Arena Careers

ABOUT US

The Freedom Together Foundation’s mission is to support people who have been denied power to build it, so they can change unjust systems and create a more democratic, inclusive, and sustainable society. We are dedicated to long-lasting, systemic change. Over the last 10 years, Freedom Together has grown to be one of the largest US foundations, awarding over $300 million in grants each year.

THE POSITION

The Freedom Together Foundation seeks nominations and applications for the position of Special Assistant to the President (SA), a member of the Office of the President (OOP) team. Joining the team at an exciting time of strategic development and team growth, the SA will work closely with the President and report to the Senior Manager, OOP.

The Special Assistant to the President will directly support the President in meeting his strategic priorities, including breaking down goals into actionable milestones, helping him prepare for and accompany him to meetings, providing impeccable follow-through, and managing his correspondence. This person will also foster external relationships, assisting with relationship management, including tracking engagement efforts with important stakeholders, and designing and implementing strategies to support those relationships.

The ideal candidate brings exceptional organizational skills, deep understanding of how best to use an executive’s time, and a wide range of strengths including superb written skills and verbal communications. They will be able to work quickly, have high emotional intelligence and organize and juggle a large volume of details.

They will understand the worlds of social justice movements, NGOs, and philanthropy. They will excel at keeping up with a fast moving and thinking President. The SA will be adaptable and fast learner across a wide range of material, have excellent judgement about people and delicate situations, and be an exceptional diplomat. They will bring at least 7 years of experience working in progressive movements and foundations and a deep commitment to social justice and power building.

There is a moderate travel requirement for this position; the SA will accompany the President to events that may occur in the evenings or on the weekends or may require overnight stays out of town.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Knowledge and Expertise: Stay up to date on trends and opportunities related to Freedom Together’s efforts and work internally and externally.
• Balance Multiple Tasks: Handle competing priorities and be able to create systems that track and enable the President to juggle various responsibilities and interests related to helping to expand multi-racial democracy in the U.S.
• Communications Management: The SA will manage the President’s communications and correspondence, including 90% of email that the President receives. They will draft communications (including correspondence and social media) on behalf of the President, lift up urgent matters or VIP communications, and seamlessly route messages to team members.
• Project Management: The SA will evaluate, strategize, and translate the President’s goals into specific tasks and provide a daily and weekly breakdown of time allocation to get the tasks done. They will collaborate with the Executive Coordinator and Senior Manager on calendaring.
• Relationship Management: Track engagement efforts with important external partners and cultivate, design, and implement strategies to support those relationships, including intentional planning around regular personalized outreach. Support the President’s presence and engagement in key internal forums and facilitate internal relationship building.
• Meeting Preparation: The SA will provide substantive preparation for meetings. In order to make strategic judgments about time and needed prep, the SA will investigate who should attend, identify the ‘real’ purpose and agenda, and determine what will optimize the value of attending. They will outline what tasks need to be completed before the meeting and ensure a clear purpose and outcome. They will conduct any needed background research and then set regular reminders to make sure the President has been fully briefed before the meeting.
• Writing and Research: The SA will conduct research and formulate background documents as needed, including but not limited to biographies, recent media hits, brief summaries, pulling quotes, overview of programmatic/mission work, and assets research.
• External Events: The SA will attend most meetings and external events with the President (including evenings and weekends), take detailed notes, and handle all follow-up. Some out-of-state travel is expected, estimated to be a minimum of one time/month.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCIES, AND BEHAVIORS

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications below, the ideal candidate will have many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience working in the social justice sector. Experience in the philanthropic sector is a plus.
• Significant experience in supporting a high-level principal or having held a senior-level role.
• Passion for and commitment to Freedom Together’s mission and values.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to draft communications on behalf of the President and take meticulous notes.
• High level of emotional intelligence, integrity, and strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trusting relationships and manage complex issues.
• Implementer and excellent project manager who gets results. Skilled at completing projects and tasks.
• Expert at impeccable follow-up and is detail-oriented in all aspects of the work.
• The proven ability to manage multiple priorities and adapt in a fast-paced and changing environment.
• Low ego; team player and willing to pitch in as needed.
• Enjoys working in both a collaborative environment and independently.
• Resourceful and finds a solution in any situation.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and integrity.
• Proficient with Google Suite and able to learn other programs to support the work.
• Capacity for frequent travel (20%), including overnight stays, required (one trip per month minimum).

SALARY & BENEFITS

This is a full-time, exempt position and the annualized salary is $170,000 - $215,000 annually. Freedom Together offers an extensive and generous benefits package including health insurance (with 100% of the premiums paid for employees, spouses, domestic partners, and qualified family members), paid time off (including last week of the year), 401(k) retirement plan with 12% employer contribution, and access to an inclusive family building reimbursement plan. Freedom Together provides up to $5,000 annually for professional development and the ability to recommend an annual grant to the nonprofit of your choice.

WORKING WITH FREEDOM TOGETHER

We believe that diversity is critical to our mission, and we value an inclusive culture. We strongly encourage applications from people with lived experiences related to our programs and applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals. The Freedom Together Foundation is an equal opportunity employer; we do not discriminate in employment based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender or gender identity, age or sexual

orientation.

The Freedom Together Foundation is based in Manhattan, NY. Freedom Together staff operates on a hybrid schedule and currently works from the NYC office three days weekly, with the flexibility to work remotely two days weekly.

TO APPLY

The priority deadline to apply for this position is May 12, 2025, though applications will be considered until the position is filled. To apply, please submit a resume and answer the questions. Reach out to Jaclyn Jones at [email protected] with any questions.