Executive Director

Executive Director

Public Allies' mission is to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it. We envision a more perfect Union that includes all of us -- a United States where all people experience belonging, are free, self determined, and fully share in the prosperity of the country.

Public Allies supports a thriving civic sector by launching, growing and sustaining a continuum of diverse and proximate civic sector talent. Our impact begins with an apprenticeship for emerging leaders and extends to providing career accelerating opportunities for our 10,000+ alumni and other justice-oriented civic sector leaders.

The Executive Director embodies the Public Allies Core Values and demonstrates the personal, institutional, and systemic change possible when those values are put into practice. The Executive Director is an entrepreneurial, community-centered leader who is energized by building relationships, creating opportunities, solving problems, and translating vision into measurable impact.

The Executive Director provides overall leadership and administration for Public Allies Pittsburgh, including its AmeriCorps apprenticeship program and related civic engagement and leadership development programs. This leader is responsible for creating the conditions for programmatic excellence, organizational sustainability, and meaningful impact for apprentices, alumni, staff, partners, and the broader Pittsburgh community.

The Executive Director leads a talented team of 2–3 staff responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the site's core programs and operations. The ED provides clear direction, develops staff capacity, fosters a culture of equity, accountability, innovation, and belonging, and ensures the team has the resources and support needed to deliver results.

The Executive Director is also a builder and connector, actively cultivating relationships across Pittsburgh's nonprofit, philanthropic, corporate, civic, and community sectors. They will expand the site's network of partners and funders, identify new opportunities, strengthen community relationships, and position Public Allies Pittsburgh as a trusted and innovative partner in advancing equity and social impact.

This position is in-person and will work in the Pittsburgh, PA area.

Leadership Profile

The ideal Executive Director is a mission-driven builder, connector, and change leader who can balance strategic vision with hands-on execution. They are comfortable operating in ambiguity, see possibilities where others see constraints, and bring an entrepreneurial mindset to developing partnerships, solving problems, and creating sustainable approaches.

They are:

• Community-centered and deeply committed to building authentic relationships.
• Entrepreneurial and innovative, with a willingness to test, learn, adapt, and build.
• Equity and impact driven, with a demonstrated commitment to advancing systemic and institutional change.
• Strategic and operationally strong, able to move between big-picture vision and day-to-day execution.
• A relationship builder and networker who naturally opens doors and connects people and opportunities.
• A strong people leader who develops talent while maintaining accountability.
• Resourceful and financially minded, with the ability to think creatively about sustainability and resource development.
• Collaborative and accountable, with the ability to build trust across staff, apprentices, alumni, partners, funders, and national colleagues.
• A compelling ambassador for Public Allies who can articulate the organization's value and impact across diverse audiences.

Essential Job Functions & Key Outcomes

Strategic Vision & Program Leadership

• Provide vision, leadership, and direction for Public Allies Pittsburgh and its apprenticeship and other emerging programs.
• Ensure programmatic excellence, participant outcomes, and alignment with Public Allies' mission, values, and strategic priorities, and develop priorities in partnership with Public Allies National Office leadership, PA Pittsburgh staff, advisory board, alumni, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities to innovate, test new approaches, and strengthen the site's impact.
• Use data, community insight, and participant feedback to assess performance and continuously improve programs and practices.

People & Culture Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 2–3 staff.
• Foster a culture grounded in equity, belonging, collaboration, accountability, learning, and results.
• Build a team environment that encourages entrepreneurial thinking, experimentation, and shared problem-solving.
• Ensure staff have clear goals, roles, resources, and accountability for delivering outcomes.

Community & External Relations

• Serve as a visible and trusted representative of Public Allies Pittsburgh within the local community.
• Build and maintain relationships with community leaders, nonprofit organizations, employers, civic leaders, philanthropic institutions, corporate partners, alumni, and other stakeholders.
• Network strategically to identify opportunities for apprentices, alumni, partnerships, funding, and organizational growth.
• Understand the Pittsburgh ecosystem and position Public Allies to respond to emerging community needs and opportunities.

Fund Development & Resource Generation

• Lead local fund development efforts in partnership with national leadership and development staff.
• Cultivate relationships with current and prospective funders, donors, corporate partners, and other resource providers.
• Identify and pursue new revenue and partnership opportunities that support site sustainability and growth.
• Represent the organization effectively with funders and communicate the impact of Public Allies' work.

Operations, Finance & Vendor Management

• Provide oversight of site operations and financial management to support sustainability and responsible stewardship of resources.
• Monitor budgets, financial performance, contracts, and key operational indicators.
• Ensure effective management of external vendors, consultants, and service providers.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce inefficiencies, and leverage resources strategically

Impact, Equity & Accountability

• Ensure equity remains central to program design, decision-making, partnerships, and organizational practices.
• Establish and monitor meaningful measures of participant, program, and community impact.
• Use data and evidence to make decisions, identify gaps, and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure the site delivers on commitments to funders, participants, partners, the national organization, and the broader Public Allies network.

National Network Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Public Allies national leadership team and contribute to enterprise-wide strategy and learning.
• Represent Public Allies nationally within the Pittsburgh market when appropriate, strengthening the organization's visibility, reputation, and brand recognition.
• Share local insights, innovations, and learning that can strengthen the broader Public Allies network.
• Contribute to cross-site learning and collaboration across the network.

Education, Experience, & Competencies

The Executive Director of Public Allies Pittsburgh must have a keen belief in the power of opportunity, and a commitment to identify and cultivate leadership from among groups and communities not traditionally seen as leaders. This person should be mission-driven and demonstrate passion for Public Allies and its constituencies.

• Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in progressively senior positions.
• Applicable/transferable experience: private sector roles in law, business strategy or consulting; public sector policy roles; campaign aides/strategists.
• Adept cultural competence and experience working with diverse stakeholders and constituents.
• Demonstrated commitment to and practice of social and racial justice.
• Good sense of self and strong personal presence.
• Experience building partnerships and an ability to inspire different groups to work towards a common goal.
• Experience establishing, developing, cultivating, and stewarding strong relationships with donors, sponsors, and key influencers in funding institutions.
• Established network within the local and national nonprofit funding community, with demonstrable success in cultivating and maintaining relationships with foundations, corporations, government agencies, and individuals.
• A disciplined approach to setting and achieving goals, and a drive to continuously improve.
• Proven ability to cultivate talent and effectively manage a high-performing team.
• Openness and ability to learn from experience and change course of action to meet the needs of the organization's evolving environment.
• Positive, growth mindset.
• Open-minded and objective with eagerness to continuously improve the organization's systems and ability to achieve its outcomes for leaders, organizations, and communities.
• Creative problem solver.
• Self-starter, self-driven.
• Experience with youth development and/or leadership development.
• Experience with board recruitment and management.
• A Pittsburgh native or resident, or someone with connections to and history with Pittsburgh.

Working Conditions

The position is predominantly sedentary requiring the ability to sit, bend, stand and walk. It may require occasional