CEO, Human Potential Network

Reason Foundation; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Stand Together seeks a Chief Executive Officer to lead the transition of the Human Potential Network into an independent organization. You will shape strategy, governance, and revenue models, while expanding partnerships with CEOs, philanthropists, and funders.

This role requires building a high‑performing team and a durable operating model that delivers value for employers and contributors. You will drive revenue growth, develop market offerings, and represent the network across executive

Qualifications

• Significant executive leadership experience, including starting or scaling a new organization.
• Ability to translate ambitious ideas into focused strategy and sustainable business models.
• Experience guiding through major organizational change (launches, spinouts, growth).

Responsibilities

• Lead transition to independence and execute an integrated plan across strategy, revenue, talent, budget, and governance.
• Translate purpose into a focused strategy, operating model, and scalable business offerings.
• Develop durable revenue models with corporate and philanthropic funding.
• Identify and develop offerings that create value for employers and funders.
• Build trusted relationships with CEOs and senior leaders to expand the network.
• Represent HPN effectively in executive conversations, events, and media.
• Build and lead a high-performing team with clear roles and accountability.
• Foster a culture of principled entrepreneurship and ownership.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic planning

Fundraising

Revenue modeling

Stakeholder management

Team building

Partnership development

Executive communication

Education

Experience building/leading independent organizations

Tools

CRM / fundraising platforms

Job description

Stand Together is a philanthropic community that helps America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy, broken communities, and toxic division, among dozens of other pressing issues. We provide our partners with access to resources including funding, thought leadership, a network of peers, and a playbook for applying proven principles to transform lives and society.

The Human Potential Network (HPN) brings together leading employers and innovators who are rethinking how companies find, develop, and unleash talent across diverse sectors. HPN creates a trusted space for business leaders to tackle shared talent challenges, test new approaches, learn from one another, and expand solutions that create value for both people and employers.

HPN is entering a pivotal stage. After building an initial network of leading employers, launching the Human Potential Summit, and developing workstreams around some of employers’ most pressing talent challenges, HPN is preparing to transition from an initiative incubated within Stand Together into an independent organization.

We are seeking a Chief Executive Officer to lead that transition and build HPN into a durable, independent organization, partnering closely with Stand Together’s Future of Work leadership as its organizational incubator and investor.

The CEO will be responsible for developing and executing the strategy to position HPN as an independent organization through business and revenue modeling, talent, budget, operations, and governance. At the same time, this leader will continue strengthening the underlying model by generating new revenue, creating offerings employers value, building a high-performing team, and expanding HPN’s network of corporate and philanthropic partners.

This is a builder role. The CEO will shape both the organization HPN becomes and the model that sustains it over time.

How You Will Contribute

• Lead HPN’s transition to independence. Develop and execute an integrated plan covering strategy, revenue, talent, budget, operations, governance, and the organizational capabilities required for HPN to thrive as an independent entity.
• Build HPN for its next stage. Translate HPN’s purpose and early proof points into a focused strategy, operating model, and business model capable of sustaining and growing the organization.
• Develop a durable revenue model. Generate new corporate and philanthropic revenue while continuing to test which offerings and funding models create enough value to become repeatable at scale.
• Create offerings employers value. Work directly with business leaders to identify important talent challenges and turn them into differentiated workstreams, partnerships, convenings, and other opportunities for companies to learn, experiment, and act.
• Build transformative partnerships. Develop trusted relationships with CEOs, CHROs, philanthropists, and other senior leaders and create partnerships that advance HPN’s goals while delivering clear value for participants.
• Expand HPN’s reach and influence. Represent HPN compellingly in executive conversations, events, media, and other channels that bring new employers, funders, and collaborators into the network.
• Build and lead a high-performing team. Establish the talent, responsibilities, operating rhythms, and accountability needed for an entrepreneurial organization to move quickly and execute well.
• Create a culture of principled entrepreneurship. Build an organization in which people seek knowledge, challenge assumptions, adapt based on results, take ownership, and focus on creating value for others.

What You Will Bring

• Significant executive leadership experience with a record of building a new organization, business, platform, initiative, or capability from an early stage.
• Demonstrated ability to turn an ambitious idea into a focused strategy, sustainable business model, and strong execution.
• Experience leading through periods of significant organizational change, including launches, spinouts, growth, or institution-building.
• A track record of generating and growing revenue through business development, fundraising, partnerships, membership, services, or other market-tested models.
• Strong business judgment and the ability to understand what customers, members, and partners value, then adapt strategy based on what the market is demonstrating.
• Experience building trusted relationships with CEOs, senior corporate executives, philanthropic leaders, and other sophisticated external stakeholders.
• A record of building and leading high-performing teams with clear roles, accountability, and the ability to operate effectively in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Ability to move comfortably between strategy and execution, setting direction while staying close enough to the work to build what does not yet exist.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills, with the ability to represent HPN effectively across business, philanthropic, and other external audiences.
• Intellectual curiosity, humility, and a willingness to challenge assumptions, seek knowledge, and change course when evidence points toward a better path.

Standout Candidates Will Also Bring

• Experience building or scaling a membership organization, industry association, executive network, professional community, marketplace, or other platform whose success depends on consistently creating value for participants.
• Experience developing new products, services, or experiences for senior business leaders and refining them based on customer or member demand.
• Experience working across business and philanthropy while bringing a strong commercial or entrepreneurial orientation to the work.
• Familiarity with talent, workforce, AI, skills-based hiring, internal mobility, or related issues affecting employers. Deep subject-matter expertise is welcome but not required; demonstrated ability to build and learn matters more than sector pedigree.

Our Values

Working for an organization within the Stand Together philanthropic community is different from many other places. The culture is deeply rooted in Principle Based Management® (PBM®), a framework guided by the principles that drive human progress, such as dignity, openness, and bottom-up empowerment. PBM® empowers employees to be entrepreneurial, to innovate, and to continually drive transformation.

We believe diversity fuels creativity, broadens knowledge, and helps drive success. That is why we’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and strive to treat all employees and applicants with honesty, dignity, and respect.

225000 - 300000 USD a year

For this role, the anticipated base salary range is $225,000-$300,000 per year. In addition to base salary, additional bonus earnings may represent a meaningful portion of total compensation. Total compensation will align with an employee’s overall contribution and the value created for the organization.

Our Principles-Based Management™ (PBM) compensation philosophy is grounded in an individualized approach that rewards the long‑term value each person creates for the organization. Compensation decisions are informed by a variety of factors, including relevant experience, capabilities, demonstrated skills, role responsibilities, and expected contribution. Consistent with this approach, base salary may vary within or outside of the anticipated range based on these considerations.