Position description
Innovative Human Rights NGO Seeks Global Executive Director
Close date: September 30, 2026
About Asylum Access
We are human rights advocates who support forcibly displaced individuals and communities as they reclaim their rights, agency and power.
Our unique combination of legal empowerment, policy advocacy and global systems change creates conditions in which refugees can live safely, move freely, work on fair terms and go to school in supportive environments.
Our work transforms the traditional approach of endless humanitarian handouts to a sustainable solution that honors refugees’ freedom, dignity and autonomy, and empowers them to make choices about their own lives.
Asylum Access’ global team and family of local civil society organizations advocate to make human rights a reality for refugees around the world. Our national organizations are led and staffed primarily by community members in those countries, and there is strong mutual trust and respect between us and our clients. On the international stage, we work with established institutions to shift the global system to better uphold and promote refugees’ human rights. We can help catalyze and lead systemic transformation because, uniquely among NGOs in the refugee response sector, we focus exclusively on rights and governance.
Position Description
The global Executive Director is responsible for ensuring the Asylum Access family of organizations fulfills and advances Asylum Access’ mission around the world. This includes leading the organization’s global systems change portfolio; positioning the global organization to support strategic and effective national-level legal empowerment and policy advocacy by Asylum Access national organizations; and guiding the organization in creating and pursuing a bold, cohesive vision toward a world where all displaced people enjoy all of their human rights.
Asylum Access values a collaborative approach to leadership. The global Executive Director is expected to work in close partnership with the national Executive Directors, who lead strategy and implementation of the mission at Asylum Access national organizations, to shape global organizational strategy, priorities, and performance. All four Executive Directors are responsible for stewarding Asylum Access’ vision and role within the global refugee response ecosystem; setting and executing organizational strategy within their particular remits and collaboratively across the global family of organizations; overseeing budgets and resource allocation; and ensuring strong programs, operations, and teams.
The successful candidate for global Executive Director will be visionary in outlook, with a broad understanding of displacement dynamics and political trends around the world – particularly in and affecting Africa, Asia and Latin America, where most refugees remain. They will be deeply collaborative in approach. They understand the importance of shared enthusiasm as a driving force, and the necessity of a cohesive leadership team to achieve meaningful impact in challenging circumstances. They are committed to understanding and supporting the contexts in which Asylum Access organizations currently work, and to identifying and advancing efforts in other contexts if/as this has the potential to magnify Asylum Access’ impact in creating the world we envision.
The global Executive Director is hired by, reports to, and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors, in accordance with the organization’s bylaws, and may serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the Board.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Key components of the global Executive Director role include, without limitation:
Strategic Visioning and Leadership
- With a consistent eye on the future, continually gather information and assess trends relevant to Asylum Access’ mission, and guide the organization to adapt accordingly – bearing in mind Asylum Access’ historic role at the forefront of paradigm shifts and operational innovations that support displaced people to reclaim their rights, agency and power.
- Together with staff and board leadership, and in consultation as appropriate with other stakeholders inside and outside the organization, craft and carry out a strategic vision in line with Asylum Access’ mission and values. This includes the development of theories of change and the development and implementation of multi-year strategic, operational, and annual plans.
- Ensure the entire family of Asylum Access organizations maintains coherence and consistency with the organization’s mission, vision, values, and brand.
- Envision and develop governance structures that align with Asylum Access’ deep commitment to shifting power dynamics in service of a shared leadership model. This includes building consensus among the Executive Director team for decisions with organization-wide impact.
- Inspire, motivate, and catalyze the development of staff at all levels of the organization.
Global Oversight
- Steward the cohesion of the global leadership team and the culture of collaborative leadership across the organization.
- Provide support and administrative supervision to National Executive Directors, and manage the hiring, onboarding, and termination of these positions in accordance with Asylum Access’ human resources protocols.
- Together with the National Executive Directors, lead oversight of Asylum Access’ impact to ensure all programs and advocacy are aligned with human rights principles and designed to effectively achieve Asylum Access’ mission, vision, and goals.
Reputation and Influence
- Steward and advance Asylum Access’ global reputation as a well-known refugee human rights organization and as an important and effective actor in displacement response, human rights, and migration fields. In particular, give voice to on-the-ground impact within national organizations – and partner organizations where requested and appropriate – in international dialogue.
- Grow Asylum Access’ influence with decision-makers and influencers at all levels of the displacement response, human rights, and migration sectors -- global, regional, and national.
- Consistently uphold and promote Asylum Access’ values, acting thoughtfully and with integrity in all interactions, internal and external.
