A CEO is typically considered to be the most prestigious role within a private sector company.
In contrast, becoming an executive director is often seen as one of the most impressive roles that you can eventually earn in a nonprofit.
An executive director is responsible for leading a nonprofit organization. Duties include (but are not limited to):
- Overseeing daily operations and reporting to the board of directors
- Managing the organization’s creative and philanthropic mission
- Directing, supervising, and overseeing projects
- Building and maintaining positive internal and external relationships with stakeholders
However, for those interested in being hired as an executive director, it can be hard to know where to start.
Therefore, this article has compiled for you – the top in– demand requirements for an executive director, achieved by reviewing numerous executive director job postings from CharityVillage’s job site. By reviewing this information, you can proactively evaluate and build upon your current skills and qualifications to increase your chances of one day being hired as an executive director!
Most common requirements in job postings
After reviewing various real-world executive director job postings, here are the 7 most common requirements:
1. Experience in Specific Sector – Most executive director job postings request at least 5+ years of experience in their specific field. However, 10+ years of experience is often advertised as being preferred.
2. Degree in Field (Highly Preferred) – Depending on the posting, a bachelor’s degree in a similar field is typically required, with a master’s degree being an asset. Some specific fields will even list memberships to certain professional groups as a benefit for candidates applying.
3. Leadership Experience – Every executive director role posting listed experience in leadership roles as essential. Specifically, 5 years of experience is the absolute minimum, with most organizations preferring 7 to 10+ years of experience in progressive leadership.
4. Strategic Planning Experience – Being able to lead projects and organizational objectives is a key requirement for an executive director. Specific skills include experience in the following:
- Developing business plans
- Leading projects
- Upholding an organization’s mission
- Critical thinking
- Meeting project objectives
- Leading philanthropic projects
- Organizational planning
- Social service implementation and evaluation
5. Comprehensive Understanding of a Nonprofit’s Departments – To be an executive director is to be a jack-of-all-trades. In other words, executive directors are expected to have a broad range of knowledge, experience, and comfortability with all aspects of a nonprofit including:
- Board of director relations
- Financial systems management
- Human resources
- Development
- Communications
- Marketing and social media
- Technology
- Digital literacy
- Grant development
- Budgets
- Event organization
- Governance structures
6. Interpersonal Collaboration – A key aspect of an executive director’s role is the requirement to build and maintain positive internal and external relationships with various stakeholders (e.g., board of directors, donors, staff, administration etc.). This includes, but is not limited to experience in the following:
- Mentorship
- Managing staff
- Co-leadership
- Communications
- Interpersonal skills
- Managing a team
7. Passion – As with any nonprofit role, hiring managers are always looking for candidates who genuinely believe in and care for their organization’s mission. So, be sure to reflect and determine what field(s) and projects excite you and apply them to those types of organizations when possible.
How to upskill
After reviewing this list, you might already notice some skill and qualification deficits on your current resume. Therefore, to gain more experience and knowledge, here are some paths you can take:
- Additional schooling
- Mentorship
- Informal learning
- Volunteerism
- Look for new opportunities at your current job (e.g., leadership projects)
- Accept a transitional role to upskill (e.g., upper-level management or administration)
Final thoughts
As an executive director, naturally, a lot will be expected of you. Therefore, if this is a career path you’d like to explore, be sure to do the following:
- Research what the specific executive director requirements are in your desired field (e.g., look at job postings)
- Examine what skills you are missing and/or need improvement on in your current resume and background
- Proactively build your knowledge and experience to the most in-demand executive director skills and qualifications, and later update your resume and interview skills to accurately reflect this.
Through this process, hopefully, your career ambitions will one day become reality!
