President & CEO of the Roosevelt Institute

Background: About the Roosevelt Institute

The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank advancing ideas that rebalance power in our economy and democracy and investing in leaders and experts to create a more equitable, high-care, and low-carbon future. Through our Roosevelt Society and Roosevelt Network, we offer an intellectual and policy home for and support intergenerational professionals and students who are making this shared vision a reality. And as the nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, we bring the legacy and lessons of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt into all of our work.

Roosevelt takes on today’s greatest challenges by advancing bold, cutting-edge research and policy ideas. We believe that a more productive and innovative American economy is possible—by reviving democratic institutions and reimagining the role of public power in shaping the economy we need.

Roosevelt helps to build and shepherd an effective counterforce to the last half-century of dominant neoliberal policies by pushing for an economically inclusive, pro-growth, democratic worldview. Roosevelt elevates paradigm-shifting, keenly researched, sharply articulated ideas. We are creating a progressive pipeline into the federal government, supporting and uplifting people ready to put those ideas into action.

Roosevelt’s work, and the work of our advocacy affiliate 501 (c)(4) organization, Roosevelt Forward, has strongly influenced current federal legislative and administrative agendas. Roosevelt has put many of its ideas into action, most notably through the Biden administration’s agenda, which has prioritized and implemented a host of high-care, low-carbon, pro-worker economic and social policies in its effort to change the economic paradigm.

The Roosevelt Institute is seeking a new President and CEO to lead the next chapter of our work.

Over the past decade, Roosevelt has more than doubled its operating budget. It is now a $15 million annual organization with 70 staff members and $38 million in assets under management. Roosevelt’s executive team is strong, as is its staff union (NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003). The organization is headquartered in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. Roosevelt is proud to support and serve as the nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, part of the National Archives Presidential Library system and located in Hyde Park, New York.

What lies ahead is a critical and transformative moment that offers us a chance to meaningfully change the political and economic paradigm. Our country faces both crisis and opportunity, echoing, in profound ways, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s own era. Our challenge today is ambitious, and it is achievable: to continue to drive new, compelling thinking and to spark and sustain the next generation of leaders to reanimate progressive thought and, together, build a more equitable society.

After a successful 12 years at the helm, Roosevelt’s current President and CEO, Felicia Wong, has decided to transition to a new role at Roosevelt focused on the new Roosevelt Society initiative. This decision is a reflection of Felicia’s commitment to creating space for new leaders and her long-standing belief in building and sharing power.

What You’ll Do

Reporting to and working closely with the Board of Directors, the President and CEO is responsible for the Roosevelt Institute’s strategic, programmatic, financial, and operational leadership. The Roosevelt Institute and Roosevelt Forward, for which Roosevelt’s President and CEO also serves as chief executive, are widely known for successfully crafting and implementing a strategy that does three things: 

1. Shifts paradigms, changing what political influencers think is possible in the economy; 
2. Develops an intergenerational pipeline of people ready and willing to serve the public good in public policy roles; and 
3. Builds a field of changemakers through relationships and partnerships in academia, the nonprofit world, philanthropy, and government. 

Roosevelt seeks a new President and CEO who will build on this successful approach in innovative and high-impact ways. 

The President and CEO will have deep integrity, strategic acumen, and narrative and policy expertise. They will lead Roosevelt’s talented executive and staff teams in challenging times: Our country faces democratic fragility, an economic recovery that is strong by many measures but not fully felt by the public, and uncertainty in the wake of the 2024 election, no matter the outcome. The Roosevelt Institute works on behalf of the many, not the few, and as such has significant potential to persuade both influencers and the general public that democratic institutions can deliver. As such, the President and CEO will seek to expand, enhance, and systematically grow Roosevelt’s reach, influence, and support. The President and CEO will also work with Roosevelt’s executive team to deepen a culture of collaboration and communication and to ensure that Roosevelt’s day-to-day practices honor diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).

Key elements of the President and CEO role include:

Strategy and Vision. The President and CEO works with the Board of Directors, the Executive Team, and other staff, fellows, and stakeholders to both understand and see beyond the current political moment and to develop shared goals for impact. Roosevelt’s success is predicated on looking around corners to build the framework that will be necessary for a growing, healthy, and inclusive economy. Further developing and championing this vision is a critical role for the President and CEO. Additionally, Roosevelt works closely with partners across the progressive ecosystem, so the President and CEO will represent Roosevelt in coalition spaces and play an important role in carving out Roosevelt’s role in these spaces. 

Operations and Management. Roosevelt’s greatest asset is its talented, dedicated staff and its larger network of fellows, students, and alumni. The President and CEO will provide leadership and direction to all Roosevelters. This will include developing annual plans by working with Roosevelt’s executive leadership and other managers to set ambitious goals and hold one another accountable to those goals, recruiting and retaining top talent, ensuring excellent internal communications, mentoring and developing staff and other Roosevelters, and continuing to ensure best-in-class budgetary and financial practices. Managing organizational change, ensuring clear internal communications, and strengthening DEIB practices are all essential elements of the President and CEO’s portfolio.

Fundraising and External Relations. The President and CEO will be the public face of the organization and the principal fundraiser, working with an excellent development team and the Board of Directors’ development committee to identify, cultivate, and steward donors. In 2024, Roosevelt will raise and spend approximately $15 million, of which 70 percent will come from institutional foundations. Strengthening multichannel philanthropic giving—including from foundations, major donors, and other individuals—will be key to Roosevelt’s ongoing health and success. The organization has grown steadily over the past decade, with the budget expanding by 10–15 percent each year for the past several years. We anticipate continuing on this trajectory in the near term.

