Executive Director

PHENOM
(Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts)

Executive Director

For covering Massachusetts

PHENOM is a 501(c)3 grassroots organization of public college and university students, staff, faculty, alumni, families, and community members fighting for free, affordable, accessible, democratically governed, and high-quality public higher education in Massachusetts, and to ensure that the Massachusetts public higher education system is free and open to all. Through grassroots organizing, intensive coalition building, and targeted legislative action, PHENOM has begun to change the public discourse and win concrete victories (including Free Community College and Need-Based Tuition-Free Programs at the UMass and State University System). PHENOM connects its work on day-to-day issues related to costs, staffing, and funding to larger social issues (taxation, privatization, wealth inequality) through union solidarity, and we exist within a broader progressive-labor coalition in Massachusetts.

The Executive Director will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for PHENOM's staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission. The Executive Director will report directly to the PHENOM Board of Directors. This is a full-time, partially benefited position.

Responsibilities
The Executive Director may play a role in every aspect of PHENOM’s work, but the three main components of the position are:

a) Leadership & Management:

• Oversee PHENOM’s organizing, fundraising, communications, legislation, and administration
• Work closely with the Board to set priorities, timelines, and allocate resources needed to achieve strategic goals and execute a strategic plan; provide regular reports to the Board
• Actively engage and energize PHENOM staff, volunteers, interns, Board members, committees, partnering organizations, and funders in grassroots organizing and organizational development
• Regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the Board, funders, and other stakeholders
• Supervise, oversee, and regularly evaluate all staff and interns

b) Finances & Fundraising

• Develop and cultivate relationships to create new funding opportunities (with individual donors, religious philanthropic groups, and Massachusetts unions)
• Ensure sufficient fundraising via grants and organizational and individual donations to increase PHENOM’s annual operating budget
• Prepare and monitor budget; ensure adherence to reporting requirements related to PHENOM’s non-profit charity status (filing taxes and managing payroll)
• Develop and oversee PHENOM’s fundraising and financial plan

c) Legislation & Communications:

• Oversee and manage all aspects of communications (website, newsletter, social media, etc.)
• Work with grassroots organizers, unions, stakeholders, and legislators to execute on campaigns to achieve legislative priorities.
• In partnership with legislators, analyze and draft legislation that will advance PHENOM's mission of high-quality, debt-free public higher education.
• Serve as PHENOM's primary representative to elected officials and other government decision-makers

d) Organizing, Leadership Development, and Mobilization

• Connect, Organize, Recruit, and Empower a durable network of student leaders across Massachusetts public higher education campuses.
• Identify individuals on public campuses with extraordinary leadership potential; working to support their development through training, relationship building, and mentorship.
• Running webinars, training, and meetings on organizing, civic engagement, and policy-fluency.
• Coordinating with local and statewide unions to identify and amplify synergies between worker and student interests
• Apply game-theory, political analysis, and relationship-building skills within a complex coalition environment to maximize cohesion and effectiveness within the higher ed wing of the Massachusetts progressive-labor coalition.
• Interlink student organizing with union priorities, and vice versa.
• Educate the public surrounding higher education policy in accordance with our mission.

Qualifications
The Executive Director must be thoroughly committed to PHENOM's mission. All candidates should have proven leadership and organizing experience; strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills; and passion, integrity, and self-directedness. The successful candidate should make at least a 2-year commitment to the position.

The preferred candidate will have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's or advanced degree in the field of political science, economics, public policy, business, or other relevant field
• Successful fundraising experience, preferably for non-profit advocacy organizations
• Ability to effectively lead a non-profit organization, supervise staff, create and execute an organizational strategic plan, and manage a budget
• Extensive organizing experience with a demonstrated ability to mobilize communities to win campaigns and develop activists into leaders
• A demonstrated ability to engage and develop relationships with a diverse population of stakeholders
• Demonstrated success organizing students and/or youth
• Past experience working with a Board
• Fluency in a second language commonly spoken in Massachusetts (i.e. Spanish, Portuguese, French, or Chinese) is a plus.
• Access to an actionable network of Massachusetts union leaders and experience working with or in organized labor in the MA higher education ecosystem.

Salary and Benefits
Total compensation will start at $40,000 to $55,000, commensurate with experience. Total compensation will be divided between salary and benefits as best suits the successful candidate.

We are accepting rolling applications with a flexible start date between September 2026 and January 2027. Please be sure to send in applications as soon as possible, with priority consideration to applications received before August 15th, 2026. There may be multiple rounds of interviews, including consultations with leaders within different sections of PHENOM’s constituencies.

To Apply:
Please send a cover letter, résumé and names/ contact information of 2 references to: [email protected] . We will only accept applications electronically.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

PHENOM is an equal opportunity employer. All persons regardless of age, race, disability, ethnicity, gender, sex, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation are encouraged to apply. Graduates of Massachusetts’ institutions of public higher education system are strongly encouraged to apply.

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