Isaacson, Miller (IM), a national retained executive search firm specializing in leadership recruitment in the civic sector, seeks a strategic and hands-on Director, Equity, Diversity, + Inclusion (EDI Director) dedicated to the advancement of anti-racist, diverse, and equitable business practices. IM’s EDI Director will be a courageous change agent with hands-on experience aligning and executing EDI strategy and programs within a matrixed, multi-generational, geographically distributed professional services environment. The successful candidate will establish trust through the application of their EDI subject matter expertise as well as intellectual curiosity, rigor, humor, resilience, vision, and strong consensus-building talents. Resourcefulness, candor, and engaging interpersonal skills are essential in this role.

Since IM’s founding in 1982, IM has been committed to strengthening and diversifying the leadership of mission-driven organizations. IM enjoys a nearly 83% returning-client rate and completes 500 search assignments each year across the entire civic sector, producing $48 million in firm revenues. IM has practices in higher education, healthcare and academic medicine, science and technology, PreK-12 education and education improvement, associations, foundations, arts and culture, human and social services, and social justice/advocacy. We identify and recruit exceptional candidates from a broad range of backgrounds across nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors, and contribute to increasingly diverse leadership in our client organizations with the majority of our placements identifying as women and/or people of color. We aspire to extend our societal and institutional impact through the stewardship of searches that successfully increase the placement of trailblazing leaders intimate with the challenges of marginalization often associated with age, ethnicity, visible and invisible handicaps, socio-economic disparities, neurodiversity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Key Responsibilities of the EDI Director

The EDI Director will report directly to the Chief People + Culture Officer, with dotted line reporting to the CEO. They will serve as a member of the firm’s Management Committee, with whom they will evolve IM’s Equity Transformation Plan to meet the challenges of today, and to embed equitable and inclusive practices into our culture and workplace. They will steward development and implementation of firm-wide EDI goals and metrics, and will introduce programming that increases our collective, individual, and interpersonal EDI acumen to ensure we are effective leaders, advisors, colleagues, and role models for inclusive, anti-racist, and equitable talent management and search and selection practices.

Key areas of accountability include the following:

Organizational Culture

Our people are fundamental to our success. The EDI Director will partner with their People + Culture teammates to ensure inclusive recruitment, selection, development, and management practices that achieve desired diversity of our candidate pools, workforce, and leadership succession pipelines for key roles. Additionally, they will advise and mentor our employee resource groups (ERGs) and facilitate EDI Committee meetings and activities. The EDI Committee partners with firm leadership and the EDI Director to establish, monitor, and advance the strategic priorities outlined in the firm’s Equity Transformation Plan. Our ERGs nurture a welcoming and inclusive work environment and the achievement of personal and business success through supportive workplace community, connectivity, professional development, and shared experiences.

Strategy + Advisement

Our EDI Director will be a credible and trusted thought partner, influencer, advisor, coach, and change manager who facilitates the adoption of necessary change at all levels of the organization through an inspiring, data-driven, and engaging interpersonal approach. They will be savvy in collecting, analyzing, and presenting relevant data to benchmark, educate, inform, and inspire action.

Learning + Development

In a fluid and dynamic field of practice, the EDI Director will facilitate the deepening of our staff’s individual/interpersonal EDI intelligence, and grow our shared understanding of the emerging principles, practices, and language with which to enhance our workplace. The EDI Director will collaborate with the Learning + Development team, Craft Quality and Development Committee, firm leaders, and vendors to deliver sophisticated EDI learning and development opportunities to our workforce. They will review and apply an EDI lens to existing and prospective course offerings and will deliver coaching that fosters excellence in leading inclusively and managing diverse teams. They will support the transfer and application of knowledge, communication skills, tools, and techniques for all staff to skillfully navigate sensitive conversations in the workplace, and for our search consultants to coach clients and committees.

Project Management

The EDI Director will develop and manage the strategic EDI roadmap and execute plans that bring our Equity Transformation Plan to fruition. Through cross-functional leadership, they will translate firm intentions and annual priorities into project plans with key activities, milestones, achievable timelines, accountabilities, and metrics.

