Executive Director

Position description

SpencerStuart is proud to partner with Human Rights Watch in the search for an Executive Director.

If you wish to submit Application materials or nominate someone to serve as the next Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, please email: [email protected].

The Leadership Opportunity

Human Rights Watch (HRW) defends the rights of people worldwide by scrupulously investigating abuses, exposing the facts, and pressuring those with power to respect rights and secure justice. It is an independent, international organization that plays a key role in a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. This work is guided by international human rights and humanitarian law. When it comes to ending abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice, some victories are big and others are merely steps on a much longer journey to change, whether that change is immediate or incremental. HRW works on issues for years and knows from experience how to transform deep-rooted problems. The work has always been significant and critical, and now it is also urgent. The next Executive Director will lead and influence HRW at a time of multiple, extraordinary, and in some cases unprecedented challenges for human rights, humanitarian laws, and the global rights-based system.

The Executive Director of HRW will champion the power and relevance of human rights globally in everyday life—not just as legal protections, but as values that connect us all. Therefore, the role and the external visibility it brings stands to influence institutions of justice and civil society on the world stage. In doing so, the Executive Director will be responsible for the executive leadership of HRW, including all strategic, programmatic, financial, and operational aspects, and for serving as the public face of the organization. Reporting to and working closely with the HRW Board of Directors, the Executive Director, together with a high-functioning leadership team and talented and passionate staff, will focus on the following priorities:

• Shape and guide the organization’s strategy and adapt it to meet the evolving challenges facing the organization and the human rights movement.
• Continue to uphold HRW’s reputation and focus on research excellence through its methodological tenets of Investigate, Expose, Change; to maintain the organization’s leadership role within the human rights movement; and to be the organization’s preeminent advocate on the world stage.
• Support and steer the programmatic work being undertaken by HRW’s talented staff, many of whom are well-known figures in the human rights movement.
• Work closely with the development team on broadening and enhancing donor relationships and refining HRW’s fundraising approaches and strategies to expand its base of philanthropic support.
• Focus on organizational leadership to enable efficiency and effective decision-making and ensure the long-term health of the organization as it relates to financial, legal, compliance, and reputational risks.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, teamwork, and mutual respect to enable diverse, geographically dispersed teams to pursue a collective vision.

Human Rights Watch therefore seeks an Executive Director who will be:

• A bold, strategic, trusted, and inspirational leader who brings credibility and domain expertise in human rights issues and the ability to articulate a concise and inspiring vision, clarifying the organization’s priorities, and demonstrating a passionate commitment to the mission.
• Globally minded and skilled at managing and leading a complex and diverse organization, with a focus on organizational efficiency, financial stability, and team empowerment, to achieve greater heights of excellence, outcomes, and impact.
• A gifted communicator who amplifies HRW’s existing external visibility and influence across governments, international organizations, businesses, civil society, and the public and mobilizes funding resources for HRW to achieve its ambitions in support of its critical mission.
• A collaborative and inclusive manager with a proven ability to develop and lead a high-performing and diverse team. They will be engaged and decisive, with the ability to make difficult decisions and to do so with kindness and humility.
• A leader who demonstrates the ability to galvanize teams around a shared purpose, driving change with confidence and clarity. One who is equally focused on cultivating a cohesive, high-performance culture grounded in trust, collaboration, and accountability.
• An individual with the courage and conviction to defend the rights of all people, and the passion and empathy to inspire and lead by example, combined with unquestioned integrity and resilience.
 

Qualifications

Human Rights Domain Expertise and Engagement: Demonstrated commitment within the human rights field or an adjacent sector will be critical to the next Executive Director’s credibility and success. While prior employment within a human rights non-governmental organization (NGO) is not an absolute requirement, expertise in matters related to human rights and/or humanitarian law is essential.

Strategic, Operational and Change Leadership Experience: Experience in developing and implementing long-term strategies, leading large and/or complex organizations, and navigating organizational change initiatives is key. Financially literate, with a demonstrated ability to recognize and deal effectively with external and internal risks.

External Engagement: Exceptional oral and written communication skills. The ability to serve as the spokesperson for the organization, as evidenced through experience interfacing closely with external stakeholders, which could include donors, volunteers, government officials, human rights activists globally, strategic partners, jurists, military leaders, and the media. Savvy and highly adept in the strategic use of social media.

Resource Development: Clear ability to drive effective fundraising, demonstrated either by a successful track record of securing significant philanthropic support or by an enthusiastic commitment, transferable skills, and a vision of how to achieve the level of global fundraising necessary to support the organization’s current operations and facilitate its sustainable growth.

