1. Why is your blog called, “Your Next Executive Director?”
I’m looking for my next challenge and want to run a dynamic, growing organization. I began this blog to learn how to blog. I’ve rambled through a variety of different subjects as I learned about writing and sharing. I applied these lessons to my organizations blog: www.ourborder.org. Now that I am looking for a new challenge, I decided to use this blog to market myself.
2. You’ve never been an Executive Director. What makes you think you would be an effective one?
I’ve run projects and country offices for over twenty years, frequently with no in-country supervision. I have been responsible for developing the country strategy, cultivating donors, supervising the offices finances, and hiring and firing all staff. Additionally, I work closely with the two PADF Board Members that live in the Dominican Republic.
3. What are your greatest strengths?
- Managing a Vision and Strategy: A central part of my management style is to focus on developing and managing a compelling vision and strategy for the organizations that I direct. I believe that an organization’s vision is its soul and its story is its lifeblood. I work closely with my staff and our partners to develop and fine tune our vision and story. We regularly review and revise the strategy based on changing conditions.As an example, my current program began with the goal of strengthening the capacity of the local producer groups in the Haitian-Dominican borderlands. We have grown from that modest goal to become the reference organization for all binational work on the island. We now work at every level–from the coffee growers in the borderlands to the heads of both governments. In our effort to expand our impact, we recently started a trilingual blog (www.ourborder.org) and have begun building broader international support for our work.
- Managing People: An organization is only as good as its people and I am very good at bringing out the best in my team. I work closely with staff members to coach them as needed while also delegating responsibility to give them the authority that they need to be able to work effectively. I have had very low staff turnover.
- Managing Operations: The best teams can only succeed if they have a good plan.I have directed a wide variety of operations all over the world. I am very good at developing detailed plans, tracking progress and budgets, and completing projects on time and on budget.
- Managing Resources: Just as an army marches on its stomach, an organization lives and dies based on its resource management.I run a tight ship wherein everyone knows the rules. This allows me to run a lean operation and still keep the finances clean. In over twenty years of running operations, including some in war zones, I’ve never had a disallowed cost or run over budget.
4. We view our Executive Director as the “Chief Fund-Raiser.” What experience do you have in raising funds?
I have helped to develop scores of proposal both in response to calls for proposals and as unsolicited proposals. I am very good at developing project ideas and overseeing the development of complex proposals. Beginning three years ago, we began actively cultivating institutional donors in an effort to continue our ongoing border work. We have raised over two million dollars and are PADF’s only country office that operates solely with institutional donations. Recently we developed an active website and have begun soliciting private donations.
I have been the spokesperson for all of my projects. In this role, I frequently communicate with our partners, the press, and the national governments. I have been fortunate in recent years that we have received significant high level attention for our work on the Haitian-Dominican border so that I have met several times with the President of the Dominican Republic and the Presidents of both the Haitian and Dominican Senate. I am also a very good public speaker and have given numerous speeches in English, French, and Spanish.
5. We have a position that would be perfect for you, but the title is not “Executive Director.” Would you be interested?
It depends. I am very good at running operations and at managing staff. I prefer to work with little direct supervision (tell me what you want done and let me do it). If you have an opening that plays to my strengths, then I am interested!
6. What would make a position a bad fit for you?
Don’t hire me if you know exactly what you want me to do. If your organization is doing fine and you want to stay the course or if you want to manage my day-to-day operations, then you don’t need me. However, if you have a problem that needs to be solved or are unsure of how to reach your goal, then maybe I can help you find that solution.
7. Would you be interested in working for a for-profit company?
Yes, if I believe in your mission. I’m actually a civil engineer by training. I’ve worked for a number of for-profit engineering and construction companies. I would be just as happy to sell a remarkable product as to market a remarkable program.
8. I’m interested. How can I learn more about your experience or contact you?
You can see a short version of my resume here. There is more information on my linkedin profile. You can reach me through email at danieloneil at oneilfamily.org (formatted as an email) or call me on my cellphone at 809 224-8307. I look forward to hearing from you!