Executive Director

About this position

Date Posted: September 25, 2020
Posting #: 2020-52

Eva’s is an organization with a legacy steeped in advocacy and social justice. Founded by Eva Smith, a Jamaican immigrant, Black community leader and passionate education advocate, Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth works to build brighter futures for young people aged 16-24.  In addition to providing 123 youth with safe shelter each night, we also work to enable young people to build stable, successful and inter-dependent lives, through our innovative programs, like our Employment and Training program, which includes hands on experience in our Print Shop, a full service social enterprise. Together we are working to build brighter futures.

We are searching for our next Executive Director, to lead the organization in our mission to prevent, reduce and end youth homelessness. You will start by building a new strategic plan for Eva’s, in alignment with organizational priorities that include a comprehensive centring of youth from Black communities, all with a focus on housing for young people and prevention of youth homelessness.

The Executive Director (ED) is accountable to the Board of Directors and is responsible for leading the organization’s strategic direction, overseeing all organizational operations, and working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders to ensure quality service provision to all the young people that Eva’s serves.

A typical day in this role will include working with the COO to ensure priorities are aligned, meeting with the chair of the board to discuss current projects. Most days would also include meetings with outside agencies to talk about partnership opportunities.

Responsibilities

• You will be a role model for Eva’s values, and have a deep understanding of how to structure an organization to promote equity and address oppression, specifically, anti-Black racism.
• You will be experienced with human resources oversight, including the development of Eva’s team, talent acquisition and succession planning.
• You will work to build a culture that supports the organizations values.
• Reporting to the Board via the Board President, you will develop a strong partnership with the Board of Directors and liaise with Board-level committee chairs to ensure strong continuous communication and accountability on strategic issues and projects.  This will include implementing and testing best-practices in non-profit governance.
• You will develop an overarching strategic and operational plan in collaboration with the Senior Management Team to meet the organization’s strategic objectives. 
• You will have accountability for reporting on progress to the Board of Directors and its committees.
• Working with the head of Finance, you will help to maintain the financial health of the organization by ensuring sound financial management practices, including budgeting, forecasting, cashflow and reporting.
• You will spend significant time generating revenue through resource development, social enterprise, entrepreneurial thinking coupled with excellent business acumen.
• You will be the public-face representing Eva’s and will work collaboratively with community, funders, government partners and corporations to promote the mission of Eva’s, including promotion, advocacy, education, fundraising, education and thought-leadership.

To be successful in this role you will have a deep understanding of how to work alongside populations facing systemic barriers, in particular youth, who are not served well by mainstream community services.  You will understand human development and the impact of trauma and systemic issues that disproportionally affect particular communities, and how to build programs, services, and create the organizational change needed to serve these communities more effectively.

You will have vast experience leading a senior management team to achieve great results in a not-for-profit environment, ideally with experience working within a unionized environment. You must possess deep experience in structuring an equity-focused organization with anti-oppressive practices, and deep skills in assessing and addressing anti-Black racism.

You should have lived experience in the communities Eva’s primarily serves, particularly in the Black community and sound knowledge of practices in residential facilities or a comparable setting.

Apply

Submit a cover letter and resume in one document by 5:00pm on October 16, 2020 to EDrecruitment@evas.ca. Be sure to indicate 2020-52 Executive Director in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

Eva’s is strongly committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the populations we serve. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals including applicants from all cultures, racialized communities, abilities, diverse sexual and gender identities, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. We are committed to a selection process and work environment that is inclusive and barrier free.

Eva’s has taken active steps to reduce the risk of transmission within our shelters, click here to learn what we are doing: https://www.evas.ca/blog/covid-19-update/

We acknowledge the land we occupy is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississauga's of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.  We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississauga's of the Credit and the Williams Treaty signed with multiple Mississauga's and Chippewa bands.

We also acknowledge all Treaty peoples – including those who came here as settlers – as migrants either in this generation or in generations past - and those of us who came here involuntarily, particularly forcibly dis-planted Africans, brought here as a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Slavery.

Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth

Administrative Office: 401 Richmond St W., Suite 245, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8
Phone 416-977-4497 | Email info@evas.ca | Website www.evas.ca

Connect with us @evasinitiatives