Inclusive Team Leadership: Demonstrated ability to recruit, support, and retain top talent from around the world and foster a healthy, inclusive organizational culture. Clear ability—optimally as a result of having lived and worked in multiple parts of the world—to understand and readily navigate different cultures and perspectives when leading teams. Demonstrated ability to uphold the diversity of perspectives HRW seeks to foster.

Board Experience: Experience working collaboratively with an engaged board of directors. Familiar and comfortable with the board’s oversight responsibilities.

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES

Strategic Thinking

• Works with HRW’s senior programmatic leadership and its board to evolve the organization’s longer-term strategy, set priorities, and provide operational direction to maximize impact.
• Considers the role of HRW in the broader human rights movement and international non-governmental organization (INGO) sector and how it can most effectively support, partner and lead in this space, stressing its competitive strengths and avoiding needless duplication.

Driving Results

• Sets ambitious yet realistic goals for the organization and closely monitors performance against goals. Incorporates KPIs into project planning and execution and implements disciplined monitoring and evaluation of programs to ensure accountability and best use of scarce resources.
• Seeks ways to improve processes and new ways of working proactively, with a willingness to harness new technologies, including digital media and AI, and propose and implement new strategies. Measures and communicates the organization’s progress and its impact; connects the efforts and contributions of stakeholders to specific outcomes to stimulate additional engagement.
• Ensures rigor and integrity of reporting and advocacy are fully preserved; encourages a bottom-up approach to research and reporting, while supporting the integration of digital investigative methods.

Leading Change

• Processes current-state dynamics quickly to prioritize what requires immediate attention and where longer-term changes can play out over time. Optimizes organizational structure and processes to ensure they are fit for purpose and responds nimbly to a rapidly evolving range of challenges.
• Brings new thinking that challenges assumptions and conventional wisdom and inspires staff, donors, and other stakeholders with fresh, impactful framing of global crises and solutions. Communicates a compelling case for change to gain buy-in and brings others along; adapts plans and theories of change to prevailing political realities and constraints.
• Ensures change implementation is aligned with the financial stability and risk management strategy of the organization.
• Builds trust, credibility, and confidence with stakeholders, both internally and externally; builds and leverages a network of relationships, partnerships, and strategic alliances that are crucial for HRW’s success.

Leading People through Collaboration, Inspiration, and Influence

• Clarifies and communicates the vision and purpose of the organization with passion to inspire leadership and teams globally to work together to achieve HRW’s mission. Engages HRW’s programmatic staff in discussion around the organization’s longer-term strategy.
• Leads by example, setting a supportive and inclusive tone at the top. Listens thoughtfully and demonstrates high interpersonal awareness, with the ability to read the room effectively.
• Delegates significant responsibilities and decision-making authority to team members, setting clear expectations and providing guidance as needed.
• Connects talent to the organization’s strategic goals, thoughtfully assesses talent’s strengths and potential gaps, and promotes a healthy feedback ecosystem, with the goal of building a cohesive and effective team.
• Acts on opportunities to increase the diversity of talent in the team; creates an environment and culture of equity, inclusion, and belonging for individuals from every background.

The Organization

• Approximately 500 staff members from 80 nationalities across over 100 cities
• 27 offices globally
• Annual budget of approximately $100 million
• 48,000 donors globally
• 20 Committees in key cities around the world (“City Committees”), with around 1,000 members who support the organization both financially and through effective local outreach (often referred to collectively as the Human Rights Watch “Council”)
• 0% government funding

The Work

• Research covering more than 100 countries
• 3,915 total news products and reports (2024)
• 6 million website visits (2024)
• 13 million social media followers (as of June 2025)
• At least 395,000 media mentions across 197 countries and territories in 112 languages (2024)

Team and Structure

• HRW is led by an executive committee and executive management team. The Executive Director reports to and works closely with HRW’s Board of Directors and leads (and is supported by) a team of senior staff who have organization-wide responsibilities and report—directly or indirectly—to the Executive Director.
• The senior team includes a Deputy Executive Director and Chief Program Officer, Deputy Executive Director and COO, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Development Officer, Chief People and Culture Officer, Chief Advocacy Director, Chief Communications Officer, General Counsel, Program Director, Legal and Policy Director, and others.
• HRW’s human rights experts include country specialists, lawyers, journalists, advocates, technology experts, data analysts, and academics of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. These experts conduct fact-finding missions and investigate human rights abuses, impartially reporting on the status of human rights conditions in over 100 countries. The HRW team also comprises a wide range of highly skilled development and operational staff who ensure the organization’s ability to deliver on its mission.

Application instructions

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