Director of Executive Transition

About Support Center

Support Center seeks to advance our mission for social change by empowering nonprofits and social enterprises to transform their leadership and management. Support Center is a nonprofit capacity-building organization specializing in organizational development, leadership, and executive transition. Originally created as part of an international network of management support organizations (Support Centers of America) originally established in 1971, Support Center has been a trusted partner to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations in the greater New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area for more than 30 years. We operate on the belief that transitions are a continuum and, when done well, are a moment to increase impact and better deliver on the promise of an organization’s mission. We support strong transitions from assessment, interim placement, search, board interaction, and onboarding.

Support Center provides capacity-building support to approximately 150 nonprofit organizations and social enterprises annually, primarily in the metro NYC area (five boroughs of NYC, Long Island, Westchester County), New Jersey (Newark, Ocean/Monmouth Counties, statewide), and Connecticut. Support Center’s program areas are: Strategy and Management, Executive Transition, Professional and Leadership Development, and Organizational Navigation. Support Center derives its revenue from invoiced services, event and program registration fees, government contracts (e.g., New York City Department of Small Business Services, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development), foundation grants (general operating and program grants), and individual donations.

Our vision for social change is tied to the envisioned outcomes of our work. Specifically, we envision a society where:

• Coalitions and organizations have the resources needed to understand and address inequities.
• Boards and their organizations work towards identifying, retaining, and advancing more diverse leadership.
• Communities and the people most directly impacted lead and represent organizations and coalitions.
• Support Center, our partners, and clients hold each other and themselves accountable to understanding the systems that perpetuate inequities across health, wealth, happiness, safety, and security.
• We expect to bring our authentic selves to work, regardless of race, sexual orientation, ability, age, national origin/ethnicity, appearance, and gender.
• We design and adopt new ways of operating that question the practices of a white dominant culture.

About the Position

The Director of Executive Transition will report to the Executive Director and will work closely with a dynamic core team, 50+ affiliate consultants, and 500+ interim executive directors. This position is full-time. Support Center offices are currently located at 32 Old Slip, New York, NY (Lower Manhattan). Our staff works remotely on a full-time basis with the option of working in the office when desired and participation in periodic in-person meetings (e.g., client meetings, quarterly staff retreats, organization-wide events). The ideal candidate must live in the NYC metro area to support in-person programming and events and to represent Support Center at relevant networking events, conferences, and coalitions. All staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with an FDA-authorized vaccine and will be required to submit proof of vaccination upon hiring.

The salary for this position is $103,000. Benefits include health insurance (including vision and dental), paid leave, 15 vacation days (20 days after three years), 12 paid holidays, a one-month sabbatical option after five years, a $1,500 annual professional development stipend, and retirement benefits. Employees can also audit Support Center’s numerous workshops as time permits.

Role and Responsibilities

The Director of Executive Transition is an entrepreneurial role instrumental in driving program development, marketing, recruitment, and revenue generation for Support Center’s executive transition programs (responsible for a $450K portfolio annually). Currently this comprises 15-18 interim executive director placements annually, 3-4 full executive searches, and primary responsibility for three to four annual interim executive director institutes (~ 24 participants per session) with the Program Manager for Leadership Development. In addition to directly leading the above programs, the Director of Executive Transition supports organization-wide efforts with the senior leadership team focused on program integration, process improvements, compliance and oversight, program evaluation, and outcome measurement across Support Center’s executive transition programs.

Core responsibilities will include:

Interim Executive Director Placements, Interim Executive Institutes and Leading a Community of Practice (45%)

• Conduct client intakes, create and oversee agreements, and project manage 1-2 interim placements per month.
• Lead board trainings on the role of an interim for new clients and hold regular check-ins with client contact and placed interim throughout engagement.
• Manage annual interim executive placements with accountability for meeting agreed upon budget goals (approx. $200K in FY2025), gaining new and supporting existing clients (18 clients in FY2024), and measuring project success.
• Identify and implement process improvements based upon feedback from the prior interim director for executive transition.
• Deliver at least three interim executive director institutes per year (~72 attendees and $100K in revenue). Responsibilities include contracting and engaging with faculty, preparation of materials, and admissions; partner with Program Manager on marketing, recruitment, and program logistics.
• Maintain consistent communications with a 500+ person pool of Support Center trained interim executive directors and strengthen connections between this community of practice and Support Center’s broader work.
• Coordinate and anchor regular practice calls with active Support Center trained interim executive directors and further build out the interim executive community of practice
• Serve as key spokesperson for the interim executive director role and its relationship to capacity building.

Executive Searches for Long-term Executive Directors (35%)

• Responsible for 4-5 long-term searches and corresponding budget (approx. $200K) per calendar year.
• Conduct client intakes, collect background information on client organizational challenges, budget, and timelines, and determine the necessary scope of work to address client needs.
• Generate executive transition proposals and agreements for executive search and related services.
• Contract with consultants and clients and manage relationships for executive search engagements.
• Develop business and serve as a spokesperson for our search model.

Program Development and Impact Measurement (20%)

• Evaluate and refine Support Center’s executive transition practice area, identifying process improvements and growth opportunities, considering the organization’s positioning in the market, and building relationships and connections to expand the program.
• Identify and produce executive transition case studies for marketing and client engagement purposes in conjunction with the communications team.
• Ensure that related administrative records and reporting through Salesforce, ApplicantStack and Box is up-to-date in conjunction with the Manager of Data and Technology.
• Identify and maintain partnerships and engage in marketing and speaking engagements that raise awareness of Support Center’s executive transition work.

Additional responsibilities include

• In collaboration with all staff, support the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan and diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments.
• Periodically support in-person gatherings, staff meetings, and external events (Support Center has a number of shared leadership practices).
• Assist with fulfilling grant reporting requirements and tracking project results across the program portfolio.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Must be able to balance team and individual responsibilities and contribute to building positive team spirit
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience, preferably in a nonprofit or social purpose environment, with experience with executive transition capacity building efforts
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required; advanced degree a plus
• Program development and program evaluation experience, including the ability to use data to drive improvements
• Experience working with boards as a board member or board liaison preferable
• Familiarity with and understanding of the purpose of interim executive directors a plus
• Ability to manage and be accountable for meeting established program budget goals
• Excellent written and verbal communication and demonstrated interpersonal skills
• Project management experience, including an ability to meet deadlines, manage multiple moving parts, and communicate progress
• Strong supervision skills and experience
• Entrepreneurial spirit and passion for improving outcomes for people, organizations and communities
• Experience with Microsoft Word and Excel required; familiarity with Salesforce a plus
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills with all levels of stakeholders