Writing about my job: Executive Director of a small international nonprofit

By SofiaBalderson @ 2025-07-23T10:52 (+42)

TL;DR

I’m the Executive Director of Hive, a global community for farmed animal advocates. People often imagine Executive Directors as primarily setting strategy and making high-level decisions. But in smaller nonprofits, the reality is much messier: it involves a lot of operations, fundraising, people management, decision-making under uncertainty—and some program management too. I've grown into the role over time, and it’s the most stretching and meaningful job I’ve had.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Kevin Xia for reading this post and providing feedback as well as Toby Tremlett for general feedback and hosting the Career Week which motivated me to write this post. 

Why I wrote this and who this post is for

Leadership roles have been among the hardest roles to hire for in the animal advocacy movement for quite some time.^[1] I think it’s worth writing more about what this job actually involves, to help others make a more informed decision about whether it’s a good fit for them.

This post was originally inspired by Faunalytics’ “Why Did You Quit: Leadership Turnover in the Animal Advocacy Movement” report. I found it insightful—particularly how some Executive Directors step down because the role turns out to be very different from what they imagined.

My post is most useful for people considering:

• Becoming the Executive Director of a nonprofit (especially a smaller one)
• Moving from a co-founder role into formal leadership
• Working in movement-building or community infrastructure
• Leading lean, global teams at an early growth stage
   

About Hive

Hive is a globally inclusive support hub for farmed animal advocates: a digital home where 4,000+ advocates across 100+ countries share knowledge, form collaborations, and find impactful opportunities. We run the most active Slack in the EA ecosystem, a widely read newsletter with movement updates, curated resources, and high-trust matchmaking across geographies and career stages. Our goal is to be both an on-ramp into the movement and a launchpad for high-impact work—connecting advocates, donors, and movement builders in a shared space designed to turn potential into progress.

We serve as movement infrastructure: rather than running interventions ourselves, we help others do so more effectively. Since launching in 2022, Hive has supported over 100 career and volunteer transitions, facilitated hundreds of strategic introductions, and helped catalyze ideas and projects like AI for Animals (Sentient Futures)—which likely would not have launched without Hive’s early support and network. 

About the job

This role is sometimes called CEO (Chief Executive Officer) or simply Director (sometimes Managing Director if there is no other senior director in the org). 

As Executive Director, I’m responsible for:

• Setting, refining, and delivering on Hive’s strategy and vision
• Leading organizational growth and impact through strategic oversight
• Managing our relationship with the board—setting expectations, preparing effective updates, and engaging them in strategic (not operational) decisions
• Ensuring our programs are impactful by defining success, gathering feedback, iterating based on data, and assessing where Hive adds the most value
• Supporting and coaching our Managing Director, who oversees most team members
• Hiring, onboarding, and shaping a values-driven culture
• Building and maintaining relationships with donors and partners to ensure long-term sustainability
• Writing and reviewing key internal and external communications (e.g., board updates, website, LinkedIn, strategic plans)
• Overseeing budgets, financial planning, and our fiscal sponsorship (we’re currently spinning out AI for Animals—soon to be Sentient Futures)
• Representing Hive externally and managing day-to-day challenges, from community dynamics to tech issues

People are often surprised by how hands-on the job is in smaller non-profits (we currently have ~5 FTE). Strategy is maybe 20% of it. The rest is deeply operational and interpersonal: management, operations, stakeholder relations, fundraising, MEL, and comms take up most of my time—and it often involves a lot of emotional labor.

How this differs from being a founder and other leadership roles

Back in 2023, I wrote about what my job as Hive's co-founder was like at an early stage. A lot has changed since then! That role was scrappier and more experimental: building programs from scratch, figuring out our identity, and testing what worked.

Being the Executive Director is a different job. I’m no longer just doing the work—I’m holding the whole, coordinating others, setting direction, and being accountable to the board, the team, and our funders. I make higher-stakes decisions, manage people with specialised expertise, and constantly re-prioritise based on the bigger picture.

The biggest internal shift has been learning to lead not by doing more, but by helping others do their best work—through clarity, structure, and trust.

Being an Executive Director means holding ultimate accountability for the org’s direction, financial health, and people. Other senior leadership roles—like a Managing Director, Head of Programs, or Chief of Staff—can offer similar influence with more focus and fewer competing priorities. If you prefer depth over breadth or want to avoid a fundraising-heavy role, those paths might be a better fit.

