Chief Executive Officer

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties; Saint Paul (MN); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 days PTO

14 holidays

Health, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties (CAPRW) is a nonprofit dedicated to investing in people experiencing poverty to build generational prosperity. The CEO leads the agency’s programs, people, finances, partnerships, and public voice while implementing the board-approved strategic plan and using measurable results to guide decisions.

This leadership role requires building and guiding a high-performing senior team, strengthening external partnerships, and championing

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in a complex nonprofit with budget responsibility.
• Experience with grant compliance, board governance, and fundraising.
• Ability to communicate clearly with diverse stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree required.

Responsibilities

• Lead agency-wide strategic plan execution and ROMA/CSBG standards.
• Build and maintain senior leadership team; set accountability.
• Oversee budgets, funding, and financial reporting to the Board.
• Develop fundraising and external partnerships; advocate publicly.
• Ensure effective operations, facilities, HR, and risk management.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic planning

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Board governance

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Learn More About This Opportunity:

Visit here (https://shorturl.at/x0GoV) to view our CEO Recruitment Profile for more information about CAPRW, the leadership opportunity, key priorities, and what success will look like for our next CEO.

About Community Action:

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties (CAPRW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in people experiencing poverty to build generational prosperity. Serving Ramsey and Washington counties, CAPRW provides comprehensive programs and services through Head Start and Early Head Start, Energy Assistance and Energy Conservation, and Financial Opportunities. With approximately 350 employees across 14 sites and an annual operating budget of approximately $45 million, CAPRW works alongside individuals, families, and communities to expand access to opportunities and create lasting impact.

Job Summary:

The Chief Executive Officer leads Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties in fulfilling its mission to invest in people experiencing poverty to build generational prosperity. Accountable to the Board of Directors, the CEO leads the agency’s programs, people, finances, partnerships, and public voice. The CEO is responsible for implementing the current board-approved strategic plan, using community input and measurable results to guide decisions. This leader earns trust through honest communication, visible presence, fair and consistent decisions, effective delegation, and follow-through.

Essential Functions:

Strategic Plan and Community Accountability:

• Own agency-wide implementation of the current board-approved strategic plan. Translate its goals and actions into annual priorities with named executive owners, milestones, measures, resource needs, and decision points.
• Advance the current plan’s intended family, agency, and community results. Connect program and agency measures to outcomes, evaluate progress with participant input, and adjust course when results or community needs call for it.
• Lead cross-agency strategies including staff communication and development, partnerships, recruitment and retention, strategic budgeting, fundraising, and service integration. Remove barriers between departments and hold leaders jointly accountable for shared work.
• Use community strengths and needs assessments, participant feedback, program data, and ongoing community engagement to shape service design, funding choices, and future planning.
• Apply Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) principles and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) organizational standards with qualified staff.

Culture and Executive Leadership:

• Build and maintain a stable, cohesive senior leadership team. Set clear decision authority and performance expectations; delegate operational authority while retaining accountability for agency-wide results.
• Build and maintain trust with staff, leaders, and the Board by naming difficult realities promptly, explaining decisions and constraints, inviting dissent and input, and following through on commitments.
• Lead organizational change with empathy, steadiness, and decisiveness. Address conflict directly and fairly and support a safe route for staff to raise concerns.
• Promote a workplace that respects personal wellbeing, cultural identity, and lived experience. Strengthen supervisory practice, staff development, equitable recruitment and retention, labor-management relationships, and succession planning.
• Model CAPRW’s values: self-determination and inherent power of people; accountability and transparency; humility and compassion; and changing systems to heal communities.

Financial Stewardship and Organizational Operations:

• With the CFO and senior team, develop budgets that support strategic priorities, maintain sound internal controls, safeguard restricted and unrestricted funds, monitor cash flow and reserves, and provide the Board with timely financial and risk reporting.
• Oversee grant stewardship and compliance, including federal and state requirements and program regulations and obligations, through qualified program and finance leaders.
• Make evidence-informed resource decisions amid funding volatility. Assess the sustainability and impact of current services and proposed pilots before committing funds.
• Ensure reliable systems for service quality, data, facilities, safety, human resources, and incident response.

