What are the responsibilities and job description for the Empathy Movement Leader, Ashoka North America position at Ashoka?
Ashoka is on an audacious mission – to create a world where everyone is a changemaker-a world where everyone has the agency and skills to make a positive change in their families, communities, work, and school. Empathy, which is the foundational skill in changemaking must be mastered early on to lay a strong foundation for becoming a changemaker in the future.
Historic Moment
Ashoka’s vision is of an Everyone A Changemaker society, where every person — and young people in particular — have the confidence, ability, and support to be changemakers for the good of all. In a world defined by rapid change, interconnectedness and uncertainty, and where our social problems are deep and urgent, changemaking must become the new literacy. Such a shift is significant and will require a movement that fundamentally re-examines how young people grow up and learn — in and out of school — and how we see and support them today as change agents. It will require more than any specific curriculum or skill set, but rather a new mindset and new priorities.
The Ashoka Youth Years ( www.ashokayouthyears.org ) role of “Empathy Movement Leader” is focused on early childhood and mastering empathy- the foundational skill of changemaking. We are looking for an extraordinary entrepreneur to lead our empathy initiative in North America.
How? Our Theory of Change
Ashoka is not setting out to teach every child empathetic skills. Instead, Ashoka is committed to act as a catalyst focused on creating a movement with partners such that demand for empathy and changemaking will grow rapidly in society. Much like what we did with the field of social entrepreneurship, we are seeking to drive this mindset shift in society by helping people see differently. We intend to work with co-creators (Ashoka Fellows and other leaders) to influence key actors including, parents, schools, government, media, and companies to see why empathy is key for their child’s success and their ability to contribute effectively in society. It will open opportunities to change how we parent, what we teach our children, what stories we write, how we hire, organize or report success.
Metrics include – Do other key influencers now say empathy and changemaking skills are key? Are more parents prioritizing empathy and changemaking skills for their children? Are schools or governments now using pedagogy and curriculum to instill empathy/changemaking skills in teachers/children? Are big media platforms writing about empathy and changemaking skills for children?
Responsibilities:
Lead, grow, and collaborate with partners and Ashoka’s teams to co-create the Everyone A Changemaker Movement focused on every child mastering empathy and changemaking in North America as part of a larger global movement. (With a strong focus on younger children and their ability to master empathy)
Cultivate working relationships with education entrepreneurs, school ecosystems, teacher training institutions, government agencies, media influencers, parent networks, and other strategic partners.
Advance strategies with partners that lead to powerful examples and measurable increases in empathy and changemaking skills for young children throughout North America. Raise resources and pioneer new revenue models in support of every child mastering empathy and changemaking.
Requirements:
As the Empathy Movement Leader, you must have:
- launched an led your own business or organization and have a proven track record of significantly scaling social impact
- a history of creating new ideas, bringing them to fruition, and creating systemic change in a given field
- experience working with and/or managing programs centered around furthering empathy, and/or changemaking
- demonstrated effectiveness in forming and growing major partnerships
- experience in mobilizing networks that cut across sectors.
- raised significant funding
- a minimum of 10 years’ experience
