Executive Director – Institute for the Development of Human Arts

Summary

Description

Position Summary

The Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA) seeks a strategic, visionary, and values-driven Executive Director to lead the organization through its next phase of growth and evolution. This is a hands-on executive role within a small team that blends high-level strategy with day-to-day implementation.

The ideal candidate is someone who can hold the big picture while staying attentive to detail, synthesize information from multiple sources, make thoughtful decisions with input from a variety of stakeholders, and adapt with ease. They bring extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, a history of designing or facilitating community education spaces, and a strong commitment to transformative mental health. They are process-oriented and collaborative, ready to take initiative, navigate complexity, and foster cohesion across staff, Board, membership, and the diverse communities who engage with IDHA’s programs. This role is well-suited for someone who isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves, brings an entrepreneurial spirit, and leads with a deeply grounded anti-oppressive lens.

Apply by: Friday, June 20, 2025. Complete application instructions can be found in the “How to Apply” section below.

Hours: Full-time (40-hour workweek)

Reports to: Board of Directors

Salary: $105,000 annually (exempt FLSA status; not eligible for overtime)

Location: Fully remote (U.S.-based candidates only, preference for New York State)

Learn more: Read reflections from our Board of Directors and outgoing Executive Director, Jessie Roth.

Organization Overview

IDHA is a transformative mental health training institute. We create opportunities for critical dialogue, mutual support, and advanced education and training for those in the field. Our mission is to proliferate an understanding of mental health care that acknowledges and addresses the numerous contexts in which our mental health exists. We are dedicated to understanding not only the role of personal traumatic experiences but also collective ones, manifested through structural injustices and oppression that have deep historical roots in our society.

By bringing together experienced and aspiring practitioners – both within and outside of the mental health system – our trainings and events value lived experience as highly as professional credentials. We encourage professionals and non-professional community members alike to explore multiple perspectives, always prioritizing the agency of individuals and communities to choose the ways in which they understand and describe their experiences.

Position Overview

IDHA’s next Executive Director will inherit an organization with a 2025 annual operating budget of $415,000, along with a strong infrastructure and a deeply committed team (currently two other staff). They will have the opportunity to expand and deepen IDHA’s work as we approach our 10-year anniversary in 2026. This is a unique opportunity to lead an organization at the intersection of mental health, community education, and activism – and to guide a small but mighty team working to redefine how mental health is taught, practiced, and understood. The anticipated start date for this position is September 2025, with some flexibility based on candidate availability.

We encourage you to apply if:

• You are a visionary and values-driven leader

• You can balance strategy and implementation

• You are equally comfortable developing (and executing!) long-term plans while managing day-to-day operations

• You are a connector and bridge-builder, with the relationships to prove it

• You have a strong commitment to collaboration

• You know you are the right person to strengthen IDHA’s role and impact in the transformative mental health ecosystem

Key Responsibilities

This role is responsible for maintaining and growing IDHA’s programs and infrastructure, ensuring the organization remains values-aligned as it grows. 

• Vision and Strategy

  • Lead the implementation of IDHA’s vision and strategic plan in close collaboration with staff, Board, and key partners

  • Translate a multi-year strategic plan into annual work plans and quarterly priorities that enact IDHA’s goals

  • Monitor and evaluate progress toward goals, using data, feedback, and reflection processes

  • Stay up to date on the transformative mental health ecosystem to inform organizational direction and adaptation

• Management and Governance

  • Supervise a small remote staff team (currently two other employees), while fostering collaboration, accountability, and distributed leadership

  • Supervise and mentor undergraduate or graduate interns

  • Manage consultants and their contracts

  • Provide facilitation and leadership support to Working Groups

  • Partner with the Board of Directors to co-develop meeting and retreat agendas and support governance responsibilities

• Finance

  • Lead long-term financial planning and multi-year budgeting 

  • Prepare annual operating budget and track expenditures

  • Collaborate with the Board Treasurer and Finance & Fundraising Committee and external bookkeeper to ensure financial accuracy, compliance, and adherence to nonprofit regulations and internal policies

  • Oversee financial processes, including coding income and expenses, reviewing reports, supporting reconciliation, and preparing financial reviews

• Fundraising

  • Design and lead a diversified fundraising strategy, with a focus on foundation grants, individual giving, and earned revenue streams

  • Write grant proposals and reports that communicate IDHA’s mission and impact

  • Steward existing donors and identify new funding opportunities

• External Relations

  • Oversee organizational communications strategy to amplify IDHA’s mission

  • Create and manage external-facing content, including IDHA’s website, institutional newsletters, social media posts, and graphic materials

  • Evaluate the reach and effectiveness of communications efforts, using insights to inform strategy and improve engagement

  • Represent IDHA at conferences, on panels, and in media appearances to elevate organizational visibility and deepen relationships in the field

  • Cultivate and manage partnerships with mission-aligned organizations and coalitions

• Programs and Partnerships

  • Lead or co-lead IDHA’s program development and implementation, including live trainings, panels, public events, and the Core Curriculum