The President and CEO will also support our partner, the FDR Library, which is currently undergoing a strategic planning process and considering a capital campaign. The position will work closely with the Library’s leadership and trustees, directly supporting fundraising and external engagement, as well as partnering on shared programming such as the Four Freedoms Awards and our relationship with the Roosevelt Foundation in the Netherlands, the Roosevelts’ ancestral home.

The President and CEO will raise Roosevelt’s visibility through speaking engagements, work with elected officials and other government executives, media appearances, and public writing. External relations success is multifaceted, in part via the President and CEO’s own speaking and writing, and in part via cultivating and mentoring other Roosevelters as key ambassadors. 

Governance. The President and CEO works closely with the Roosevelt Institute Board Chair, the Roosevelt Forward Board Chair, key board committee leaders, and key executive staff to ensure that both the Roosevelt Institute and Roosevelt Forward are well-governed. This includes the development of long-term strategic plans as well as annual plans, financial and budgetary oversight, compliance with all applicable law, and other staff management matters. 

What You’ll Have

The ideal candidate will be charismatic and visionary, with a demonstrated ability to engage others in the organization’s work, both internally and externally. The new President and CEO will be committed to the cultivation of progressive leaders and ideas at all stages of professional development, and to the legacy of the Roosevelts, including the FDR Library in Hyde Park, NY. The role requires the ability to identify, prioritize, and maximize opportunities; to understand and correctly assess trade-offs; and to pursue strategic partnerships and take risks where appropriate. Creativity, enthusiasm, and the ability to persuade and build strong networks are a must.

As the Roosevelt Institute’s key spokesperson and advocate, the ideal candidate will have an executive presence and a demonstrated ability to represent the organization at all levels of philanthropy, government, and media. The President and CEO will be able to communicate clearly and consistently and will have the interpersonal agility to network and to connect and persuade stakeholders. Roosevelt works with and engages an intergenerational network, from current college students to Nobel laureates, and includes a wide range of individuals: elected officials, government staff members, other nonprofit leaders, foundation staff and executive leadership, individual donors, academics, and reporters and writers. The successful President and CEO will be able to work with this broad spectrum of people. 

Because Roosevelt is at heart an ideas organization, the ideal candidate would come in with their own area of deep programmatic, academic, or policy expertise. The successful President and CEO could, time permitting, carry their own writing and research portfolio, aided by a small research team. 

The ideal candidate will have the capacity to enthusiastically identify, pursue, and solicit new sources of funding from foundations and individual donors, and to steward existing philanthropic relationships. They should have demonstrated success in securing funding resources through personal relationship building. 

The ideal candidate will be an empathetic, resourceful, and engaged leader. They must be able to manage, mentor, and take an active interest in developing others. They will strive to create a work environment that is effective and fun, with a healthy work-life balance. Approachable, open, and transparent in their interactions, the preferred candidate will have a good sense of humor and a passion for both the Roosevelt legacy and the potential for the progressive values that the Roosevelts brought to the last century to have meaning in public policy debates in the decades to come.

Candidate Qualifications

• A deep strategic understanding of today’s urgent and unsettled political economy space, with a track record of delivering policy, narrative, and partnership-development results that move the needle and change hearts and minds
• Excellent and relevant nonprofit management ability, with at least 5 years of executive-level management experience and a demonstrated track record of hiring, building, and motivating a team. Preference for candidates with experience managing an organized workforce
• Fifteen-plus years of increasing professional responsibilities and experience in relevant fields, including academic or applied (policy-related) political economy, nonprofit management, and nonprofit fundraising and finances
• Demonstrated success with fundraising for a nonprofit organization, including direct experience with cultivating and soliciting major donors
• Strong, trusted existing relevant policy and movement relationships. Fluency across fields and relationships—including politics and elected officials, organizing and movement-building spaces, and academic and subject matter experts
• Understanding of the relationship between elite and general public ideas organizing, with a commitment to “paradigm-shifting” policy work
• Excellent writing and presentation skills; media experience a plus
• Comfort serving as a principal and representing the organization in public meetings
• Flexibility and the ability to to shift, adapt, and lead others in an organization that is necessarily responsive to changes in political and fundraising conditions.
• Experience with nonprofit governance as a senior executive or a board member
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in the social sciences, humanities, or law highly desired
• Based in (or willing to relocate to) New York or Washington, DC, with ability to travel regularly
  

At Roosevelt, we recognize that the culture of the workplace and opportunities for career growth and development are important to all. We believe that diversity of background and experience among our people make our work to rewrite the rules of our social and economic realities stronger. Roosevelt is an equal opportunity employer and, as such, affirms in policy and practice to consider all applications in all job classifications, without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, military status, height and weight, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest record, or other legally protected status. We strongly encourage people with diverse work and life experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, and diverse cultures to apply. 

The salary range for this role is $310,000—$450,000 annually. The Roosevelt Institute offers excellent benefits that include 100 percent paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and 80 percent paid for dependents; life insurance; vacation; personal and sick time; paid parental leave; professional development; healthcare, dependent care, and commuter FSA; and a 403(b) retirement plan with up to 4 percent contribution. While this job will be based out of either our New York or Washington, DC office and require frequent travel, there is also hybrid flexibility. 

How to Apply

Please submit a resume and a cover letter of no more than 2 pages that details your vision for Roosevelt’s future. Priority review will be given to applications submitted by September 2, and the deadline to apply is September 15.