Executive Director

The Executive Director (ED) provides overall strategic and executive leadership for FTNDC and is accountable to the Board of Directors for the organization’s mission, health, sustainability, and execution of its strategic plan. The ED serves as FTNDC’s primary vision-caster, organizational leader, fundraiser, and external ambassador. Leading through an experienced senior leadership team, the ED sets direction, establishes priorities, makes sound and timely decisions, and creates the clarity and accountability necessary for effective execution. A central opportunity for the next ED is to lead FTNDC through significant growth and organizational development—expanding and diversifying revenue and strengthening organizational structure and management while preserving the relational, Gospel-centered culture fundamental to FTNDC’s ministry. Above all, the ED models Christ-like love and service and keeps the Gospel central to FTNDC’s relationships, leadership, and ministry.

Description

Executive Director

Status: Full-time, salaried (40 hours/week)

Reports to: FTNDC Board of Directors

Primary Location: The Executive Director may work primarily from home or from one of FTNDC’s ministry locations. The ED should maintain a regular presence across ministry sites, in addition to meeting with donors, churches, and community organizations throughout the DC metro area. Occasional travel may be needed to maintain relationships with donors out-of-state.

About For The Nations DC

For The Nations DC (FTNDC) offers hope and help to immigrant neighbors by teaching English, providing practical assistance, and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to see our immigrant neighbors truly flourish in our community and be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our work is guided by five core values: We are compelled by the Gospel. We are relational. We are hospitable. We are responsive. We are committed to excellence.

Now in its ninth year, FTNDC has an annual budget of approximately $900,000 and serves 300 adults and children from more than 25 countries across three ministry sites, with a fourth opening in Spring 2027. Our team includes 5 full-time staff, 14 part-time staff, and 77 active volunteers from 28 churches, who contribute approximately 9,000 hours annually.

FTNDC is entering an important period of growth and organizational development. We have a strong relational and ministry foundation and an experienced leadership team. Our next Executive Director will build on that foundation while strengthening the organizational capacity, funding, leadership practices, and accountability needed for FTNDC’s next stage.

Key Responsibilities

Mission, Vision & Spiritual Leadership

• Keep FTNDC’s Christian mission, vision, and values at the center of organizational strategy, culture, decision-making, and ministry.
• Compellingly articulate FTNDC’s vision and invite staff, volunteers, churches, donors, and partners to participate in the mission.
• Ensure FTNDC’s ministries remain faithful to its commitments to English instruction, practical assistance, Gospel proclamation, and the biblical integrity of ministry content.
• Maintain meaningful relationships with students, staff, volunteers, churches, and community partners so that executive leadership remains connected to the people and ministry FTNDC serves.
• Model servant leadership, integrity, humility, wisdom, hospitality, and genuine care for people.

Strategy, Organizational Leadership & Change

• Lead execution and continued development of FTNDC’s strategic plan, translating long-term vision into clear priorities, goals, and measurable outcomes.
• Make timely, well-reasoned decisions informed by Scripture and prayer, organizational values, data, staff expertise, financial realities, and appropriate Board and leadership-team input.
• Lead FTNDC through growth and organizational change, strengthening structure, management practices, accountability, and consistency while protecting its relational and ministry-centered identity.

Executive Team & Staff Leadership

• Build and lead a healthy, high-functioning executive team, empowering experienced leaders to own their areas while maintaining clear executive accountability for organizational results.
• Establish clear priorities, roles, decision rights, expectations, and effective rhythms for communication, planning, decision-making, and accountability.
• Partner with the Operations Director to develop and implement approaches to compensation, performance management, professional development, and staff support.
• Recruit, develop, evaluate, and retain capable, mission-aligned staff, addressing performance and personnel challenges directly, fairly, and with appropriate urgency.
• Foster a culture in which relationships, trust, grace, accountability, excellence, and healthy communication reinforce rather than compete with one another.