  • Evaluate and adapt programs based on participant feedback, community needs, and changes in the mental health landscape

• Organizational Operations

  • Manage staff benefits, employment policies, and internal practices to ensure a supportive, equitable, and legally compliant work environment

  • Maintain and improve internal systems, tools, and workflows that support a virtual team

  • Administer IDHA’s CRM platform, ensuring accurate records and supporting cross-functional data needs

  • Oversee digital security and file management to ensure that organizational data is stored securely, accessibly, and in alignment with best practices

• Culture and Values

  • Model IDHA’s values in leadership, communication, and decision-making

  • Advance anti-oppression and culture-building efforts through internal trainings, participation in peer networks, and personal development

  • Design and uphold accessible, participatory processes that foster transparency and collaboration across all IDHA stakeholders

Qualifications 

• Leadership

  • 3+ years of executive or senior-level leadership experience within a nonprofit, grassroots, or mission-driven organization

  • Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategy in alignment with organizational mission, and to support others in translating vision into practice

  • Proven ability to manage competing priorities and switch frequently between high-level planning and detailed execution

  • Experience overseeing core organizational functions, including programs, operations, human resources, finance, and external relations

  • Track record of supervising staff, preferably in a remote environment, with a collaborative, values-aligned approach to supervision

• Organizational Management

  • 3+ years of proven experience with fundraising, including fundraising strategy, grant writing, institutional funder relationships, and individual donor engagement

  • 3+ years of proven experience with non-profit financial management, including budgeting and reporting

  • Experience maintaining and evolving organizational infrastructure, including policies, compliance, and internal systems

  • Familiarity with remote collaboration and community-building platforms (e.g. Google Workspace, Zoom, Mighty Networks)

  • Familiarity with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and bookkeeping software (e.g. Neon One, QuickBooks)

  • Ability to develop internal systems and support infrastructure for a small, virtually-operated organization

• Communication and Relationship-Building

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience translating complex or values-driven work for a range of audiences

  • Experience facilitating meetings, workshops, and/or retreats

  • Experience building and sustaining partnerships across movements, sectors, or organizational lines

• Mission and Values Alignment

  • Deep alignment with IDHA’s mission, values, and transformative mental health approach

  • Familiarity with community and political education, especially in virtual settings, including experience designing or supporting participatory learning spaces

  • Familiarity with or connection to movements such as psychiatric survivors, mad pride, disability justice, abolition, healing justice, and/or peer support

  • A political and historical understanding of mental health that acknowledges both personal and collective trauma, and centers structural oppression

  • Experience working within participatory structures and supporting shared decision-making

IDHA’s Search Committee recognizes that not every candidate will bring every element of knowledge, skills, and experience listed above and welcomes candidates with various backgrounds and experiences.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position is $105,000 annually. IDHA offers a benefits package that includes:

• Health insurance reimbursement through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), covering up to 50% of a marketplace plan (capped at $460/month for 2025)

• Eighteen (18) days of paid time off per year

• Twelve (12) paid holidays (4 federal holidays and 8 floating holidays)

• Mental health leave, up to seven (7) paid days per year

• Bereavement leave, up to five (5) paid days per year

• Annual professional development stipend ($1,000 in 2025)

• Annual remote work stipend ($400 in 2025)

• Access to IDHA’s 403(b) retirement plan

Additional Information

IDHA is a fully remote organization. While we have a strong preference for a candidate based in New York State, we remain open to candidates in other parts of the United States who are able to work effectively across time zones and support relationship-building in a remote environment. Some evening and weekend availability is required for meetings and events.

About the Search

IDHA has contracted with LaCire to assist with the search for this position. Candidates can expect to be in communication with a team member from LaCire regarding the status of their application and to coordinate on any next steps.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please use the application form. Only applications submitted through the application form will be accepted. Applicants will be required to submit one file containing their resume and a thoughtful cover letter that outlines how their skills, experience, and interests meet the qualifications of the position. Cover letters may be submitted in a video format if preferred (5 minutes maximum).

If you have any questions about the position, please email hiring@idha-nyc.org. If you encounter any challenges accessing or using the online form, please reach out to Jamie Albaum, lead recruiter from LaCire, at jamie@lacire.co and we will ensure proper accommodations are provided.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until Friday, June 20, 2025. The hiring process will take place in three rounds during July and August 2025. Candidates who are selected to move forward will be contacted by the end of June 2025. We will be in touch with all applicants to inform them if their application is moving forward. If you haven’t heard from us, it means we are still reviewing your application.

Equal Opportunity

IDHA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. People with lived experience of mental illness, madness, or psychiatric incarceration, people of color, people with disabilities, women, immigrants, transgender, transsexual, and intersex people, lesbian, gay, queer, and bisexual people, and people who live or have lived in poverty are strongly encouraged to apply.

Accessibility

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the candidate selection process, please direct your inquiries to our lead recruiter from LaCire, Jamie Albaum, at jamie@lacire.co or (504) 941-1086.

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