Executive Director

Kalaniyot; Cambridge (MA); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 330,000; Full time

Job summary

Kalaniyot is seeking an Executive Director to lead our foundation from its current scale toward a $50 million annual operating budget. You will partner with the Co-Founders and Board to drive strategic growth and operational excellence in a hybrid role based in Cambridge, MA.

You will supervise a small team, manage budgets and processes, and build a robust network of chapters and partnerships with leading institutions. This is a mission-driven, institution-building opportunity.

Qualifications

• Passion for mission to deepen academic ties between Israel, top scholars and institutions, and leading philanthropic organizations.
• Experience directly managing a high-performing team.
• Track record of taking on difficult problems and delivering strong results.
• Balance of strategic and operational capabilities.
• Solid financial acumen with budgets, planning, and reporting.
• Ability to work with diverse stakeholders, including academics, major donors, and board members.
• Thrives in a rapidly evolving, entrepreneurial environment.

Responsibilities

• Define Kalaniyot's strategy and translate it into a clear operational plan to grow to a $50 million annual operating budget.
• Directly supervise staff, including workplans, performance reviews, compensation recommendations, and onboarding.
• Strengthen and expand Kalaniyot's network of chapters and research partnerships.
• Own financial management: budgeting, planning, reporting, and overseeing the external accounting firm.
• Oversee core operations: legal/compliance, HR, technology, vendors, and Board processes.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and special projects aligned with strategic priorities.
• Support fundraising efforts: stewardship, proposal development, pipeline management, donor relations, and grant reporting.

Job description

Reports to: Kalaniyot Board of Directors

Supervises: Director of Operations, Program Manager, Executive Assistant

Employment type: Full-time

Work arrangement: Hybrid (Cambridge, MA)

About Kalaniyot

The Kalaniyot Foundation is an umbrella organization for faculty-led groups on a select group of major college campuses dedicated to advancing academic excellence by deepening ties with Israeli researchers and cultivating a supportive campus community. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2024, Kalaniyot has grown rapidly and is building toward an annual budget of $50 million by 2029, with the incoming Executive Director playing a central role in operationalizing that growth.

Our model is built around partnership. Kalaniyot campus chapters identify outstanding researchers and areas of shared intellectual interest, develop lasting relationships with their Israeli counterparts, and help create collaborations that connect scholars, institutions, funders, and communities.

The Role

The Executive Director is the senior organizational leader of the Foundation, reporting directly to the Board of Directors. The ED partners with the Co-Founders to develop the organization’s strategic vision and achieve its goals. The ED will grow the team, systems, partnerships, and financial capacity required to operate at substantially greater scale.

The ED is the single point of operational accountability and currently supervises a team of three, with the mandate to build the team that the organization’s growth and operation require. This is an institution-building role for someone who wants to help create a high-impact organization.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with the Co-Founders and Board to define Kalaniyot’s strategy for growing from its current scale to an annual operating budget of $50 million and translate that strategy into a clear and measurable operational plan.
• Directly supervise existing staff, including workplan development, performance reviews, compensation recommendations, and hiring/onboarding.
• Help strengthen and expand Kalaniyot’s network of chapters and research partnerships at leading institutions.
• Own the Foundation’s financial management, including budgeting, financial planning, reporting, and oversight of the external accounting firm.
• Oversee the Foundation’s core operations, including legal/compliance, HR, technology, vendors, and Board processes, delegating appropriately as the organization grows.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and special projects that advance the Foundation’s strategic priorities.
• Support the Co-Founders in executing the Foundation’s fundraising strategy, focusing on stewardship, proposal development, pipeline management, relationship management with global and prominent foundations, and grant reporting.

What We’re Looking For

You may come from a leading foundation, public sector, university, consulting firm, investment organization, technology company, national laboratory, or another demanding environment. You may already have led an organization, or this may be the opportunity in which you take on that level of responsibility for the first time.

What matters is that you:

• Have a passion for our mission to deepen academic ties between Israel, the world’s top scholars and institutions, and leading philanthropic organizations.
• Have experience directly managing a high-performing team.
• Have a record of taking on difficult problems and producing unusually strong results.
• Have a good balance of strategic and operational capabilities.
• Bring solid financial acumen and comfort with budgets, planning, and reporting.
• Can work comfortably with a range of different stakeholders, including accomplished academics, major donors, Board members, and colleagues.
• Thrive in a rapidly evolving, entrepreneurial environment.

Experience in philanthropy, fundraising, higher education, research, or nonprofit management is useful but not required. The right person will learn quickly.

Additional Information

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Our company does not offer visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future.

Compensation

The expected starting base salary range is $230,000–$330,000, commensurate with experience. As Kalaniyot grows, the Board expects to revisit compensation regularly, with the potential for substantial increases as the organization achieves its strategic and financial goals.