Executive Director

Overview

WMF Wisconsin (WMF) is seeking a highly-skilled, strategic leader to become our first executive director, based anywhere in Wisconsin. Since our founding in 1972, we have operated as a low-infrastructure, all-volunteer organization. WMF is now at an important turning point as an organization, leveling up our strategies to fund abortion, to organize for reproductive autonomy, and to grow the infrastructure and capacity we need to ensure that our work is sustainable and grounded in our values. In 2022 WMF granted over $500,000 to support over 1,500 people with their abortion costs, with a total operating budget of $603,000. WMF is led by eight volunteer board members, and the executive director will be our first staff person.

We are seeking a visionary strategic thinker whose experience and leadership stance can inform WMF’s next chapter in funding abortion and engaging our supporters toward political and cultural change in values-driven ways. The ideal candidate is an unapologetic champion of abortion and access, a compelling and engaging communicator with excellent relational skills, a strong facilitator and consensus builder, and a leader well-versed in change management while navigating uncertainty. They have a demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and reproductive justice.

WMF’s executive director will have strategic and operational responsibility for leading WMF in an evolving post-Roe reality where abortion is banned in Wisconsin, including building and stewarding WMF’s infrastructure, capacity, and culture. This position reports directly to the WMF Board of Directors.

Position Details

This is a full-time, salaried position with an annual salary range of $75,000 – $90,000, commensurate with experience.

As a new employer, WMF plans to offer a generous benefits package, including:

• a health reimbursement plan with sufficient funding to meet your healthcare needs, including the possibility for family coverage
• a stipend for remote work
• reimbursement for work-related travel costs
• 3 weeks paid vacation, 13 paid holidays, and generous sick time
• 14 weeks of 100% paid parental leave
• a 36-hour work week
• the opportunity to contribute to a retirement savings account with a 3% employer match
• a strong commitment to professional development

This employee will be actively supported by a highly engaged volunteer board and robust professional resources, relationships, and training opportunities with the National Network of Abortion Funds.

Core Areas of Responsibility

Organizational Leadership

The executive director (ED) leads the strategic vision for the organization, anchored in a) abortion funding and practical support, b) building community power for culture and political change for abortion access and reproductive justice, c) raising WMF’s visibility in the community to increase participation in the dialogue around abortion access and reproductive justice, and d) building the organization’s infrastructure. They serve as the spokesperson and public face of the organization, representing WMF publicly. They initiate and strengthen relationships and collaboration with partner organizations and leaders who are connected to WMF’s mission and purpose. They will hire, supervise, and mentor staff to successfully fulfill the organization’s strategic priorities as well as oversee the work of key contractors.

Operational and Program Oversight

The ED will build and manage WMF’s infrastructure and culture, refining and overseeing systems as well as practices. They ensure that day-to-day operations are effectively organized and administered. They partner with the board to set annual goals and priorities, and they oversee the implementation and evaluation of all programs for abortion funding/practical support as well as movement-building efforts. They also oversee risk management and legal activities, especially important given the legal threats in our present political climate. Given that they will be the first and – for a period – only staff at a historically all-volunteer organization, the ED will hold some hands-on responsibilities usually assigned to programmatic or operational staff.

Fundraising

The ED is responsible for enhancing, implementing, and building the capacity for WMF’s fundraising strategy, growing the organization’s foundation support and individual donor support.

Financial Planning & Management

The ED oversees WMF’s finance systems, including developing and monitoring financial plans and setting financial priorities, in partnership with a board finance committee. They oversee the annual budgeting process, expense and revenue management, and forecasting and revision processes, partnering with the board and other staff. They ensure financial tracking and reporting, in compliance with federal and state requirements.

Board Relations

The ED implements policies, goals, and objectives as established by the WMF, regularly reporting to the board on the organization’s status. They work with the executive committee of WMF’s working board to coordinate the activities of the board, including helping recruit new board members. They exercise best practices in governance and ethics in order to steward WMF’s mission and strategic priorities.

Executive Director Location and Travel Expectations:

• This position is remote and based in Wisconsin, with officing being a possibility. Coworking space and/or a remote work stipend will be provided.
• Must be able to travel 1-2 times per quarter within Wisconsin (most commonly to Madison or Milwaukee) and 1-3 times per year outside of Wisconsin, with contingencies for COVID or other public health considerations. Regardless of where the employee lives, and barring travel delays outside of an individual’s control, the employee must be able to arrive at their destination on time. Travel expenses are covered by WMF.

Job Requirements

Experience

• Organizational leadership experience in a 501(c)(3) non-profit setting, including setting or shaping high-level strategy and serving as a champion for its mission and purpose
• Commitment to and track record in racial, economic, and reproductive justice
• Staff supervision and development
• Program design and project management
• Budget management
• Familiarity with fundraising strategies and best practices; experience in donor development and/or grant writing preferred
• Highly preferred – Familiarity with Wisconsin and our abortion landscape

WMF has no educational requirements or expectations for this position.

WMF is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor, and is committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. WMF is committed to fostering the leadership of people from communities most impacted by abortion access barriers – including people of color, Native people, immigrants and refugees, people experiencing financial hardship, LGBQ+ and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary  people, young people, people with disabilities, people who have been formerly imprisoned, people who have received funding for abortions, and people living in the many intersections of these experiences. We encourage people from these communities to apply. We do not discourage applicants with prior conviction history.

About WMF Wisconsin

WMF works with partners to provide financial assistance and practical support to Wisconsinites who need an abortion but cannot afford the full cost. We believe that reproductive autonomy and healthcare without stigma are essential to thriving, sustainable communities and that we must create the cultural and political change needed to ensure abortion access for all. We seek to engage supporters to destigmatize abortion, redistribute wealth, and strengthen our movement to fund abortion and build power.

WMF is a long-time active member of the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF). We collaborate closely with abortion funds, clinics, and other support networks in the Midwest, which have been vital to ensuring abortion access for Wisconsinites after the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Along with our partners, WMF is responding to a rapid erosion of clinical abortion access and the intensified criminalization of abortion in the U.S. We know that now is the time to turn more intentionally toward sustainability, accountability, and collaboration, in order to ensure compassionate care, support, and solidarity for people needing and choosing abortions.

WMF seeks to support abortion access for people of all genders. We are in the process of changing our name to reflect a gender-inclusive commitment, and continuing to learn and grow our gender justice practice.