Executive Director

Executive Director

FIRST in Texas—a high-impact STEM education nonprofit serving more than 40,000 students—seeks a highly relational, dynamic, and mission-aligned leader as its next Executive Director. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will develop and execute a strategy to significantly expand the organization’s reach and impact across the state of Texas with a particular focus on underserved communities and youth. Key aspects of the role include establishing strong, trusted relationships with the volunteers and other partners on whom our work depends, cultivating and stewarding the significant financial resources required to achieve our goals for growth, leading development of new programming while ensuring effective implementation of current offerings, and continuing to develop the organization’s direction and path for the future.

This is an exciting opportunity to help an established high-impact nonprofit achieve ambitious goals for growth, to expand access to economic opportunity and STEM careers, to ignite innovation in the next generation, to empower young people to become confident leaders and problems solvers, and to shape a future where communities across Texas and New Mexico play a leading role in scientific and technological advancement.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Executive Director will ensure quality, impactful delivery of existing programs while developing and executing a strategy to expand the organization’s reach and impact for all young people and communities in the state of Texas.

We seek a leader with the vision, drive, and talents required to expand the organization’s work in underserved areas of the urban core, in rural areas, and across regions where we currently have low participation, such as south Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, east Texas, west Texas, and the Texas Panhandle. FIRST in Texas currently serves students in only 260 of the more than 1,200 school districts in the state of Texas—one indicator of the scale of the opportunity for growth. Expanding participation among young people with disabilities is another opportunity for FIRST in Texas to grow its impact.

To achieve the organization’s ambitious goals for growth, Executive Director must be an excellent bridge-builder who can establish strong, trusted relationships with the large and diverse group of volunteers on whom our work depends, as well as with our partners in local communities and schools across the state of Texas.

Because expanding our work with underserved communities and populations will require significant financial resources, the Executive Director must also be able to establish strong relationships with donors, corporate sponsors, and state policy makers—and be comfortable asking them for financial support.

The opportunities of the role also include driving innovation within existing programs and creating new programming to achieve our goals while managing a large organization with a high level of complexity.

RESPONSIBLITIES

Responsibilities of the Executive Director include:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a vision for achieving the strategic objectives established by the Board of Directors.
• Work with the Board of Directors to develop a long-term sustainable business model and set performance targets over both 1-year and 5-year horizons.
• Develop and maintain a long-term strategic plan to hit 1- and 5-year performance targets.
• Maintain a working knowledge of developments and trends in the field of STEM education in order to continue to develop the organization’s direction and path for the future.

People Leadership and Development

• Guide and work closely with the senior leadership team to achieve our desired community impact while maintaining student engagement, volunteer satisfaction, and alignment with FIRST Inspires.
• Hire, lead, coach, and develop the organization’s team of 39 (a combination of fulltime employees and part-time contractors) to create a high-performance team. Conduct performance reviews of all paid staff at least annually.
• Build and maintain a culture that attracts, keeps, and motivates a diverse staff committed to the mission. Develop a robust pipeline of talent who can sustain our legacy long term.
• Support the application and adherence to the FIRST Code of Conduct.
• Ensure volunteers are engaged and recognized for their work.

External Relationship Building

• Establish strong, trusted relationships with key stakeholders across the state, including volunteers, staff, program managers and delivery partners, and FIRST Senior Mentors, as well as key partner organizations, vendors, sponsors, donors, grantors, and state policy makers.
• Represent the organization to the community, participants, and the general public.
• Promote the organization through external communications, marketing, and public relations.
• Maintain relationships with FIRST Inspires leadership to ensure compliance with directives and common standards.

Fundraising

• In cooperation with the Board of Directors, develop a fundraising strategy to support existing programming and achieve the organization’s goals for growth. Oversee fundraising campaigns and plans for donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Cultivate strong relationships with top donors, corporate sponsors, grant-making organization. Solicit contributions and target and develop grant proposals.
• Develop relationships with state policy makers and advocate for financial support for FIRST in Texas’s work.

Operations and Finance Leadership

• Maintain overall day-to-day operational responsibility for the organization.
• Establish, refine, and improve organizational structure, processes, and tools.
• Ensure maintenance of official records and documents and compliance with federal, state and local regulations.
• Ensure accurate and complete financial and accounting records of the organization.
• Ensure that financial goals are achieved, and operating expenses are within budget.
• Work with the board in the preparation of the annual budget.
• Ensure that financials controls are met.
• Ensure that all programs are delivered in a manner which minimizes the cost-to-serve at the individual student level, while maintaining a high level of student engagement.

The Executive Director’s duties and responsibilities will be overseen by the Board of Directors and may be modified to address the evolving needs of the organization.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

A bachelor’s degree is required; a master’s degree is preferred. In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and characteristics:

• Nonprofit leadership experience. Five or more years of experience leading a complex nonprofit organization
• Exceptional interpersonal relationship-building skills, including the ability to establish strong relationships with people from many backgrounds and build bridges between individuals and communities across the state of Texas.
• Commitment to the mission of FIRST in Texas, including the use of robotics to transform the lives of young people and increase access to STEM careers and economic opportunity in underserved communities across the state of Texas. Passion for STEM activities and youth development.
• Fundraising experience. Comfort and experience soliciting large gifts from individual donors and corporations, raising funds through grants, shepherding annual giving and capital campaigns, developing relationships with state, local, and regional policy makers, and advocating for public funding for youth, educational, or workforce development activities.
• Excellent communication skills. Excellent verbal and written communication and the ability to inspire excitement about FIRST, its mission, and its programs.
• Flexible and adaptable leadership style. Ability to appropriately deploy a range of leadership styles as appropriate for the situation: Directive vs Collaborative vs Participative.
• Integrity and high ethical standards. Outstanding integrity, solid moral judgement, and the ability to make important decisions under pressure while being free of any perceived conflict of interest.
• Willingness to travel as required to fulfill the role, including seasonal weekend availability.

COMPENSATITION & BENEFITS

This is a full-time employee - exempt status position that is expected to be performed remotely in the state of Texas.

The anticipated salary range for the role is $135,000-$150,000. Total compensation, including incentives, will be based on experience and commensurate with the market. FIRST in Texas offers a robust benefits program including medical, vision, and dental insurance and paid time off. The Executive Director will receive a $200.00 per-month allowance for home office expenses. Reimbursement will be provided for travel exceeding 50 miles round trip. Lodging will also be provided, when necessary, for overnight stays. Other expenses are negotiable and may be reimbursed with prior approval.

REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS

Expressions of interest and nominations are being accepted and will continue until the position is filled. Application materials should include a letter of interest and a resume/CV. Applications can be submitted using the following Talent Profile link: https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/22001

Katie Vivalo Rouse, Managing Director

Jennifer Mason, Managing Director

Kamilah Allen, Senior Associate

Storbeck Search

FIRSTinTX_ED@storbecksearch.com

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology in Texas (FIRST in Texas) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability, age, religion/creed, and military/veteran status in its programs and activities.

Please submit inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies to: info@firstintexas.org