About Sheriff Accountability Action
Sheriff Accountability Action builds the foundation for real safety by empowering communities to make sheriffs work for the people.
Sheriff Accountability Action is the only national organization devoted to building power to curb the harms of the more than 3,000 sheriff’s offices across the country.
The organization works in deep relationship with local and national partners to scale effective strategies to reshape the institution of the sheriff through three critical projects:
- Testing local approaches to accountability and alternative models of safety: We support partners in using elections, county commissioner oversight, and long-term organizing as levers for change. We invest in leaders to enact policy that makes our counties safer and more just. In this moment of national polarization, local experimentation is more impactful than ever.
- Ending the epidemic of jail deaths in the U.S.: Working with families who have lost loved ones in the custody of sheriffs, we are seeking to draw attention to this crisis. We pressure sheriffs into action to protect the health and well-being of people in their jails through data visualization, storytelling, and increased litigation.
- Growing the movement for sheriff accountability and transformation: Achieving safety for all people will require a broad coalition of organizers, journalists, elected officials, and empathizers who care about this issue. We’re telling the story of sheriffs and the people who resist them in order to develop a shared public understanding of the work that remains to be done to build a more just and free society.
Sheriff Accountability Action supports local communities to demand that their sheriffs represent the needs and interests of all residents. Sheriffs sit at the forefront of the country’s most racist criminal justice policies. They have fueled mass deportations, doubled down on over-policing in communities of color, and prioritized jail expansion rather than investing in mental health and substance use recovery systems.
Sheriff Accountability Action’s passionate and dedicated team works to ensure accountability, transparency, and safety for all. With more than 50 local and national partners, as well as allied sheriffs, the organization has achieved unprecedented wins, including:
- Ousting abusive sheriffs, such as Culpeper Co., VA Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was indicted for accepting bribes in exchange for badges and guns, and Bristol Co., MA Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, a leader of the national extremist anti-immigrant movement.
- Electing reform-minded sheriffs, such as Orleans Parish, LA Sheriff Susan Hutson, who has refused to take into custody people arrested for abortion-related offenses, and Bristol Co., MA Sheriff Paul Heroux, who is working to close the longest operating jail in the country.
- Giving voters direct control to increase sheriff oversight, such as the passage of Measure A in Los Angeles, which provides additional oversight over the city’s troubled sheriff’s office, or the defeat of a jail construction measure in Green Co., OH.
- Influencing sheriffs’ policies, such as helping to end agreements in Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia that committed deputies to working with the federal government to carry out deportations.
- Exposing corrupt practices through publications such as the Paid Jailer Report, which highlighted the pay-to-play nature of local sheriffs' races and empowered communities to take action against this corruption.
As a 501(c)4 organization, Sheriff Accountability Action also works in partnership with two related organizations: the Safety Bound Fund at Amalgamated Foundation, its 501(c)3 sister fund, and Local Accountability PAC, its sister federal hybrid political action committee to ensure sheriffs across the country reflect community values.
Learn more about Sheriff Accountability Action at: www.sherriffaccountability.org
The Opportunity
This is a unique opportunity to take the helm of a growing organization leading critical efforts toward strengthened public safety and upholding democracy, through a systemic shift to sheriffs’ offices. The founding executive director is stepping down, and recently led Sheriff Accountability Action in a strategic plan, rebranding and re-imagining of its organizational identity. Sheriff Accountability Action seeks a dynamic, visionary, and equity-driven leader to oversee all facets of the organization’s work and that of its sister organizations. Building upon Sheriff Accountability Action’s recent strategic plan and a strong, growing network of partner organizations, the Executive Director will have the opportunity to catalyze local efforts into systemic, national change in our systems of public safety.
The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the administration, program development, strategic planning, and fundraising of the organization and reports directly to the Board of Directors. This individual will lead in a collaborative manner with an experienced and capable staff to assess needs and opportunities in the field and will represent the organization to funders, organizational partners, media representatives, and policymakers.
Key responsibilities and objectives include:
Vision and Leadership
- Ensure strategic wins that decrease jail construction, reduce deaths in jail, and stop deportations.
- Provide visionary and compassionate leadership that advances the strategic priorities of the organization, navigates changes in the national and local landscapes, and maintains alignment and cohesion within the organization and with key partners.
- Ensure the health of a participatory and collaborative internal culture that attracts, retains, and motivates a diverse and talented staff.
- Build relationships with various national, statewide, and local organizations and/or organizers to develop strategic partnerships to reduce incarceration, protect democracy, stop deportations and win elections.
- Maintain and enhance the Sheriff Accountability Action’s reputation for groundbreaking work in elections, policy reform, and shaping public narratives around sheriff’s offices with a broad spectrum of constituencies.
- Articulate and facilitate a vision of a human-centered approach to Sheriff Accountability Action’s key focus areas, centering empathy, collaboration, problem-solving, iteration, and accessibility.
- In partnership with the Board, leadership team, and staff, develop annual plans and continue to implement and update the strategic plan.
- Serve as the primary liaison between the Board of Directors and staff.
Fundraising and Development
- In partnership with the leadership team, oversee a comprehensive fundraising strategy that incorporates contracted revenue/grants, events, and individual contributions.