Fundraising & External Relationships

• Lead FTNDC’s strategy to significantly grow and diversify revenue in support of its strategic plan and long-term sustainability.
• Serve as a primary relationship-builder with major donors—which include individuals, churches, businesses, foundations. You will also seek partnerships with those kinds of contacts from your personal network.
• Partner closely with the Fundraising and Communications Director to establish fundraising strategy, goals, and priorities and ensure effective execution, including strengthening FTNDC’s major-donor pipeline, donor acquisition and retention, and overall development capacity.
• Engage and equip Board members and other organizational champions to participate effectively in fundraising and relationship development.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships with community partners (i.e. missions agencies, educational institutions, and churches) that can advance FTNDC’s mission through volunteer mobilization, staff recruitment, ministry site hosting, prayer, and other support.
• Serve as a primary public representative, storyteller, and ambassador for FTNDC, stewarding the organization’s reputation and Gospel witness with integrity while increasing the overall visibility of FTNDC in our community.

Financial Stewardship, Operations & Board Partnership

• Maintain overall accountability for FTNDC’s organizational and financial health while appropriately delegating operational execution to qualified staff.
• Partner with the Operations Director to ensure strong financial management, sound internal controls, effective organizational systems, appropriate policies, and legal and regulatory compliance.
• Ensure the annual budget reflects strategic priorities and financial capacity; make sound resource-allocation decisions; and regularly use financial and organizational data to inform executive decisions.
• Build a strong, transparent, and productive relationship with the Board, providing the information, context, recommendations, and reporting needed for effective governance and surfacing significant risks and concerns early.
• Partner appropriately with the Board on strategic direction, financial stewardship, fundraising, governance, executive accountability, and long-term sustainability, maintaining clarity between Board governance and executive leadership responsibilities.

Required Qualifications

• Be a mature, growing Christian who participates actively in a local Gospel-centered church.
• Affirm and operate consistently with FTNDC’s Statement of Faith and wholeheartedly support its mission, vision, and values.
• Executive leadership experience in a nonprofit, ministry, church, or similarly mission-driven organization, including demonstrated success leading and developing managers, directors, or other experienced professionals.
• Strong strategic thinking, judgment, and decision-making, with demonstrated ability to translate vision into priorities, plans, accountability, and measurable results.
• Experience successfully leading an organization, ministry, program, or significant organizational function through growth, scaling, organizational development, or change.
• Significant fundraising and donor-development experience, including demonstrated ability to build relationships, communicate a compelling vision, and generate financial support.
• Demonstrated ability to establish greater organizational clarity, structure, and accountability while building healthy relationships and trust.
• Strong people leadership, including the ability to empower capable professionals without micromanaging, develop leaders, set expectations, provide feedback, address performance issues, and navigate difficult conversations.
• Sound financial and organizational management ability, including using financial and operational information to make strategic decisions.
• Strong communication, public-speaking, and relationship-building skills across donors, staff, volunteers, churches, partners, Board members, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and sensitively with people of diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Satisfactory background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated major-donor fundraising experience.
• Experience leading a multi-site or distributed organization and/or one that relies substantially on volunteers.
• Experience working with immigrant or refugee communities.
• Cross-cultural work or volunteer experience outside the United States.
• Master’s degree in Business, Nonprofit Management, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• A seminary degree or other biblical studies.
• Multilingual ability.

Mission and Statement of Faith

All FTNDC staff, volunteers, Board members, and partner churches must affirm FTNDC’s mission and Statement of Faith.

Mission: We offer hope and help to our immigrant neighbors by teaching English, providing practical assistance, and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

Statement of Faith: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten from the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, universal, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We believe in the resurrection of body, and the life everlasting.Amen.”

Terms & Evaluation

• Compensation: Salaried position, including generous paid time off, as determined by the Board in accordance with FTNDC’s compensation model.
• Evaluation: Annual performance review by the Board based on this job description, FTNDC’s strategic plan, and agreed-upon goals and performance measures.

For The Nations DC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

For FTNDC staff, strong commitment to the mission, vision, and values of FTNDC is essential, and Christian faith is a prerequisite for employment, based upon United States federal guidelines provided in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

About the Company

For the Nations DC (FTNDC) is a nonprofit ministry serving English language learners and their children in the Washington, DC, metro area. As a ministry, we follow Jesus’ example in the Gospels, and the disciples' example in Acts, of loving people through deeds of mercy and words of truth. We offer educational programs for adults and children, with a focus on helping our new neighbors speak, read, and write in English. We help meet their practical needs as they adjust to life in a new place. We also minister to students through sharing Bible stories, offering prayer, and being a safe space for students to ask questions about life and faith. We have offered hope and help to students from more than 60 countries. Our desire for our students is that they would truly flourish in our community and be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.