It’s worth noting that being an Executive Director of a smaller nonprofit such as Hive (~5 FTE) is different from running a larger charity (e.g. 50 people). While the high-level work will be similar, what you will do day to day will be different as you’re able to delegate more. It would be interesting to read a similar reflection from an Executive Director of a much larger organisation.

What my typical week is like

No two weeks are alike, but mine often include:

• Team check-ins and 1:1s
• Reviewing grant applications, budgets, or onboarding plans
• Writing strategy updates, comms drafts, pitch decks, or internal docs
• Generating and sharing ideas for how we can make more impact (my favourite part!)
• A lot of emails and messages—helping community members, coordinating with other leaders in the space, building relationships
• Preparing for and giving talks about Hive, building projects and communities, and related topics.
• Calls with the community, donors, stakeholders
• Learning about relevant topics (e.g. keeping up-to-date with movement news, leadership and management, fundraising, community building etc.)
• Supporting hiring and trial evaluations
• Engaging with the community via Slack and LinkedIn—sharing useful content and personal reflections
• Catching unresolved issues others are too swamped to fix

• Looking ahead and flagging risks or prep needs for the team

  
  Here is a picture of me at my home office desk! A wide screen makes it easier to have many tabs open at the same time :) 

• 

Best things about the job

• Seeing people make more impact through landing impactful opportunities or getting support with their existing projects via Hive—every single story makes my day
• Building infrastructure that feels genuinely useful to the movement
• Working with a kind, competent team I trust deeply (this brings me so much joy)
• Getting to learn constantly—from our members, my team, and my own mistakes
• Doing work that’s strategic, relational, and mission-aligned
• Daily and weekly variety—no two days are the same, which keeps the work engaging and dynamic
   

Challenges

Here are some of the main challenges I’ve experienced in this role—though of course, there are many others depending on your context.

• There’s no one right way to be an Executive Director. While you report to the board, you don’t have a manager shaping your role or checking in weekly—you have to take full ownership and self-manage.
• Leadership can be high-pressure and lonely: the buck ultimately stops with you and people look to you even when you’re uncertain.
• Delegating, especially when the stakes are high, is hard—but necessary.
• Fundraising has gotten easier, but it’s still a learning curve for me—and Executive Directors have to be involved with it quite a lot at this stage of the organisation.
• There’s no “off switch”—it’s the kind of role where there’s always more you could do. It’s easy to overwork or feel behind. I like to think that this is a full-time role, but in my case I spend a lot more time than just the working hours.
• Executive Directors often travel for conferences, funder meetings, and community events—typically at least one or two week-long trips per quarter. While it can be energizing and a great way to build relationships, the frequent travel can be challenging for those with home responsibilities or who prefer a more grounded routine.
• Offering timely feedback and holding people accountable, without compromising care or trust, can be a challenging skill to learn
• Many decisions involve trade-offs, not obvious answers.

This role may look glamorous from the outside, but the reality is messy, multitask-heavy, and context-dense. I still struggle with perfectionism, procrastination on follow-ups, and the temptation to try to solve everything myself.

Skills, abilities and traits that can help

No leadership role will have the same requirements, but here are some traits and skills that I’ve found especially helpful in this role:

• Strategic thinking and long-term planning
• Management experience—I’m grateful I had this coming in
• Clear and empathetic communication (written and verbal)
• Analytical skills and able to synthesize information quickly
• Decision-making under ambiguity and across time horizons
• Self-awareness, empathy, and emotional intelligence
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity, especially for an international org
• Humility to ask for help and keep learning
• Determination and confidence to keep going during setbacks

• Letting go of perfectionism and embracing iteration

   

Some systems and habits that help me

• Delegating well and giving immediate feedback directly but kindly
• Investing in coaching, reflection, and peer support
• Creating regular space for deep work and strategic thinking (e.g. keeping 1–2 days meeting-free, walking to process ideas)
• Hiring a second-in-command (our Managing Director) who leads on internal ops and acts as a thought partner
• Self-regulating during emotionally difficult weeks
• Knowing what not to do—saying no, or delaying things that don’t align with top priorities
   

Training and tools

There is so much high-quality info and training out there for senior management roles. For the purposes of this post I will outline the basic categories only, and happy to consider writing a separate post with more resources if there is interest. 

