The Organization

We’re looking for a growth leader to help us illuminate every path.

There is no other organization in the Sikh world quite like the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI). Over the past 20 years, our efforts have helped thousands of Sikhs transform how they think about and experience the Guru Granth Sahib, the Guru Khalsa Panth, and IkOankar. Through hundreds of in-person events, online programs, and print resources, our Guru-inspired thought leadership has provided Sikhs around the world with the knowledge, insights, and frameworks to apply Sikhi to all aspects of their lives. We have introduced Gurmat-based perspectives on difficult historical and contemporary issues to facilitate tough conversations in our global and local sangats.

SikhRI is striving to meet the short and long-term needs of our community. Be it through a blog or podcast produced within 24 hours to address a crisis in the Panth or our 20-year journey to collaboratively interpret the Guru Granth Sahib for the next generation. Our content is also deeply researched, well-articulated, and beautifully designed. With the pandemic, we quickly migrated our entire engagement model to the online world.

We are now poised for our next stage of growth. Our focus to date has been on young Sikh adults and parents in the Sikh diaspora. However, our potential market includes 30 million Sikhs around the world and all individuals (including non-Sikh) who are looking for answers and tools to deal with life’s challenges and existential questions.

We are looking for an Executive Director who will scale the organization and its impact. You will envision and deliver on a roadmap that significantly grows our current budget of $1M and a global team of 30+ professionals. You will work closely with the board, advisory council, major donors, co-founder, and creative director to strengthen the foundations of SikhRI, build out our core competencies, and set us up for long-term success.

Culture & Values

SikhRI is guided by these three values that help share our culture and behaviours. You will have a critical role in continuing to bring these principles to life:

• Service (Seva) - Demonstrating an attitude of love and respect by nurturing physical, mental and spiritual endurance.
• Integrity (Neki) - Keeping our word; transparency in all spheres and doing what is right even (especially) when no one is looking.
• Excellence (Param) Being innovative; having vision; giving 100%, demonstrating competence by striving for excellence.

Your Role

As the ideal candidate for Executive Director, you bring a proven track record of operational planning and change management, turning vision into reality. You are an experienced leader, having excelled at recruiting talent, establishing a high-performance culture and managing a team of diverse experts.

You are a systems thinker, able to understand the context for the organization, master relationships, and complex problem-solving, ultimately establishing the necessary processes and protocols to achieve success.

As a key leader, you are an advocate not only for SikhRI but also for the education and inspiration of others in the teachings of Sikhi. A critical outcome of your work is the ability to attract resources, both talent and funding, to establish a strong foundation for sustainable growth.

Leading the Executive Team, you work closely in partnership with SikhRI’s cofounder, Harinder Singh, and Creative Director, Inni Kaur: both play a strong role in leading the organization’s content and community engagement strategy. You work with them to ensure a collaborative, holistic approach for allocating organizational resources and to further define processes to support effective content creation and delivery.

First 90 Days

In your first three months on the job, in addition to becoming to the traditional onboarding experience, these are some of the major priorities you’ll be tackling:

1. Leading the development of a human resources strategy to retain and grow the team (including culture, systems, policies and leadership)
2. Guiding the fundraising function to meet annual funding targets (staffing, systems and capabilities)
3. Improving coordination and alignment of Content and Marketing functions (people, processes, and tools) Understanding each stakeholder including the audiences served, board of directors, advisory council, charter members, and staff
4. Aligning SikhRI’s mission (vision guided by values) and the annual Objective and Key Results (OKRs)

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director is responsible for all financial, program, fundraising, and administrative aspects of SikhRI. Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Operations & Administration

• Work with the Operations Manager to establish efficient and effective operations
• Focus on employee experience to foster a positive and rewarding team environment
• Facilitate work of SikhRI’s staff and volunteers to deliver on short and long term goals
• Ensure the board is engaged and fully informed to provide strategic insights
• Ensure the sound financial management of the organization through the implementation of appropriate controls and reporting
• Establish best practices for charitable compliance and tax filings for USA and Canada
• Prepare annual reports for the board, members, and external stakeholders

Fundraising

• Work with the Fundraising Manager to develop ongoing fundraising strategies
• Explore opportunities for funding through programs, events, and potential sponsorships
• Establish revenue targets and support the execution of fundraising initiatives

Marketing & Communications

• Work with the Marketing Manager to develop marketing and communications strategies
• Develop metrics for reach and engagement on digital platforms
• Reinforce data collection protocols for online and offline engagement
• Enhancement of SikhRI’s brand and presence with public audiences

Organizational Development

• Design teams, systems, processes, and tools to achieve vision and goals
• Communicate values and reinforce organizational culture
• Undertake continuous improvement through design and feedback into systems and processes

Board, Committees and Advisor Relations

• Coordinate communications and meetings with the board, advisors, and committees to ensure information is shared in a timely and accurate manner to make informed decisions.

Qualifications

• Vested in Sikh vision, based on Gurmat principles, that integrates Panth-ki-Jit and Sarbat-da-Bhala
• Required Education: Completion of a Bachelor's degree

Required Experience

• Minimum 5 years in management, preferred 10+ years
• Experience in senior/executive level roles
• Communication Skills: Exceptional oral and written communication skills in English
• Fluency in speaking Panjabi
• Public speaking and presentations
• Experience in leadership roles in a non-profit organization is an asset
• Experience managing remote teams through virtual means is preferred
• Location: Primary residence must be within North America; remote work is required
• Travel requirements: candidate must be willing and able to travel regularly throughout North America