The Board of Directors of Writers & Books (WAB), Rochester, NY, seeks an Executive Director to provide energetic leadership in advancing the organization’s mission, values, and goals across a robust program of literary arts activities, outreach, and community service. The ideal candidate is a visionary changemaker; strategic and proven fundraiser; seasoned administrator; and confident community ambassador capable of managing complex operations, fostering collaboration and partnerships, and positioning WAB as a leader in its field.
Primary Responsibilities
Organizational Leadership and Governance
- Ensure WAB’s fiscal health, sustainability, and growth: Lead impactful fundraising efforts, including developing partnerships with corporations, foundations, and private donors; enhance audience and donor recruitment, retention, and engagement; develop and implement strategies to expand contributed and earned revenue.
- Collaborate with the Board Chair and Board of Directors to develop and execute strategic initiatives aligned with WAB’s mission and goals.
- Facilitate effective governance by providing guidance and support to an engaged, active Board of Directors.
- Represent WAB to internal and external stakeholders as a dynamic ambassador for the organization.
- Provide leadership on program planning, advocacy, marketing, and promotional activities to advance organizational goals.
Administration and Fiscal Oversight
- Inspire, lead, and collaborate with advisors and an experienced staff.
- Manage personnel and staffing, including hiring, terminations, performance reviews, compensation, professional development, and other Human Resource functions. Direct reports include a Deputy Director, Artistic Director, Director of Youth Education, and Bookstore/Development Coordinator. Contract staff include an accountant, bookkeeper, webmaster/IT administrator, and fundraiser.
- Oversee all activities relating to the efficient operation of WAB’s two brick- and-mortar facilities.
- Develop and implement protocols and systems for internal program control and fiscal accountability.
- Provide oversight for operational workflows, refining processes to optimize efficiency and resource utilization.
- Create an annual budget for Board approval and oversee its effective implementation.
- Ensure accurate and timely financial reporting and documentation.
Program Development and Execution
- Oversee the planning, development, execution, and evaluation of programs and initiatives to ensure artistic excellence, visibility, accessibility, and inclusion.
- Monitor and evaluate program performance, utilizing data-driven insights to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.
Requirements
- Proven experience providing executive-level leadership with a track record of success in organizational and fiscal management, stakeholder engagement, and fundraising.
- Minimum of five years in a senior leadership position.
- Superb communicator.
- Exceptional organizational abilities.
- Commitment to justice, equity, diversity, accessibility, inclusion, and belonging.
- Commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
- Knowledge of the technical, administrative, and economic issues facing nonprofits.
- Preferred: Demonstrated expertise in nonprofit or membership-based organizational operations.
- Additional Requirement: Satisfactory completion of all required background screenings.
Compensation and Benefits: Annual salary range is $75,000 - $78,000; $3,000 stipend for health insurance; paid time off, holidays, and wellness/illness days; 401-k; disability insurance.
To Apply: In a single PDF attachment, email cover letter and resume to EDsearch@wab.org, with the subject line “Executive Director” by April 30, 2025.
About Writers & Books
MISSION: Writers & Books promotes reading and writing as lifelong activities for people of all ages and backgrounds to enrich their lives and the intellectual, social, and cultural vibrancy of their communities.
VALUES: We believe in the power and importance of the written word; in celebrating the written word as a tool for communication and an art form; that storytelling is a vital aspect of the human experience that unites humanity; that reading builds empathy and brings people together; and in creating a safe space for voices of all backgrounds, beliefs, origins, and abilities. Read our Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility & Inclusion and Land Acknowledgment Statements.
VISION: To be a leading resource that celebrates diverse voices and fosters thriving communities of readers and writers.
HISTORY | AUDIENCE | ACTIVITIES: Writers & Books has been a staple of greater Rochester’s arts-and-culture landscape since incorporation as a 501-c-3 nonprofit in 1981. Headquartered in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, we own and operate an in-house independent bookstore and Gell: A Finger Lakes Creative Retreat, sited on 24 acres in Naples, NY. Post-COVID, we annually engage an in-person and online audience of approximately 6,500. Our 2025 operating budget is $773,000.
Our youth camps, education-through-the arts initiatives, readings, writing workshops, residencies, conferences, fellowships, and interdisciplinary activities capture the imagination of and engage a broad cross-section of Monroe and Ontario County residents. We strive to amplify historically marginalized voices, locally, regionally, and nationally. Our youth initiatives aim to advance early grade reading and high school graduation, two community priorities identified by reliable field data.
We deliver tuition-free programming in four Rochester City District schools as well as admission- free initiatives benefiting vulnerable lifelong learners. 28% of summer youth camp attendance is underwritten by need-based scholarships; weekly drop-in writing workshops for adults are delivered tuition-free; and nearly all public events are delivered on a Gift Economy basis.
Distinguishing features of our curation include bridging silos across disciplines, prioritizing a nexus between the literary arts and social justice, and sustaining numerous community relationships with organizations and individuals who embrace similar goals for transformation through the arts. We enjoy programming partnerships with, among others, 540WMain, the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Avenue Blackbox Theater, Blackfriars Theater, BOA Editions, Central Library and five urban branches, George Eastman Museum, Flower City Arts Center, Fringe Festival, Geva Theatre, Highland Park Conservancy, ImageOut LGBTQ Film Festival, Jewish Community Center, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Academy, Rochester Prep, School of the Arts, Schools #19 and 23, Seneca Park Zoo, and area colleges and universities.