Work at Breast Cancer Action

Thank you for your interest in working at Breast Cancer Action!

For our current internship opportunities, learn more here. 

About Breast Cancer Action

Breast Cancer Action is not your average breast cancer organization. BCAction is fiercely independent and refuses corporate funding from any company that profits from or contributes to breast cancer, which means they can always put women’s health first.

BCAction is focused on achieving health justice for all women living with and at risk of breast cancer. Radical and compassionate, BCAction never shies away from the hard truths. They tell it like it is about breast cancer: 40,000 women die of this devastating disease every year, and we don’t have nearly enough to show for the billions of dollars raised in the name of breast cancer.

BCAction was founded in 1990 by a handful of women who were living with and dying from breast cancer and who demanded answers about their disease. Today, BCAction is a national grassroots organization with 50,000 members across the country. Together they are challenging the status quo and working to address and end the breast cancer epidemic.

Among the endless sea of lucrative breast cancer charities, corporate donors, and pharmaceutical-funded research agendas, the independent voice that defines BCAction has never been more urgently needed, and the organization’s relevance as an activist watchdog organization is greater than ever. BCAction focuses on systemic interventions that will address the root causes of the disease and produce broad public health benefits.

BCAction believes in:

• Health justice as a human right
• Honesty, fearlessness, and truth-telling about the breast cancer epidemic
• Honoring women’s diverse voices and lived experiences
• People’s health and well-being over corporate profits
• Transparency and accountability for themselves and others
• Integrity and freedom from conflict of interest
• Collective action that changes the world for the better

For more information about our work please visit www.bcaction.org. 

The Opportunity

Executive Director
San Francisco, CA or Flexible, USA

Breast Cancer Action seeks a dynamic and visionary Executive Director with the passion and experience to lead the effort to address and end the breast cancer epidemic. This is an incredible opportunity for a social justice leader to envision BCAction’s next phase of national impact.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will provide the overall leadership, strategy, and vision for the organization. BCAction has a budget approaching $1M, a national Board of ten directors, and six staff currently based in San Francisco. The organization values a culture of integrity, trust, and respect, where people feel confident working autonomously and as a team. This moment for the organization brings the opportunity for BCAction to increase its national footprint, and the Board of Directors is open to candidates who live outside of the Bay Area and who want to facilitate the development of a more nationally represented team.

The core responsibilities of the Executive Director will include:

Strategic Vision and Organizational Leadership

• Create and implement the long-term goals and strategies for BCAction, supporting staff in analyzing and developing the organization’s positions on emerging scientific research, treatments, and public health policy
• Develop specific strategies to extend BCAction’s membership and outreach to those patients and communities who have limited voice and limited access to information and support resources
• Mentor, empower, and develop BCAction’s staff, supporting a culture that is respectful, fast-paced, and mission-driven
• Support and grow BCAction’s national membership
• In partnership with the Deputy Director, ensure that the day-to-day operations and programs of BCAction are smoothly and effectively administered; provide appropriate oversight of program staff activities, fundraising and finance, and overall systems and procedures

Chief Fundraiser

• Pursue new and sustainable fundraising opportunities, with the aim of increasing organizational revenue over time
• Create plans to strategically engage and steward donors, including individual and institutional funders, in support of BCAction’s work
• Partner with the Board, Deputy Director, and Development staff to elevate BCAction’s national profile, growing the voice of BCAction in order to amplify and extend the reach of the organization

External Advocate and Spokesperson

• Ensure that the full BCAction team continues to be the go-to expert in providing thorough, clear, and unbiased information about breast cancer and treatment options
• Speak prominently and passionately about breast cancer, its impact from the patient’s perspective, and on the need for BCAction’s continued advocacy for better policies, treatments, and risk reduction; As the chief spokesperson for BCAction, the Executive Director should be a dynamic and persuasive communicator
• Maintain positive relations with other advocates for public health, environmental justice, cancer research, funders, political and policy thought-leaders, and other constituencies that can influence and support BCAction positions

Board Partnership

• Partner closely with the Chair in informing and engaging the Board, supporting in continued cohesion and collaboration of the Board members
• Facilitate the Board’s alignment with the organizational strategy, and with their roles and responsibilities as engaged and productive stakeholders
• In partnership with the current Board, identify and recruit new Board members whose talents, backgrounds, personal commitment, and fundraising abilities are congruent with the needs and mission of BCAction

Values Alignment and Commitment to the Mission

• Foster a shared commitment to BCAction’s mission and values, ensuring that BCAction continues to build on its strong reputation as an activist watchdog organization and an independent voice and resource for people with and affected by breast cancer
• Hold deeply the social justice values of the organization, recognizing that the breast cancer epidemic is a social justice issue, and the vital role the organization plays in building solidarity with communities who currently and/or traditionally have had limited access to power, information, and resources
• Believe in and further develop the organization’s grassroots membership model, and continue to cultivate an internal culture that is collaborative, flexible, and operates with a high degree of integrity and trust

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:

• A social justice leader; experience in analyzing research and policy in public health, environmental justice, cancer, women’s issues, reproductive rights, and/or related areas issues
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, including significant experience with the media
• Proven managerial skills and financial experience, preferably through work in a nonprofit that has advocacy as its mission; ability to manage remotely and to support a positive staff culture
• A successful track record of attracting financial support from individuals and foundations; comfort with grassroots fundraising and personally interacting with and cultivating donors
• A demonstrated ability to develop and strengthen relationships with a broad range of people, such as policy makers, the media, conservation organizations, politicians, government representatives, medical personnel, scientists, activists, and others; an ability to work across diverse cultures and communities and in different economic and operating environments
• Deep personal commitment to addressing and ending the breast cancer epidemic; ability to inspire others to share BCAction’s core values

Compensation & Benefits

The annual salary for this role will be $120,000. Breast Cancer Action also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, vacation, and sabbatical.

To apply, please visit https://koyapartners.com/search/breast-cancer-action-ed/.