Executive Director, Sanitation Foundation

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) keeps New York City healthy, safe, and clean by collecting, recycling, and disposing of waste, cleaning city streets and vacant lots, and clearing snow and ice. DSNY is the nation's largest municipal sanitation agency, with nearly 10,000 employees, 59 district garages, and a fleet of more than 5,000 trucks, cars, and other types of equipment.

The department clears litter, snow, and ice from approximately 6,500 miles of city streets and removes debris from vacant lots as well as abandoned vehicles from city streets. As a major part of the New Era for NYC, DSNY is engaged in a complete overhaul of its operations, touching nearly every part of the department’s work and the lives of every New Yorker.

The Sanitation Foundation is the official non‑profit partner of DSNY that creates and runs programs and events that support the mission of the agency to clean up the city and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The Foundation is supported by private funding, grants, corporate partnerships, and in‑kind donations and is looking to grow further in its impact.

The Foundation was founded in 2016 and launched with a highly acclaimed fashion show featuring upcycled Sanitation uniforms from Brooklyn‑based designer Heron Preston. Since then, it has run a variety of programs that have engaged tens of thousands of New Yorkers such as the NYC Big Spring Clean, Yankees Summer Cleanup Series, Adopt Your Spot, and NYC Trash Academy. One of the Foundation's newest programs, “Don’t Do NYC Dirty,” a city‑wide PSA campaign, launched this May 2026.

DSNY is seeking an experienced mission‑driven Executive Director to join the Sanitation Foundation. The Executive Director will serve as the liaison between DSNY and the Foundation and as the Foundation’s senior operational and fundraising leader. The role will be tasked with ensuring the Foundation has the systems, resources, and partnerships needed to ensure operational excellence, grow fundraising success, and scale the organization’s impact citywide in furtherance of the Trash Revolution and the broader New Era agenda.

• Leadership & Strategy
  • Serve as a trusted partner to the Chair and Foundation Board in shaping and executing the Foundation’s strategic vision and priorities.
  • Supervise staff, providing clear direction, professional development, and accountability.
  • Represent, cultivate, and maintain collaborative partnerships with city agencies, community and government leaders, corporations, foundations, other nonprofit institutions, and the public.
• Fundraising & Development
  • Lead on the design and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy to ensure financial sustainability and growth of the Foundation.
  • Build and steward relationships with major donors, corporate sponsors, and institutional funders with a focus on major gifts, corporate sponsor ships, and institutional support.
  • Identify and cultivate future transformational funding opportunities.
• Operations & Administration
  • Serve as the operational backbone of the Foundation, overseeing finance, HR, IT, and administration to ensure operational efficiency and fiscal accountability.
  • Manage budgets, financial reporting, audits, and compliance with nonprofit regulations.
  • Implement effective systems and processes that support program execution and organizational growth.
• DSNY Collaboration and Leadership
  • Meet regularly with DSNY leadership to align on shared priorities; cultivate and maintain relationship with DSNY partners at all levels.
  • Cultivate and maintain collaborative partnerships with community and government leaders, corporations, foundations, and other nonprofit institutions.
• Board Relations
  • Lead Board committees to strengthen governance and engage members in fundraising.
  • Prepare materials and reports to keep the Board informed and involved in organizational progress.

• A master’s degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel…