President
Job Description
Full job description
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT:
PRESIDENT
Reports To: Board of Directors
Classification: Full-time, Exempt Location:
Remote in the U.S. (Los Angeles, New York or Atlanta Preferred)
Apply By: July 12, 2024
ABOUT COLOR FARM IMPACT
Color Farm Impact, Inc. (“Color Farm Impact”) is a 21st century innovation and social impact non-profit. Color Farm Impact seeks to better society through the transformative power of images and storytelling. Recognizing that representation matters in media, Color Farm Impact seeks not only to bolster non-fiction content with impact campaigns that inspire social action, but also to mentor, train, and support a pipeline of next generation, diverse creators to advance the stories of those whose voices have been ignored because they are not seen as valuable in society. Color Farm Impact was established in 2023 but its sister company, Color Farm Media, has been operating since 2017. Color Farm Media is an award-winning, diversified media company that empowers and elevates voices who are underrepresented, overlooked, and undervalued. Color Farm Media is focused on bringing greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to media in an effort to create sustainable, long-term, systemic change by shifting narratives. One of Color Farm Media’s most recent projects, John Lewis: Good Trouble, about the legendary Congressman and civil rights icon, won the NAACP Award for Best Documentary Film and was nominated for three Emmy Awards. Color Farm Media’s Audible series, Finding Tamika, which highlights the disparities in media coverage between missing Black women and girls versus missing white women and girls, won the prestigious duPont-Columbia Award for excellence in journalism, as well as a Webby Award and several other honors. Color Farm’s Co-Founders are dynamic partners in social activism bringing expertise in content creation and scaling organizations: actress, director, writer, and producer, Erika Alexander - best known for her trailblazing roles as Maxine Shaw on the groundbreaking Fox comedy series “Living Single” and Coraline in the Oscar-winning film ”American Fiction” - and producer, writer, and media/technology executive Ben Arnon. The collective vision for Color Farm Impact is primarily focused on economic mobility and closing the racial and gender wealth gaps. Key Program Areas include:
● Training, Educating, and Mentoring Underrepresented Creators: We believe that representations in film and on television are crucial because they influence our everyday perceptions and interactions, including how we relate to one another, and they shape how we see ourselves and others. Through Creator Labs for Writers and Producers, we will train, educate, and mentor underrepresented, underestimated, and undervalued creative talent to build pipelines that foster systemic cultural narrative change through consistent development and production of premium-quality content.
● Executing World-class, Deeply Meaningful Social Impact Campaigns: We believe in the power of educating audiences about the racial equity and social justice themes and topics that we champion. Our social impact campaigns, which are evergreen and build national awareness through our broad reach, support non-fiction content promoting the film’s key themes and social impact areas including racial justice, equality, voting rights, gender equity, and related focus areas. We have partnered with major brands and non-profits including Ben & Jerry’s, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Target, NAACP, Color of Change, United Negro College Fund, and more in campaigns that inspire social action and change.
● Using Data-Driven Research Initiatives to Prove that Racial and Gender Representation in Media Matters: We believe that not only does representation in media matter but it is critically important to culture and the greater society. Our national strategic partnerships promote data initiatives and research that help prove that racial and gender representation in media matters and that the racial equity and social justice themes and topics we champion move society forward. Color Farm Media’s “Maxine Shaw Effect” Research and Educational Curriculum was built recognizing that the character of Maxine Shaw inspired thousands of people to pursue law and politics including Former Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
● Granting Funds in Support of Documentary Film Production: We believe in transformative storytelling through documentary films that align with our social impact goals. Color Farm Impact will award grants directly to emerging creators – women, people of color, and other underrepresented voices – who have traditionally struggled to gain exposure for their work. Funding documentary film producers, and/or their production organizations, supports them in becoming change agents to shift the culture and better society through the impact of their content creation. We will also award scholarships to deserving HBCU students whose goals align with the mission of Color Farm Impact. Color Farm Impact is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (Federal Tax ID #93-3401211). Funding comes from individual donors, foundations, and other grant awards.
ABOUT THE POSITION
Color Farm Impact seeks an entrepreneurial, action-oriented, and resilient leader to serve as our first President and full-time team member shaping the role and organization through crystalizing the Co-Founders’ vision with imaginative strategic thinking to scale our people, programs, and partnerships. Reporting to the Board and of Directors, the President will bring bold positivity, action-orientation, and emotional intelligence to shepherd our multi-phased growth plan. The President will collaborate with both Co-Founders and the full Board of Directors to affirm and/or refine the mission, vision, and values; build awareness of Color Farm Impact and its offerings; design and build out core programming; enhance existing and develop new program and funding partnerships; and build and manage a diverse and dynamic team. Initial priorities will include developing and leading innovative strategies to grow financial resources, mainly from individual donors, foundations, and strategic digital marketing; and designing, piloting, and/or rolling out core programs including social impact campaigns, training for content creators, and research-based curriculum. This is an exciting opportunity to co-create an innovative social impact model working for representation in media and narrative change. The role is ideal for a goal-oriented, forward thinking, equity-centered leader with experience scaling non-profit, startup, philanthropic, entertainment, communications, or other corporate entities including formalizing operations and systems. The President should have comfort and patience moving through ambiguity to clarity. Equal parts visionary and tactician, the President must be a stellar thought partner to the Board and an exceptional individual contributor while also having the capacity and desire to build and manage a high-performing team with empathy and care as the organization grows.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Anticipated core functions and responsibilities are included below noting that duties may change or expand as the organization evolves so candidates should be flexible to perform other duties, as assigned/needed.
Organizational Leadership and Management
● Build and maintain a collaborative working relationship with the Board of Directors including co-creating norms for and facilitating meetings; supporting recruitment of additional members; organizing board retreats; ensuring individual member expertise is leveraged and interests are met; and providing learning and development opportunities
● Develop and oversee effective operational activities, policies, and procedures in alignment with organizational mission, goals, and values
● Refine and execute against a staffing plan to enhance organizational capacity including consideration of when to bring on key roles like an Executive Assistant, Program Director(s), a Community Engagement Director, and a Director of Advancement
● Select and supervise core consultants, as needed, to support fundraising, programming, and/or communications
● Hire, supervise, mentor, and develop key team members, as they are brought on
● Co-create an inclusive, multicultural, innovative, nonconformist, results-oriented, and learning organization where everyone is encouraged to lift their voice and shine as conduits for impact and lasting social change
● Lead a collaborative strategic planning process to clearly articulate organizational goals, strategies, tactics, and resource needs over the next three to five years
Program Design, Implementation, Evaluation, and Innovation
● Launch mentorship and training through Creator Labs for Writers and Producers focused on early- and mid-career professionals and youth
● Work in partnership with major brand and non-profit partners to enhance existing and launch new social impact campaigns tied to inspiring non-fiction content
● Continue partnership development around and roll out of all Research and Educational Curriculum
● Develop, gain approval for, and implement a trust-based grant application, review, and selection process for documentary film production grants as well as HBCU student scholarships
● Select and manage consultants to support program development, roll out, and/or evaluation, as needed
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