Link to application and full position listing

Opportunity 

The Virginia Education Association (VEA) seeks a strategic, motivational, articulate leader for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director will work in partnership with the Association's governance and staff to provide operational leadership for VEA to fulfill VEA’s mission, “to unite our members and local communities across the Commonwealth in fulfilling the promise of a high-quality public education that successfully prepares every single student to realize his or her full potential.  We believe this can be accomplished by advocating for students, education professionals, and support professionals."

Position Overview

The Executive Director is the Association’s chief administrator, who leads staff in coordination with the VEA’s President to ensure implementation of the full scope of the strategic plan, policies, procedures, and programs approved and adopted by the VEA’s Board of Directors. The executive director shall employ, direct, and supervise all VEA staff. In collaboration with the President and Officers, the Executive Director develops and manages an annual organizational budget and is accountable to the Board for the Association's long-term financial and fiscal health and sustainability. 

We seek an executive director who can unify our organization and effectively engage and influence internal and external partners. This motivational leader will be pivotal in aligning internal teams and fostering solid and strategic relationships with stakeholders to advance VEA’s mission and objectives. Candidates should possess high emotional intelligence, excellent judgment, and creativity. Must also have a proven record of strategic leadership, collective bargaining experience, and formulating objectives and priorities to implement VEA's longterm interests.   Must be a champion for public education. The executive director must demonstrate a commitment to unionism and improving the lives of working people through collective action. The executive director should strongly believe in and advocate for educators taking ownership of and leading their profession. Additionally, they should be committed to promoting diversity, equal opportunity, and social justice."

VEA History

On December 29, 1863, the Educational Association of Virginia was founded at a statewide meeting held in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Petersburg.  Its mission: “By all suitable means, to promote the educational welfare of Virginia and of the whole country.” Several name changes later, the Virginia State Teachers Association in 1925 formally became the Virginia Education Association. Among the early VEA’s accomplishments: Fostering sound instructional practices, boosting passage of a statewide minimum salary schedule, and supporting a sound retirement system for teachers. An affiliate of the 3-million-member National Education Association (NEA), VEA’s membership includes licensed teachers and specialists, education support professionals (ESPs), community college faculty and support professionals, retired educators, and student members.   Segregated public schooling persisted in Virginia until well into the 1960s. During that decade, VEA and the Commonwealth’s all-black teacher organization, the Virginia Teachers Association (VTA), began to discuss the possibility of merging the two organizations. Serious consideration of a merger increased after the merger of the nationally affiliated organizations—the National Education Association and the American Teachers Association— in 1966. VEA and VTA officially merged in 1967. The merged VEA has played a key role in advocating for educational equity in Virginia.  The VEA continues to be a major force for the betterment of public education, advocating for and winning significant state funding increases for schools, boosting instructional support for educators, and securing collective bargaining rights for the 1st time in almost 50 years in Virginia.   
History of the VEA | Virginia Education Association (veanea.org) 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Institutional Leadership - Lead with vision, adaptability, creativity, and integrity to execute the policies of The VEA’s board.  Exercise inclusive and decisive leadership to advance the mission and vision of VEA’s in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations.   
• Business Knowledge and Corporate Management - Advise and facilitate the development of The VEA budget, administer and monitor the budget, provide oversight and due diligence to ensure fiscal health of the association through sound financial management and strategic planning and oversee compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Evaluate and manage risk, ensure the proper management of all property owned and leased by the Association, and provide financial recommendations for the association’s long term fiscal stability.   
• Organizational Effectiveness and Accountability – Drive for continuous improvement utilizing data and measurement to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of VEA’s programs and services.   
• Cultivate a culture that encourages reciprocal accountability by developing a team of staff and stakeholders that upholds the integrity of VEA’s' mission and core values.
• Encourage employee creativity, innovation, and independent decision-making while establishing performance and success metrics to ensure all team members successfully meet organizational goals. Lead with honesty, good judgment, and transparency.
• Public Education Advocacy – Champion public education in Virginia, including building collaborative relationships between The VEA and external stakeholders to shape the highest professional standards for education policy.
• Organizing – Foster an organizing culture that grows the association while advancing the interests of Virginia’s students, education professionals, and education support professionals and clearly understand how local, state, and national politics affect public education. A thorough understanding of collective bargaining and experience with leading organizing and bargaining campaigns.
• Staff Relations –Provide leadership for staff commitment to the Association’s mission, vision, and strategic plan, ensure compliance with the VEA’s policies; prioritize and assign staff resources to programs and projects as necessary; coordinate, direct, and evaluate the work of  VEA’s employees while fostering a collegial relationship; build effective relationships with management and the staff unions; and successfully support management and staff to ensure the highest quality work on behalf of VEA’s members. Must have an established record of advancing diversity and modeling a collaborative leadership style. VEA is an inclusive workplace where individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the organization's mission by creating a work environment that is reflective of the diverse world in which we live and of the members we serve. 