• Management and leadership resources (I aim to spend 1–4 hours/week learning) e.g. see the summary of Managing the Change the World which is one of the most useful books for this role)
• Executive coaching—essential in my transition from co-founder to Executive Director (I've made a list of executive coaches here).
• Reflection rituals with the team (feedback, professional development etc.)
• Peer conversations with other org leaders
• Productivity tools such as time-blocking (you can check out my free productivity course I made back in 2023)

Getting into this role and testing your fit

Executive Director roles usually require a lot of knowledge, experience and often an existing network. However, I do occasionally see Executive Director roles being advertised as not necessarily requiring experience. 

Here are a few ways you can realistically get this kind of role:

• Start your own charity and grow into an Executive Director as it matures
  See my post about co-founding Hive for ideas on early-stage steps and support programs.
• Apply for existing Executive Director roles (even if you don’t meet every criterion)
  See my post on creating Surface Area for Serendipity—many of these roles come through trust or networks, not job boards.
• Serve as an interim Executive Director when someone steps back (e.g. due to leave, transition, or health)
  This can give you real exposure to the role with less long-term risk. You are more likely to have this opportunity if you already work on that team or have a good relationship with the team.
• Be promoted from within by excelling in senior roles like Managing Director, Head of Programs or Strategy, or Chief of Staff
  Focus on building trust with funders, the board, and the Executive Director—those relationships matter in succession planning.

It’s hard to test your fit in this role, but here are some ideas:

This isn’t an easy job to trial in a traditional way. You rarely see the full scope of what Executive Directors do unless you’ve been in the role—or very close to someone who is. Still, here are a few ways you might get a feel for it:

• Shadow an Executive Director you know.
  Ask to spend a few hours or a day with them to observe their work, meetings, and decision-making. Executive Directors are usually busy, so this won’t always be possible—but you may have more luck with someone who’s your colleague, a peer in your network, or a personal friend.
• Offer to support an Executive Director or leadership team.
  Help with donor comms, strategy documents, or team retreats. You’ll see what kinds of problems they face and how decisions get made.
• Read AAC leadership profile.
  Back in 2021, it helped me learn more about the role and make a decision that this is what I want to do.
• Talk to people who support Executive Directors or consider supporting an Executive Director yourself 
  Executive assistants, senior staff, and board members often have a clearer view of what the role entails and where it’s hardest.
• Read public reflections or org updates with a “zoomed-in” lens.
  Notice what Executive Directors are actually doing—not just what they’re credited with externally. You may learn a lot by befriending an Executive Director and asking them what the most challenging part of their role is, and generally how their week is going.
• Imagine the weight of ultimate accountability.
  Reflect on how you respond to pressure, ambiguity, and constant trade-offs. One of the tips I got from another Executive Director when I was considering this role back in 2021 is to keep a CEO diary and make notes about how you would handle challenges of the Executive Director on your team.
   

Lessons I’d share with others

While this post reflects my experience, here are a few lessons I think can be broadly useful:

• Strategy is only part of the job—execution and management are just as critical.
• Don’t assume being a founder prepares you to lead a team—get support.
• Depending on your organisation, you will likely have to get really good at fundraising. Investing time in this area is always a good idea.
• Build systems early, even if you’re small. Make delegation a habit.
• Invest in your team and culture early—it’s key to retaining and developing great people.
• You can grow into the role—but only if you invest in your own development.
   

What’s next for me

• Scaling Hive’s impact through programs, partnerships and global reach.
• Strengthening Hive’s financial sustainability.
• Supporting our team’s professional growth.
• Writing more transparently about leadership and movement-building.
• Taking breaks before I burn out, not after.
• As Hive grows, learning more about my fit as an Executive Director vs founder (see this post by Joey Savoie for comparisons between the two).
   

A note on perspective & Share your experience!

This is just one version of an Executive Director role and this role is too broad to cover everything in one post. Other orgs will have different team sizes, cultures, scopes, and challenges. I’d love to hear from others about how their experiences compare.

1. ^{^}

   See the 2024 and 2022 Animal Advocacy Careers Talent Survey.