- Oversee the fundraising director in development and preparation of grant proposals, reports and funder briefings.
- Actively and directly engage in fundraising by cultivating relationships with current and prospective individual donors, foundations, and other external stakeholders, making major financial solicitations, and supporting stewardship efforts.
- Alongside staff and board members, maintain and deepen relationships with Sheriff Accountability Action’s supporters at all levels, regardless of their ability to lend financial support.
Administration and Operations
- Inspire and support high staff productivity through mentoring and partnership to maximize staff talents and skills and ensure the successful execution of Sheriff Accountability Action’s programs.
- Lead by prioritizing, centering and championing respect, belonging, collaboration and a sense of shared purpose among staff and Board members.
- Recruit, hire, train, and evaluate staff in alignment with Sheriff Accountability Action’s values and all applicable employment laws.
- Ensure that the organization and its sister groups comply with state and federal tax and election laws. Supervise and navigate alongside the organization’s counsel in a complex legal environment for multi-state projects.
- In partnership with the operations team, oversee accounting functions, revenues, expenses, and employee resources.
- Lead and support the team in developing Sheriff Accountability Action’s annual operating budget for Board approval and oversee all expenditures, including political expenditures, for the organization. Ensure the Board is provided with regular financial reports.
- Sustain and grow Sheriff Accountability Action’s healthy workplace culture to ensure have the resources necessary to navigate the evolving needs of the organization.
External Advocacy and Partnership Development
- Represent Sheriff Accountability Action’s objectives to the public, policymakers, and media as a key spokesperson while strengthening the voices of other team members and key partners.
- Build and maintain relationships with other leaders of advocacy, policy, and social justice organizations at the local, regional, and national levels and practitioners in the field across varying landscapes and ideological backgrounds.
- In partnership with the Communications team, support the development and release of the organization's communications, including policy reports, press releases, briefs, newsletters, website content, and social media.
- Ensure that the organization’s program initiatives and strategy incorporate a commitment to racial justice and the participation of communities directly impacted by the sheriffs’ office in its work.
Candidate Profile
While no one candidate will possess every quality outlined for this position, a successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:
Passion for the Mission
With an unwavering passion for transforming law enforcement systems toward more just, equitable, and community-centered practices, this leader will bring deep knowledge and field experience to promote systems-level shifts within the criminal justice, politics, and immigration reform landscape. The Executive Director will see specific importance in a focus on the role of sheriffs within this larger landscape. Leading with both a visionary spirit and a practical eye toward creating change and field organizing, the Executive Director will draw upon their personal passion to energize, educate, and recruit like-minded partners and community leaders to come together in pursuing grassroots actions and policy reform toward a more just sheriff system nationally.
Operational Leadership
The Executive Director will have demonstrated success in leading a high-performing, collaborative team of organizers and advocates. This leader will possess the management acumen, leadership experience, and financial skills needed to implement Sheriff Accountability Action’s strategic plan and direct the organization's day-to-day operations. The ideal candidate will also bring experience in making or overseeing political expenditures, with experience in strategizing and implementing expenditure plans for advocacy efforts or campaigns, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and regulatory requirements. With experience leading organizational change through a variety of strategies and methods, the Executive Director will be nimble, efficient, and collaborative in managing and taking advantage of new opportunities while managing challenges. Most importantly, the Executive Director will proactively create and leverage opportunities to grow Sheriff Accountability Action’s impact.
A Relational and Collaborative Leader
A natural and deliberate collaborator valuing varied perspectives and opinions, the Executive Director will be skilled at building and sustaining excellent relationships across all levels, including the leadership team, staff, Board of Directors, funders, external allies, and the media. Leading with humility, the Executive Director will bring a compassionate and empathetic approach in their leadership and stakeholder interactions while moving groups and teams forward toward a clear vision and defined impact goals. Fundamentally, the ideal candidate will foster a culture where all staff can thrive and new allies and partners feel welcomed.
Donor Engagement & Fundraising Skills
The Executive Director will bring an ability to communicate effectively and with integrity to a broad group of stakeholders, including current and potential funders and donors. As an engaged and active listener with strong communication and collaboration skills, this leader will build and enhance the work of Sheriff Accountability Action through strong partnerships. With a focus on deepening the organization’s work and implementing the strategic plan, the Executive Director will be skilled at continually strengthening engagement and visibility with existing advocates and new potential supporters to face the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Commitment to Participatory Organizational and Field Leadership
Understanding the value of maintaining a collaborative culture where all individuals feel welcome and valued, this leader will bring enthusiasm for leading a team of individuals from varied backgrounds and lived experiences. This leader will bring prior experience helping to build and foster a supportive atmosphere that invites individuals from various backgrounds and opinions to contribute their ideas and feedback. With the ability to bring together groups with differing agendas and priorities, this leader will be skilled at coalition building toward key strategic goals. The Executive Director will be comfortable engaging in conversations around anti-racism and equity. Moreover, this leader will demonstrate the capacity and willingness to bridge differences regarding issues of race, socioeconomic status, gender, and other aspects of identity.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $150,000-$175,000, with a generous benefits package.
Contact
Koya Partners has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
Sheriff Accountability Action is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants.
About Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group
Koya Partners, a Diversified Search Group company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
Diversified Search Group is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group via the firm's website.