A draft proposal for Executive Director of Humanity+
In early 2011 the Humanity+ board was deadlocked on whether to convert Alyssa’s role from Program Coordinator to Executive Director, with a long thread showing no shared definition of the position. Here she argues that scheduling another meeting in mid-March is too slow, and offers a concrete proposal text the board can amend or vote on directly. Names are kept as in the original draft.
Mid-March is way too long, and I don’t think we need a “job description” — we just need to work out the specific content of the proposition we’re debating, since today’s email chain shows there’s no common consensus on what we mean by “Executive Director.” Here’s a draft proposal; feel free to comment or edit.
In accordance with the Humanity+ Constitution, Alyssa Vance shall be named Executive Director of Humanity+, and will vacate the position of Program Coordinator, which shall become unused.
The Executive Director shall assume responsibility for the practical management of Humanity+ as defined in the Constitution, either directly or through delegation.
The Executive Director shall assume responsibility for communicating with the Humanity+ membership and the public about the activities of Humanity+, either directly or through delegation.
Unless otherwise agreed, the Executive Director shall not be compensated, and it is mutually understood that at the present time, Humanity+ does not have sufficient funds to pay for the ED’s services.
In accordance with the Constitution, the Board of Humanity+ reserves the right to dismiss the ED and/or appoint a new ED at any time. It is mutually understood that, in the event Humanity+ acquires substantial additional funding, the Board will consider hiring a paid ED through a de novo candidate-search process.
With their agreement, the Executive Director shall appoint both Humanity+ Board members and non-Board members to be responsible for specific areas of management within Humanity+ — for instance, the Humanity+ website, the Gada Prizes, H+ Magazine , Humanity+ conferences, and so forth — either for a limited period of time or indefinitely. Unless otherwise agreed, the ED shall inform these individuals of their responsibilities, provide them with assistance when deemed necessary or useful, and provide them with the resources necessary to fulfill those responsibilities; these individuals shall in turn contact the Executive Director weekly with a brief summary of what they have accomplished, what remains to be done, and any obstacles or problems that need to be addressed.
The ED shall have the power to spend up to $500 at any one time to further the projects and goals of Humanity+; larger amounts shall be spent only with the prior agreement of the Board and/or the Humanity+ Treasurer.
In the event of a disagreement between the ED and an individual appointed by the ED as described above, the two individuals shall make reasonable, respectful efforts to arrive at a consensus through mutual discussion. If this does not succeed, the disagreement shall be settled in favor of the ED if it concerns a trivial, practical management issue (defined as an issue sufficiently minor as to not be worth mentioning on the Humanity+ newsletter or website), or by Board vote if a non-trivial issue. For example, what variety of food to serve at a conference would be trivial; the selection of speakers at a conference would be non-trivial.
The Executive Director shall be responsible to the Board collectively, and the Board shall be responsible for assisting, aiding and advising the ED.
The Executive Director agrees that all trademarks, photographs, documents and other intellectual property produced by him or his appointees during the course of his duties, whose primary purpose is to assist with the management or projects of Humanity+, shall remain the sole property of Humanity+ unless otherwise agreed. The ED waives any right to sue Humanity+ or its directors over such intellectual property. Any dispute shall be decided by a mutually agreed-upon neutral arbitrator.
Within one month of his appointment, to fulfill Article VI of the Humanity+ Constitution, the Executive Director shall be responsible for naming at least five individuals, with their agreement, as candidates to serve on the Humanity+ Board of Advisors. The Board shall then vote on whether to appoint these individuals. In the event that fewer than five are appointed by the Board, the ED shall continue naming candidates until at least five are appointed.