Executive Director

Homeword; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

NAfME, the National Association for Music Education, seeks an accomplished executive director to lead a national membership organization of about 57,000 members with a $6.5 million budget, guiding strategy and public-facing leadership.

This remote role requires travel and access to a major airport; the ED will unite a federated network, strengthen state relationships, and expand non-dues revenue while translating NAfME’s mission into measurable impact.

Qualifications

• Leadership experience in a nonprofit membership association or similar mission-driven org.
• Proven ability to set strategy and translate into priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Experience partnering with a volunteer board and senior staff.
• Strong financial and administrative acumen, including budgeting and revenue development.
• Evidence of building durable relationships with affiliates, members, partners, funders.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling; public representation.

Responsibilities

• Advance NAfME's mission through strategic prioritization and diversified revenue.
• Align national and state affiliates while balancing stakeholders' perspectives.
• Translate strategic choices into programs with measurable impact for educators and students.
• Lead a geographically distributed workforce with accountability.
• Navigate public policy and advocacy in music education.

Skills

Leadership

Strategy development

Governance experience

Financial acumen

Relationship management

Communication

Project management

Data/technology literacy

Distributed workforce leadership

Education

Nonprofit management experience

Education in relevant field

Tools

Budgeting & finance tools

CRM systems

Governance platforms

Job description

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) seeks an accomplished association executive and relationship-builder to serve as its next Executive Director. Leading a national membership organization with nearly 57,000 members and a $6.5 million annual budget, the Executive Director will unite a complex network around clear priorities, strengthen relationships with state affiliates and members, expand non-dues revenue, and translate NAfME’s mission into measurable impact. This remote position requires convenient access to a major airport and strategic national travel.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

The strongest candidate will be a seasoned association or nonprofit executive who understands that this role is simultaneously relational, strategic, operational, and public-facing. They will be energized by a complex federated network and able to cultivate alignment among people with different perspectives, priorities, and approaches to the work. The candidate will bring confidence without ego, empathy without avoidance, and the skill to move from listening and vision to decisions and results.

Essential Capabilities and Experience

• Substantial leadership experience in a nonprofit membership association, professional society, education organization, or similarly complex mission-driven enterprise.
• Demonstrated success setting strategy and translating it into priorities, operating plans, measurable outcomes, and sustained execution.
• Experience partnering effectively with a volunteer governing board and navigating the appropriate roles of elected leaders and professional staff.
• Strong financial, business, legal, and administrative acumen, including budgeting, resource allocation, and development of diversified revenue.
• Evidence of building durable relationships across affiliates, members, partners, and funders, with broad interests and perspectives.
• Exceptional written, oral, and interpersonal communication; the ability to listen closely, tell compelling stories, explain difficult decisions, and represent the association publicly.
• Experience modernizing membership, project management, professional learning, communications, data, technology, or digital engagement strategies.
• Experience leading, developing, and holding accountable a geographically distributed workforce.
• Demonstrated judgment, integrity, emotional intelligence, courage, adaptability, and follow-through.

Preferred Background

• Direct experience in music or arts education (or a closely related field). A music education degree is not required.
• A deep, authentic understanding of the day-to-day realities of music educators and the capacity to earn credibility with practitioners across disciplines and career stages.
• Experience with public policy, government relations, coalition-building, nonprofit administration, fundraising, corporate partnerships, or national advocacy.

The Leadership Moment

NAfME enters this transition with enduring strengths: a nationally recognized mission, deep advocacy expertise, respected publications and professional learning, a broad network of educators and volunteer leaders, dedicated staff, and a strong reserve position. Recent investments in the Advocacy Leadership Initiative, Hill Day, state toolkits, and coalition-building demonstrate the power of strong national infrastructure paired with effective state leadership.

The next Executive Director must combine mission-centered leadership with disciplined prioritization, a sustainable business model, and expanded non-dues revenue. This moment offers NAfME an opportunity to demonstrate the value of national membership, strengthen trust with state leaders and members, and define a mutually beneficial partnership between the national organization and its state affiliates. The Executive Director must be skillful at balancing the perspectives of elected leaders while keeping NAfME firmly centered on its mission. Through meaningful dialogue and clear communication, the leader will connect strategic choices and programs to meaningful, measurable outcomes for the profession, educators, and students.

They must also help music educators navigate the forces reshaping the field, including teacher shortages, school funding pressures, declining enrollment, and artificial intelligence, as well as the evolving ways people create, learn, teach, and engage with music.