Key Organizational Opportunities

• VEA is led by a newly elected president and elected board who are committed to developing a forward-looking strategic plan designed to better public education and the professional lives of VEA’s members.
• VEA is committed to a member engagement and organizing culture that mobilizes the membership to articulate, plan, and achieve local objectives and interests. This approach demonstrates the relevance of union participation and the benefit of unified membership at the local, state, and national levels.
• VEA is committed to a culture of organizing in which members are engaged and equipped to grow and strengthen their local associations to improve student outcomes, secure the proper teaching and learning conditions, and achieve educational opportunity and equity for all students, educators, and education support professionals.
• VEA is committed to honoring its rich history while embracing a future full of promise and innovation.
• VEA is committed to leading with empathy and inclusivity, fostering an environment dedicated to racial and social justice principles. 
• VEA is committed to leveraging technology to drive membership growth, modernizing operations, and implementing innovative technological solutions to enhance member engagement and streamline organizational processes.
• VEA is committed to an intentional branding campaign to increase the association's visibility as the leading expert on education and reclaim its position as the foremost advocate for education in Virginia.
• VEA is committed to outreach efforts while actively forging new partnerships with educational institutions, labor unions, businesses, and public and private sector entities. We also aim to collaborate with community coalitions to advance high-quality public education and ensure equitable opportunities for all students.
• VEA is committed to continuing to develop a solid and supportive staff culture that promotes transparency and collaboration throughout the organization. It is also committed to capitalizing on its current staff talent through empowerment and professional development.
• VEA is committed to cultivating bipartisan relationships to advance pro-education legislation and to build strong alliances with external organizations supporting public education.

Essential Competencies, Experience, and Education

Member Focus 
A leader who values public education and is focused on member needs. Someone who believes in member engagement, trust, loyalty, and is committed to fostering strong relationships among VEA and its members. An experienced leader who has successfully demonstrated the ability to implement high quality programs and services that bring value to members. Demonstrated experience in using data to identify additional ways to offer value to members’ professional practice and careers. Ensures that the VEA stays vibrant and relevant as the education landscape and workforce demographics evolve. An influential leader who understands membership and can expand market share, and effectively lead innovative strategies, programs, initiatives, and policies designed to attract and increase new membership. An established leader with the ability to drive member engagement and increase member retention.

Strategic Planning and Execution
The Executive Director must be a proven, persuasive, inspirational, and ethical leader and communicator, open and inclusive in management style, courageous in exercising leadership, respectful of alternative points of view, and capable of decisive action.  Must develop the management team and delegate appropriately while holding reports and staff accountable.  Documented experience in leading organization-wide efforts in planning, implementation, process improvements, innovation, financial management, and building high-performance work teams. A record of executive leadership in strategic planning that required significant organizational change, including experience utilizing reliable methods to ensure accountability and timeliness in executing strategic goals and objectives. Strong ability to delegate but resists the urge to micromanage. Specific evidence that reveals past approaches to work that demonstrate personal expertise in assessing benefits and risks toward creating strategic advantage. An individual who can manage multiple projects with clear priorities and articulate the connections between the big picture and specific action plans and timetables.

Leadership
A passionate public education advocate who understands the central role educators play in leading change in their profession. A proven record of senior organizational leadership marked by a passion for education. A visionary leader who confidently engages others to identify and work toward common goals. Capable and willing to voice respectful and effective dissent when and where appropriate.

Must possess a growth mindset, a collaborative workstyle, and communicate effectively with various internal and external partners. Must have the confidence to lead courageously and possess resilience in a rapidly changing environment; a courageous leader who has shown organizational savvy and flexibility in confronting and adapting to challenging and changing political and organizational realities. Must be capable and willing to voice respectful and effective dissent when and where appropriate. A proven ability to grow a membership base.  An empathetic leader who has a demonstrated, successful record of attracting and empowering a highly talented staff and is skilled at coaching and mentoring. Has success in building and maintaining effective coalition partnerships. 

Interpersonal Effectiveness 
An effective communicator who has excelled in building successful relationships. An established record of fostering teamwork and consensus, effectively managing conflict, provoking creative problem-solving and necessary risk-taking, and including diverse individual and cultural perspectives. Has an ability to inspire trust and communicate sound reasoning authentically and persuasively.  A leader who can develop networks, leverage diversity, and build internal and external alliances across boundaries to support strategic relationships and achieve common goals.   

Desired Experience 

• A minimum of 5 years of middle or senior management experience 
• Experience in public education advocacy, belief in the central role of unions, and unwavering support for organized public education.
• Must be a lifelong learner and support structures for staff's ongoing professional development.

Education:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college is required; a Master's degree preferred, or equivalent work experience.

Compensation Package:
Commensurate with experience and qualifications.

To Apply