Executive Director

Spirit League; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland seeks a values-driven, mission-centered Executive Director to lead its next chapter.

As chief executive, you will drive strategy, ensure program and curriculum integrity, oversee fund development across foundations and government, manage fiscal oversight, governance and Board relations, and cultivate external relations with elected officials and community partners, while modeling Dr. King’s Six Principles and Six Steps of nonviolence.

Qualifications

• Strong nonprofit leadership experience including staff supervision, fundraising, and financial oversight.
• Experience with governance and Board relations is preferred.
• Willingness to learn and teach Dr. King’s Six Principles and Six Steps of nonviolence.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic direction and mission-aligned programs.
• Oversee program integrity and curriculum fidelity.
• Drive fund development across foundations, government, corporate and tribal sources.
• Ensure fiscal oversight and transparent governance; manage relationships with the Board.
• Cultivate external relations with elected officials and community partners.

Skills

Nonprofit management

Staff supervision

Fundraising

Fiscal stewardship

Governance

External relations

Job description

The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center — an Oakland-based 501(c)(3) founded in the tradition of the West Coast’s first MLK March & Rally — seeks a values-driven, mission-centered Executive Director to lead its next chapter.

For over two decades, the Freedom Center has used Dr. King’s teachings to uplift marginalized youth and families across the East Bay and Northern California through youth leadership classes, civic engagement, residential learning programs, and public education. Its constituency is majority African American and Latino/a, 86% low-income, spanning California, Washington, and Alabama communities.

As chief executive, the Executive Director carries full nonprofit leadership responsibility: strategy, program and curriculum integrity, fund development across foundations, government, corporate, and tribal sources, fiscal oversight, governance and Board relations, and external relations with elected officials and community partners. The role also asks

something more distinctive — a genuine commitment to practicing and teaching Dr. King’s Six Principles and Six Steps of nonviolence, leading by example alongside the young people the Center serves.

The ideal candidate pairs strong nonprofit management experience — staff supervision, fundraising, fiscal stewardship, governance — with real affinity for King’s methodology. Prior expertise in nonviolence isn’t required, only a genuine eagerness to learn it.

This search is conducted by The Hawkins Company. The Freedom Center is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applicants who reflect the communities it serves.