The trustees of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (“FPRI”) are seeking a President/CEO to succeed Alan H. Luxenberg, who will be retiring in April 2020.  The target date for the transition is late 2019/early 2020.

Since its founding in 1955, FPRI has been dedicated to producing the highest quality scholarship and nonpartisan policy analysis focused on crucial foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. We educate those who make and influence policy as well as the public at large through the lens of history, geography, and culture.

To accomplish this mission, the organization conducts and publishes significant policy research, holds public events throughout the East Coast of the United States, and provides educational programming for students and teachers. These activities emanate from FPRI’s five core research programs, which cover East Asia, Eurasia, the Middle East, Transatlantic Relations, and National Security.

We are seeking a President who will expand our input into the policy process and into the public discourse while also elevating our educational efforts. FPRI’s recent annual reports provide considerable detail on our value proposition, our strategic priorities, our programmatic initiatives, and the results we have achieved. Our public financial reports provide detail on our financial performance.

The successful President will:

• Implement the ambitious agenda laid out in FPRI’s strategic plan, which seeks to expand the reach and policy impact of FPRI’s work.
• Grow revenues aggressively by making a compelling case for FPRI with a wide range of funding sources.
• Recruit, mentor, and motivate professionals in our core research areas to develop and execute FPRI’s strategic plan with a high degree of professionalism.
• Develop and enhance current programmatic offerings, foster ideas for new activities, and reconsider existing activities where needed.
• Continue to develop our strategic alliances within both the national foreign policy community and the Philadelphia academic, business and non-profit communities.
• Be the public face of the organization.

 

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

Relevant substantive experience

• PhD or comparable scholarly or foreign policy achievements
• A distinguished record in foreign policy research/analysis/publication
• Commitment to a nonpartisan geopolitical analytical approach
• Reputation in the foreign policy field
• Worked in an environment with scholars/researchers/ policy analysts

Fundraising ability

• Confident, outgoing personality
• Comfortable asking for money from old/new sources
• Has raised private or public money in the past, or has relevant networks
• Has dealt with/is well thought of in the fundraising community

Leadership

• Has successfully led or participated in leading an organization/government-related body/NGO
• Focused on setting up others for success
• Comfortable mentoring scholars/staffers
• Constructively challenges/accepts challenges from subordinates
• Makes assignments which match identified skill sets
• P&L responsibility
• Implemented strategic vision of an organization
• Effective, comfortable communicator across broad audiences
• Data driven and relentless in plan execution

Innovative entrepreneurship

• Imaginative/inquisitive/curious
• Willing to try new things across the entire organization
• Willing to tolerate failure in themselves and others
• Has demonstrated out of the box thinking in the past

Compensation will be competitive, including an excellent benefits program.

The President will be based at FPRI’s headquarters in Philadelphia, PA, and will reside in the region.

Qualified candidates should submit a resume and cover letter (describing their suitability for the position and salary requirements) to searchcomm@fpri.org. While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in the position, we are only able to contact those we intend to interview. No phone calls, please.

We anticipate beginning preliminary interviews with qualified candidates in April, and expect to conduct interviews with finalists by late spring/early summer.