Director of Search
Good Insight
Status: Full-time, exempt 
Salary: $120,000 with bonus opportunities
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Working remotely from Greater DC region (Baltimore/Richmond) required
Good Insight is seeking a Director of Search to join a rapidly growing executive search firm serving the nonprofit sector. They will lead national searches for nonprofit CEOs, association executives, and philanthropy professionals, joining a team of people with a shared commitment to antiracist approaches within nonprofit talent acquisition. 
About Good Insight
Founded in 2013, Good Insight is an award-winning, woman-owned retained executive search firm with a mission to connect good causes to great leaders. We help nonprofits, funders, and associations plan leadership transitions, recruit exceptional executives across the U.S. 
Good Insight is building a team willing to challenge the status quo of the nonprofit executive search field and reimagine how leadership transitions serve as a tool for racial, economic, and social justice. Our process centers equitable hiring practices and dignity for candidates. We believe that communities have the best answers to the challenges they face, and we work to identify leaders with personal and professional experiences to advance community-driven solutions. We are committed to using our work to address the nonprofit racial leadership gap by advancing careers of BIPOC leaders in the social sector.
Good Insight is headquartered in Washington, DC with a team working remotely from their home offices. The Director of Search should have availability between the core hours of 10 AM and 4 PM ET. Client demands sometimes require work outside of normal business hours (i.e., evenings and weekends), which we offset with flexible hours. Regional and national travel is required to support client engagements (10-15%).
We are building a team of people who use their work to make the world a better place. We trust our team to be self-starters and semi-autonomous. We do not believe in “work hard, play hard.” We want employees to love their work and have a rewarding life outside of the office. We believe that our collective liberation requires restoration and we try to model that behavior ourselves with realistic deadlines, collective time off, and encouraging work-life boundaries.
Position Overview
The Director of Search plays a leadership role on our consulting team as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to clients, cultivates an extensive network among prospective nonprofit leaders, and plays an active role in our efforts to build an antiracist consulting practice.
The Director of Search leads 8-10 executive search engagements each year, working closely with Search Associates to help nonprofits, foundations, and associations find exceptional senior leaders. The Director of Search handles full-cycle recruiting for client projects on a mostly autonomous basis. They serve as a primary point of contact for the Search Committee Chair and advise on every aspect of the search process, including leading the client through hiring practices that mitigate bias throughout the entire process. Their responsibilities range from consulting on executive transitions, developing stakeholder engagement strategies, designing and implementing tailored approaches to talent acquisition, presenting qualified candidates to the search committee, and securing top talent for senior management and executive roles across the nonprofit sector. They collaborate with the CEO, peers, and other teammates to serve as a thought partner on client challenges and tailor recruitment strategies 
This position reports to the CEO and has no direct reports.
The ideal candidate will bring an advanced understanding of how the nonprofit sector is central to solving community issues. They will have exemplary analytical skills and be able to distill large amounts of complex information into strategy, direction, and advice to Good Insight’s clients. They are a successful project manager and are adept at using technology to manage processes and procedures. They bring executive presence and are able to represent the firm to current and prospective clients. 
All applicants must demonstrate advanced understanding of racial equity, barriers to nonprofit leadership presented by structural racism and white supremacy culture, and a personal commitment to advancing racial justice. They have high standards for nonprofit leaders and boards and stay current with research, thought leadership, and trends in nonprofit leadership development. They will be driven by connecting with accomplished professionals and the opportunity to help shape the future of the nonprofit sector.
Key responsibilities of the Director of Search include: 
Project Administration

• With the Search Associate, develop project management plans and monitor deadlines and deliverables for client projects.

• Plan and lead all client-related meetings, communications, and presentations. 

• Monitor and apply human resources and talent acquisition best practices to all Good Insight work. 

Plan and Prepare for Searches

• Build rapport with search committee members and hiring managers to understand and assess each client’s hiring needs, priorities, and trends.

• Create a custom discovery process and stakeholder engagement strategy (interviews, surveys, focus groups) to gain comprehensive understanding of the nonprofit, industry, and position requirements. 

• Identify and communicate key trends, challenges, and opportunities based on the stakeholder engagement. With Search Associate, draft findings into reports to share with the Search Committee. 

• Lead development of job announcements, candidate profiles, and other compelling talent acquisition materials that highlight the position to prospects. 

Recruit and Correspond with Candidates

• Set search strategy and direction by clarifying required skills and responsibilities, and using innovative techniques to build a pipeline of prospective candidates through job boards, key networks, LinkedIn strategies, and client communications.

• Develop tools, processes, and products that ensure an equitable and inclusive recruitment process that addresses implicit bias (i.e., affinity bias, confirmation bias, etc.).

• Research and identify prospective candidates through focused industry research, network sources, relevant prior searches, and internal sources. Lead outreach to prospective candidates and sources to elicit interest, obtain referrals, and collect feedback about the market, landscape, or client reputation.

• Review applications and assess candidate qualifications and alignment with key criteria.

Assess, Select, and Onboard Finalists

• Develop structured interview protocols and scorecards that reflect the position’s key criteria and support best practices to mitigate implicit bias during the hiring process.

• Ensure a positive candidate experience throughout the entire recruitment process. 

• Lead all interviews and debriefs and work with Search Associate to develop and implement skills-based exercises to evaluate candidates performance on tasks related to the position. 

