Salary: Total annual package will be dependent on experience 

US: $107,000 - $130,000 pro rata, per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week excluding lunch breaks. The pattern of hours may vary according to operational needs and generally work will be carried out during normal office hours. This post could be delivered on 4 days/week

Contract: Permanent 

Location: Forum for the Future c/o WeWork,77 Sands Street, 6th Floor,Brooklyn, NY 11201. 

Candidates must have the right to work in the US. Possibility for remote working in an eastern time zone with regular office working at least once per month or as needed for priority internal and external meetings.

Benefits: various opportunities for flexible working, generous time off policies, and other sector-competitive benefits

About Forum for the Future

Forum for the Future, one of the world’s leading international sustainability non-profits, works to influence the arc of change towards a just and regenerative future. We inspire change-actors to step up their ambition, stretch their vision and find pathways that are systemic, strategic and tackle root causes of our current crises. We focus on influencing the shape of 3 transitions: to renewable energy, to a sustainable food system and a transition in the purpose of business. We have partnerships with influential organisations in business, civil society, government and philanthropy and host national and international multi-stakeholder projects from our 4 geographic offices: (Americas, UK/Europe, India and South-East Asia) driving deep systemic change. We operate as a global team, delivering both international and local projects. As a dynamic, international leader with a deep commitment to creating a better future, you will play a pivotal role in creating this change.

About the team

We are a multicultural team of 80 people, with offices in London, Mumbai, New York, and Singapore. 

This post will work across our US geography. The person will hold the technical expertise on at least one of our transition areas (food, energy, purpose of business), be able to communicate articulately and passionately about all of them, and will embody our values, systems change approaches, and use of futures tools.    

About the role

Forum is at an exciting time in our evolution, offering opportunities for unprecedented impact.  At Forum we updated our strategy during 2022, with the new strategy for 2023 – 2025 now moving into the implementation phase. The post-holder will be responsible for driving, shaping and adapting this strategy for impact with a focus on the US. The post is an exciting opportunity for a leader who can see the potential of a systems approach to unlock deep and transformative change.  It requires someone with significant leadership experience in the non-profit and private sector, a proven track record in income generation and fabulous team-working skills, combined with a vision for how different the future can be, and how we can inspire others in change. You will also have a deep understanding of the potential role of the private sector in unlocking transformative change.

You will be a critical member of the senior leadership team, reporting to the International Managing Director and have full responsibility for delivering our strategy in the US and beyond. You’ll ensure our work is impactful, generate the income needed to deliver the change and lead the team to do so. You’ll be responsible for holding a number of key relationships across a range of stakeholder groups and building our profile in the US market.

About you

To succeed in this role you will have:

• a flair for collaborative leadership

• ambition to be part of a team working for fundamental change, for a just and regenerative future

• demonstrated ability to ensure a thriving financial performance to enable delivery of the strategy

• demonstrated ability to lead the shaping of an ambitious strategy, agreement of priorities, the follow through into implementation, with a laser focus on impact. This might include content knowledge on applied systems thinking, design, futures, transformational learning - all for sustainability outcomes, social innovation, collaboration, and deep expertise in one or more of our three transition areas (food, energy, purpose of business)

• an existing relevant network and the demonstrated ability to develop and nurture both fundraising and programmatic networks

And to further thrive in this role you will be:

●  effective at highly distributed and networked ways of working, and skilled at using digital platforms

●  you enjoy working with people from different cultures and across geographies and your preferred ways of working are embodied by Forum’s values (being courageous, adaptive, empathetic, inquisitive, playful and respectful).

●  an effective communicator, writer, presenter and speaker able to engage effectively with different audiences and clearly communicate complex sustainability information to non-expert audiences in a way that compels action

If you do not meet all of the requirements outlined in the job description but still believe you have the right mix of skills and experience to thrive in this role and further Forum’s ambitious goals for change, we encourage you to apply.

In return, we offer a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of systems thinking and change making, continually learning and experimenting to identify how we deliver the most impact working in a collaborative multi-cultural team environment.

Forum for the Future works in a space of complexity where there are no easy answers – an ideal candidate will be comfortable with uncertainty and be able to hold space for exploration and innovation. Resilience is a key personal attribute that is necessary to the role. 

Our work environment

We believe in being courageous, adaptive, inquisitive, respectful, empathetic and playful. You can read more about our organisational values here. These values help build our common culture, shape our shared purpose and guide us in all actions and decisions.  We are inspired by the world in which we live and those with whom we share it and seek to act justly in all we do.

We enjoy working in teams, collaborating, and learning from each other. We are a dynamic, flexible and supportive team of people who care about each other’s wellbeing and the world around us.

At Forum, we aspire to foster positive team spirit and to provide the best possible working environment for all our staff; one that is based on the highest standards of ethics, honesty, integrity, openness and transparency.

We are an inclusive organisation that encourages applications from across our diverse communities. We’re committed to building a team of capable and thriving people from all walks of life.

If this role interests and excites you, we would love to hear from you.  Where you do not meet all of the requirements outlined in the job description, but still believe you have the right mix of skills and experience to thrive in this role and further Forum’s ambitious goals for change, we encourage you to apply.

In return, we offer a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of systems thinking and change making. We work as a close knit, dynamic, and supportive team. We offer various opportunities for flexible working to help you manage your work life balance.

Together we can reinvent the way the world works.

 Application process

To find out more about this vacancy, please download and read the full job description.

Job Description

Application deadline is 11.59pm GMT/6:59 EST, 26.03.2023

We use the Applied platform because it is designed to reduce bias in our recruitment process. To apply for this job, we ask you to answer a few work-based questions. Please therefore read the application questions carefully and answer them in the space provided (250 words) to clearly demonstrate your understanding of the role, and how your skills and experience will enable you to thrive and deliver in this post in Forum for the Future

The Applied platform includes instructions on how to use the portal. Once you start your application you will be presented with a dashboard which helps you to track your progress and reminds you of the closing date for the application. As you complete sections you can draft and save your responses to review and submit when you are ready to (as long as you’re within our required application deadline).

Please note:

Some of the personal data you provide to Applied when you apply for a role with Forum for the Future will be passed on to us for the purposes of (a) reviewing your application; (b) inviting you for interview; and/or (c) offering you a job and getting you set up as an employee. For full details on how we collect and use your personal data please visit our privacy notice here.

If your application is not successful, any personal data provided to us by Applied (including any personal data relating to equal opportunities monitoring as set out above) will be retained by Forum for the Future for no longer than 12 months after the application deadline has passed, at which point your personal data will be securely deleted. We only keep your information for that period in order to allow us to comply with relevant legal obligations.

Please note:

If you do not already hold the right to work in the respective countries and/or require sponsorship in order to continue working in the country, you should think carefully before applying. This is because we will be unable to sponsor you.

Equal Opportunities

Forum for the Future wholeheartedly supports the principle of equal opportunities in employment. We promote and support equality, diversity and inclusion both in our own workplace and through our work with our partners and the wider public.  We actively support and promote diversity as an essential component of sustainability, and as a key element of our organisational values.  We oppose all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, caste, religion or belief. We encourage applications from under-represented groups, including those who identify as disabled, LGBTQ, ethnic minorities, and come from diverse social and educational backgrounds.