervision sessions and regular follow-ups to support staff with their respective projects.
There are always HR curveballs, too - situations such as conflicts between staff, a staff member dealing with a family crisis, someone who is expressing feelings of burnout, or someone who wants to take a progressive parental leave. Usually, these situations are more easily managed when there is a progressive HR policy and staff handbook in place.
Collaboration is crucial!
Depending on the culture of the organization, there can often be a high level of collaboration on projects, files and events. Policy writing is often done collaboratively in our organizations, with a committee sometimes composed of both staff and board members, working together but in some cases, this falls to the ED alone. In more top-down organizations, the policy writing tends to fall to the ED, with the Board having final approval. The annual report is often a collaborative project across the staff with the ED being responsible for the final product. Special events can be an all-hands-on-deck type of situation, with the ED taking on more of a public relations and donor cultivation role. Volunteer recruitment and coordinator is sometimes done by a volunteer coordinator but in the absence of that position, these responsibilities can be shared across the team.
Building management is often the pain on the ED’s side as most charities tend to be renters in old buildings, or in the odd case that they own their own building, they don’t necessarily have a building maintenance person on staff. Often there can be emergencies with the building that the ED needs to tend to. They also need to ensure an adequate amount of money is put aside for regular building maintenance and special projects.
The work that is often undervalued and underseen is the emotional labour of running an organization in these times. Recent research by ONN and Imagine Canada points to the majority of people in the sector being women and people of colour, with salaries falling far below comparables in other sectors. This sets up teams for hardship right out of the gate. EDs are also tasked with supporting the psychological wellness of their team, which can get really intense depending on the mission of the organization and the composition of the team. Often EDs are looked to for mediation and conflict resolution. We recommend that external mediators be brought in instead of putting this type of work on the EDs’ shoulders.
Funny anecdote / comedic break. I was once sitting in my office and heard a loud KER-SPLASH! I looked out in the hall and saw a stream of water pouring down from the second floor onto our photocopier. I ran upstairs and discovered that the water was coming from the top floor - where other renters were located. I pounded on their door, and a frazzled-looking dude opened the door a crack - just enough for me to see the soft glow of marijuana grow lamps in the background. We had a grow-op on top of us and their irrigation system was collapsing! Needless to say, I gave them a 10-minute warning before I called the police, and watched them scramble away over the rooftops. I was left cleaning up the mess and dealing with the police and insurance companies! #nonprofitlife #allinadayswork
- Marlo (former ED and manager of all the things)