Ashoka - Global Empathy, Leadership Group Member

Despite how the world is changing, only a handful of children are consistently provided with the learning environments and opportunities necessary to help them develop the skills they need to thrive. We must shift this pattern. We urgently must see young people as changemakers and help them develop the skills they need to be empathetic, ethical actors who will positively impact their own lives, their communities, their schools, their companies, their countries and the world, now and throughout their lives.

Ashoka seeks to catalyze a global “framework change” to transform how society understands success in growing up. The fact that every parent and educator today knows his or her child or student must be able
 to read to succeed is the result of a previous societal framework change around literacy—from the old paradigm of literacy of the elite to the new paradigm of literacy for all. Today, everyone knows that a child who doesn’t learn to read will get left behind.

But now we face a new shift, from the old paradigm 
of education for repetitive function jobs in hierarchical environments, to the new paradigm of education for changemaking in fluid environments. To thrive in a world of rapid change, every child must grow up developing the essential skills of empathy, teamwork, leadership, and changemaking.

At the foundation of Ashoka’s efforts to create an Everyone a Changemaker world, and to transform the youth years in support of that vision, is the paradigm that "Empathy is foundational to everyone’s ability to live successful, fulfilled lives as changemakers".

Every Child Must Master Empathy

We are looking for an extraordinary entrepreneur to lead the Global Empathy Initiative. We have a powerful opportunity for an imaginative, collaborative entrepreneur. If you are an accomplished leader (from any field) who has built or grown an organization from early stages to large size, has built teams, believes in the power of networks, and are looking for the next big challenge, come join us.

Working in concert with the team around the world, and reporting directly to Ashoka’s Founder & CEO, the Global Empathy Leader will:

• Lead, grow, and collaborate with Ashoka’s teams across 35 countries to build the Empathy Initiative into a global movement. 
• Work with Ashoka’s President, 6 regional leaders (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa), and other senior stakeholders to build each region as an integrated, fluid team of teams by weaving together Ashoka Fellows, business entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and many other carefully selected partners 
• Raise resources, pioneer new revenue models, and garner strategic support to help make “Every child must master Empathy” the new normal. 
• Design and lead systems to unleash compelling insights from Ashoka Fellow innovations across 80 countries 

The Global Empathy Leader should have a track record of creating new ideas that have resulted in a systemic change in his/her field. He/she should believe deeply in the power of social entrepreneurship and understand Ashoka’s Everyone A Changemaker™ vision. He/she should also exhibit the following characteristics and experience:

• Profound empathy and cultural sensitivity 
• Experience working with and/or managing programs centered around furthering empathy, able to tap into the power of a network and see trends 
• A track record of innovating solutions and successfully bringing them to fruition 
• Clear career experience in significantly scaling the social impact of organizations 
• Proven ability to lead through influence, ideas, and exceptional communication skills 
• Demonstrated ability in major client/partner relationship management, fundraising, resource mobilization, and balanced budget management.