IM seeks an accomplished and resourceful EDI Director with prior change management experience in a professional services or analogous environment. An investment in the success and integrity of the firm is essential; the EDI Director will be comfortable working across all levels of an entrepreneurial organization in which independent professionals build and sustain varied practices in support of the firm’s mission.

While no one candidate will possess all of them, the successful candidate will bring many of the following experiences, skills, and attributes:

· A track record of fostering inclusive environments in which all team members feel a sense of belonging. A fundamental belief in respect, fairness, and kindness.

· A track record of building trust with people from diverse backgrounds and approaches. Maturity, objectivity, discretion, and sound judgment when engaging with multiple constituencies.

· Strong listening, verbal, and written communication skills. Collegial, compassionate, and consultative with the ability to gracefully navigate and coalesce divergent points of view.

· The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution. Develops ambitious goals and standards for EDI while attending rigorously to accuracy and detail.

· Skill in coaching and guiding senior leaders on EDI issues and practices, supporting or leading organizational change, and implementing and sustaining high-quality initiatives.

· Functional expertise in organizational, cross-functional project, and committee management.

· A self-directed learner committed to broadening and deepening their subject matter expertise.

· Comfort and facility with EDI data and its use in decision-making.

· Integrity, honesty, resilience, and a healthy sense of humor.

· A commitment to doing what is right, not what is easy.

Application, Compensation, And Benefits

Please visit www.imsearch.com/IMcareers to learn more about the opportunities offered at IM, and to submit application materials in confidence. Applications should include a resume as well as a cover letter explaining your interest in Isaacson, Miller, and the EDI Director role.

As an employee-owned firm, IM offers competitive compensation and benefits, including a non-contributory health and dental offering as well as participation in a profit-sharing pension plan and an employee stock ownership plan. The salary range for this position is $156,816--$196,009. Every hire for this position will join the firm at $156,816.

Commitment To Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are embedded in Isaacson, Miller’s mission, founding impulse, core values, and practice. From the start, IM has worked hard to recruit outstanding leaders across lines of difference and has been gratified to serve clients who share IM’s core values. IM has successes to celebrate and looks forward to continued growth and learning. Through the firm’s commitment to be a diverse and welcoming community of colleagues where everyone can thrive, all become stronger and empowered to provide the very best service to IM’s clients and contribute to a vital and powerful civic sector.

Equal Opportunity Employer

IM is an equal-opportunity employer and strives to create a safe work environment for its employees free of discrimination and harassment. IM hires the most qualified individuals for each position, and does so without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), sex stereotyping (including assumptions about a person’s appearance or behavior, gender roles, gender expression, or gender identity), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, ancestry, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other protected status of an individual or that individual’s associates or relatives. This Equal Employment Opportunity policy applies to all areas of employment for all employees.

About IM

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are embedded in Isaacson, Miller’s mission, founding impulse, core values, and practice. From the start, IM has worked hard to recruit outstanding leaders across lines of difference and has been gratified to serve clients who share IM’s core values. IM has successes to celebrate and looks forward to continued growth and learning. Through the firm’s commitment to be a diverse and welcoming community of colleagues where everyone can thrive, all become stronger and empowered to provide the very best service to IM’s clients and contribute to a vital and powerful civic sector.

IM’s 265 staff members share a fundamental commitment to its clients’ missions, motivating them to continue to achieve outstanding results. IM’s work is guided by the following ideals and principles that drive business forward and to which the company is held accountable:

· We value diversity, equity, and inclusion

· We value excellence in our craft

· We are intellectually curious

· We are generous colleagues

· We seek and support opportunities to grow

· We create social impact

· We are transparent

These core values anchor IM today and the firm’s aspirations for the future. They guide firm strategy, client service, teammate recruitment, day-to-day interactions, and the firm’s and its people’s drive for continuous improvement.

The company’s steady growth over 40 years has been largely organic and incremental — a path that has served IM well and allowed the firm to remain nimble and entrepreneurial. The firm’s belief in the power of exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to service excellence, integrity, and impact are the foundation of its reputation and have fueled its growth, much of it from repeat clients or direct referrals from clients.