Fund Development and External Leadership:

• Lead a board-supported development strategy that grows flexible and unrestricted revenue through individual, foundation, and corporate relationships.
• Serve as a credible ambassador and advocate with participants, community organizations, tribal and culturally specific partners, funders, elected officials, and public agencies.
• Advocate for CAPRW’s programs and the communities it serves at the state and federal levels by building relationships with policymakers and advancing funding and policy priorities.
• Champion a consistent CAPRW voice across programs and channels and center participant voice and meaningful representation in planning, partnership development, and public decisions.

Board Partnership and Governance:

• Provide the full Board with timely, candid information on strategic progress, finances, operations, organizational climate, material risks, and emerging issues.
• Partner with the Board Chair to support agendas, orientation, committee work, and meaningful participation by public, private, and consumer sector members.
• Respect the Board’s governance role and implement its adopted policies and decisions.

Qualifications:

Required Experience:

• Experience with Community Action, Head Start and Early Head Start, CSBG, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and Department of Energy Weatherization Program regulations, or other Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guided programs.
• Significant senior leadership experience in a complex nonprofit, public service, education, or comparable mission-driven organization, including executive supervision, organizational change, and responsibility for substantial budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to execute a strategic plan through budgets, accountable leaders, meaningful measures, and regular reporting; build trust across a varied workforce; and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Experience with grant compliance, board governance, labor relations, and fund development or a demonstrated ability to lead experienced specialists in these areas.
• Ability to communicate clearly with staff, participants, board members, funders, and the public, and to partner respectfully with communities affected by poverty.
• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a relevant field is required.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience diversifying revenue and advancing culturally responsive service access and cross-program integration.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing fundraising strategies, cultivating donor and funder relationships, and increasing unrestricted or flexible revenue from individual, foundation, and corporate sources.
• Certified Community Action Professional credential is welcome, or equivalent professional and community-rooted experience.

First Year Expectations

• Establish trust through a listening and action process with staff, participants, Board members, community partners, and union representatives; share what was learned and the decisions that follow.
• Agree with the Board on an annual strategic implementation plan, a budget aligned to it, and a quarterly scorecard with baselines and accountable owners.
• Strengthen the senior team’s decision process and cross-department coordination; identify and resolve the most consequential operational and service access barriers.
• Present a fund development and partnership plan that addresses reliance on restricted public funding and shows how the agency will communicate its impact.

Position Details:

Department:Executive

Anticipated Hiring Salary Range:$150,000-$200,000 annually

Location:CAPRW Main Office - 450 Syndicate St. N., Saint Paul, MN 55104

Schedule:Monday-Friday, 40 hours/week, Full-time, Exempt

The CEO usually works in an office environment but may work in non-standard workplaces in support of the agency’s mission. The position will often require evenings, weekends, and additional hours for Board meetings and public events. Travel for training, meetings, and conferences is required.

Remote Work Eligibility:Up to 20% of the normal work schedule with prior approval from the Board of Directors

Posting Dates:October 6, 2026 - October 26, 2026

Benefits: Community Action offers excellent benefits including 23 days paid time off (PTO) for new employees, 14 paid holidays plus two personal days, health, dental, vision and life insurance, health savings accounts (HSA), flexible saving accounts (FSA), retirement, employee discount programs, and more.

Community Action conducts criminal background checks at the time of hire. Not all backgrounds are a barrier to employment.

Background Checks:Community Action conducts criminal background checks at the time of hire. Not all backgrounds are a barrier to employment.

Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties is an Equal Opportunity (EEO) Employer. We recruit, select, hire, place, transfer, promote, demote, layoff, discipline, terminate, recall, compensate, and train without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, veteran status, status with regard to public assistance, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, or any other basis protected by applicable laws, directives, and regulations of federal, state, and local governing bodies or agencies. We will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities whenever possible.