Resource Magnetism
- Demonstrate an exceptional ability to attract and retain resources -- funding, people, partnerships, reputation -- that enable the organization to advance its mission.
- Ensure plentiful funding for Asylum Access’ needs and growth, including but not limited to:
- Cultivating and stewarding relationships with key current and prospective funders and donors.
- Advancing the philanthropic community’s knowledge of the problems and barriers impacting refugees, and the role of philanthropy in addressing them.
- Advancing Asylum Access’ reputation and influence with funders and donors.
Global Systems Change
- Shape and steward Asylum Access’ global systems change goals and priorities. These goals and priorities should be shaped by the information-gathering and trends assessment that are a key part of the global Executive Director’s strategic visioning role, alongside the deep knowledge and learning of Asylum Access national organizations and, where appropriate, relevant insights from knowledgeable partners (particularly in other refugee-hosting regions).
Impact Oversight
- Continually ensure Asylum Access’ programs, communications, and operations are advancing the organization’s mission and creating significant positive impact for current and future refugees on appropriate timelines.
- Accurately assess effectiveness and impact on a regular basis, and make appropriate adjustments where needed to improve outcomes.
Operational Effectiveness
- Continually ensure that Asylum Access has a solid operational foundation that appropriately aids the program and other impact-focused activities of the organization. Specifically, without limitation:
- Ensure Asylum Access maintains sound finance and accounting policies and practices, and generates and uses financial information effectively to make strategic choices about all aspects of the organization and its mission.
- Ensure Asylum Access maintains sound human resources policies and practices that reflect all our organizational values, and in particular advance diversity, equity and inclusion, and center the management of those with lived experience of forced displacement.
- Ensure Asylum Access maintains appropriate systems and processes to carry out all activities of the organization. Proactively identify where systems or processes may need to be improved, expanded, or enhanced, and ensure such adjustments are made.
- Ensure Asylum Access budgets and manages financial and other resources in a strategic and responsible manner to achieve our mission and goals.
- Ensure Asylum Access appropriately manages all types of risk, including without limitation legal, financial, and reputational.
Board Stewardship
- Support the Board of Directors in their practice of good governance by providing necessary information and analysis and by aiding in board recruitment, learning, and development, and serve as the primary board liaison for the executive team.
- Ensure Board members comprehend and are equipped to carry out their role as ambassadors for the organization, including by cultivating and stewarding donor and influencer relationships, and advancing Asylum Access’ reputation and influence in philanthropic and displacement response spaces.
Qualifications
- Demonstrated history of significant impact in the following areas:
- Refugee rights, legal empowerment and/or policy advocacy
- Executive-level management in a nonprofit setting, including people management and complex operations
- Fundraising
- Outstanding communication skills
- Creative and effective problem solving skills
- Leadership skills, including deep integrity and the ability to make difficult decisions and lead through transition
- Experience leading and working with teams across different global contexts and an ability to adapt leadership styles to advance diversity, equity and inclusion
- Time management skills, including the ability to prioritize and delegate
- Decision-making skills placing a high value on shared leadership, with a commitment to equity, collaboration, sustainability, and keeping decision-making close to the communities we serve
- Ability to anticipate trends, have foresight, and steer an organization
- Decency and care toward others
Additional Preferred Qualifications
- Fluency in Spanish and/or other languages in addition to English is a significant plus.
- A lived experience of forced displacement is preferred. Such experiences could include but are certainly not limited to experience as someone seeking asylum or protection in another country or as a refugee or internally displaced person. Asylum Access values the expertise associated with these experiences, and works to increase representation of those who have the above described experiences on our team.
Working Conditions
This position is fully remote and will require international travel. Flexibility to work across international timezones is required.
Compensation
The position comes with a well-paying nonprofit salary. Salaries for all of our global staff are benchmarked by location, including for the Global Executive Director. Exemplar salaries for this role in different locations are:
New York $200,000
London $167,000
Nairobi $72,000
Bangkok $107,000
Mexico City $107,000
Generous paid time off policies and healthcare coverage appropriate to the location will also be offered. Asylum Access is committed to paying competitive salaries and upholding sustainable equity practices. Due to the ways in which salary negotiations perpetuate existing structural inequities, Asylum Access as a practice does not participate in salary negotiations for any candidate. The offered salary will be calculated based on location and experience, offered in local currency, and approved by the Board of Directors per IRS rules.
Application instructions
Please submit a resume and cover letter. In your cover letter, please describe your reasons for applying, relevant qualifications. Applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis; if you are interested, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.