• Check references, including identifying additional areas of inquiry, summarizing responses, and presenting findings to Search Committee. Help initiate client offers to candidates.

• Help Search Committee with onboarding plans to assure a strong start to the role and provide 30-60-90-day check-ins to incoming executive and board members as needed.

• Refer clients to technical resources, including consultants, associations, and coaches. 

Other Responsibilities

• Represent Good Insight at industry conferences, panels, and events.

• Pursue business development opportunities with Good Insight’s ideal clients.

• Build a network of nonprofit leaders. Follow current and impending leadership transitions.

• Develop thought leadership on Good Insight’s equitable hiring practices, trends in leadership transitions and talent acquisition, and barriers to building a diverse workforce. 

• Build proficiency and share knowledge in antiracism in order to co-create new approaches to executive search and help clients constantly challenge biases and outdated practices.

• Participate in opportunities to strengthen relationships among a remote, dispersed team.

• Ensure consistency of Good Insight’s brand across multiple platforms. 

• Gain additional expertise through trainings, meetings, and memberships to understand Good Insight’s tools, HR compliance, and trends across different nonprofit industries.

• Perform team participation and firm capacity building roles and responsibilities, as needed.

Key Attributes

• You might be the right person for the job if you are: 

• Friendly, genuine, and curious about people. 

• Interested in learning and contributing to tailored approaches for clients’ unique needs, while balancing agility and patience as a trusted advisor. 

• Active with professional networks and associations.

• Pursuing racial and social justice at personal and professional levels.

• Able to influence others to challenge leadership status quo through an antiracist lens.

• Savvy with technology; find it easy to learn new tools and teach colleagues how to use it. 

• Very organized and analytical, with well-developed project management skills.

• Known for your communication skills, including your ability to organize, synthesize, and communicate complex and sensitive matters in a straightforward, transparent manner to senior executives. 

• Comfortable leading in a highly digital remote work environment without much administrative support.

• Proactive and self-motivated, particularly in a geographically-dispersed work environment without a lot of direct supervision.

• Exceptional judgment, confidentiality, and strong decision-making skills.

• Confident and calm in the face of high-pressure scenarios, tight timelines, and tough board dialogues. 

• Flexible and adaptable, but also can speak up if something is bothering you. 

Basic Qualifications

• 10 years of nonprofit experience, including roles as a nonprofit E.D., a senior nonprofit leader, a consultant, or a philanthropy professional. 

• A sophisticated understanding of interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism that can prevent leaders of color from advancing into executive roles in the nonprofit sector, as well as hiring approaches that dismantle racial discrimination, analyze power, and advance antiracist ideals. 

• Experience with hiring processes in team and/or leadership roles. 

• Experience working with or serving on a Board of Directors, with understanding how to balance competing demands and build consensus among disparate opinions.

• Effective working relationships with potential referral sources among communities of color, including leadership development programs, professional societies, affinity groups, alumni associations.

• Capacity to handle multiple tasks, remain flexible, prioritize appropriately, and manage workflow for oneself and others. Able to pivot between projects without missing a beat.

• Ability to identify and quickly comprehend essential questions, and conduct research independently.

• Outstanding written and verbal communications skills. Clear and concise writing and editing skills are particularly important to this role. 

• Technological proficiency, including as a power-user of MS Office and Google Drive. You would also use software for videoconferencing (Zoom), calendaring (Google Calendar), project management (Asana), passwords (1Pass), and different databases, including CRMs and applicant tracking systems.

Nice to have, but definitely not required:

• Experience in a consulting environment, particularly strategy, governance, or racial equity.

• Expertise in issues related to health and the environment is highly desirable, as well as perspectives on nonprofit operations and finance. 

• Familiarity with employment law principles, policies and procedures.

• Familiarity using social networking tools for recruitment, including LinkedIn.

Application Process
To be considered for the position, please submit your resume and 1-2 page cover letter that details your interest and qualifications in the role, as well as what you hope to gain and contribute to the Good Insight team. The cover letter will be used as a demonstration of your writing ability. 
We will review submissions as they are received and will contact applicants to request more information and/or to schedule interviews as appropriate. We encourage applications be sent no later than mid June, but the position will remain open until filled. Candidates advancing should anticipate these steps in the process:

• Brief interview(s) with Good Insight team member(s)

• Interview with the CEO

• Skills test administered by a senior Good Insight team member

• Final interview with full Good Insight team

The ideal start date is August 2024 with some flexibility.
Confidential inquiries and applications may be directed to recruiting@good-insight.org.
Compensation & Benefits
While still a small business, Good Insight is committed to offering competitive salaries and a great working environment. The full-time starting salary for this position is $120,000, with bonuses and profit-sharing opportunities. We also offer a liberal PTO policy, federal holidays plus DC Emancipation Day and office closures around winter holidays. Good Insight covers 50% of employees’ health insurance premiums, and contributes to a defined retirement plan.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Good Insight is committed to building a diverse team with the lived experience necessary to advance racial, social, and economic justice for our clients. We celebrate diversity of all kinds, including race, sex, religion, national origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, and age. We do not discriminate for employment opportunities related to these categories or any others protected by local and federal laws. 
We strongly encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQ, women and non-binary people, people with disabilities, and those who hold an intersectional identity.