Chief Executive Officer

FareStart; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 300,000 - 325,000; Full time

Job summary

FareStart in Seattle is seeking a visionary CEO to guide a respected nonprofit as it grows impact and sustains its social enterprise model. You will shape strategy, culture, and external relationships to advance FareStart's mission of addressing poverty and food insecurity.

The ideal candidate demonstrates authentic leadership, emotional intelligence, and the ability to align staff, board, donors, and community partners behind a shared vision on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples.

Responsibilities

• Lead the organization and implement the new strategic plan while providing the vision, internal and external direction, and business discipline to move the organization forward.
• Engage across communities served, staff, and board to promote collaboration, humility, and impact.

Job description

FareStart transforms lives, disrupts poverty, and nourishes communities through food, life skills, and job training. By delivering wraparound social services and case management to build life skills and provide job training, FareStart creates pathways for careers with upward mobility. Driven by a vision that every individual should have the opportunity to thrive in an equitable and just world, FareStart has been helping transform lives for 30 years. FareStart is deeply committed to addressing systemic inequities that perpetuate racism, homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Opportunity

The CEO role presents an opportunity to lead one of Seattle’s most treasured nonprofit organizations as it moves into new areas of impact. The role is the heartbeat of the organization and deeply engages across communities served; it sets the tone both inside and outside the organization for a culture that promotes and inspires collaboration, partnership, humility, and impact.

Operating as a true and authentic leader who thrives on working in the service of others, the CEO will have the support of stalwart funders and volunteers as they apply their exceptional leadership and implementation capabilities. FareStart is a social enterprise and operationally complex; over the next several years the new CEO will lead the organization’s implementation of a new strategic plan while providing the vision, internal and external direction, and business discipline to move the organization forward.

Ideal Candidate

FareStart’s next CEO will be driven by enthusiasm and passion for FareStart’s mission. This role requires an authentic leader with strong interpersonal skills who can deploy fresh, supportive feedback and energy where needed and operate in a dynamic environment.

Strong emotional and cultural intelligence is crucial to communicate effectively and respectfully with staff, key stakeholders, the Board of Directors, and the population FareStart serves, all of whom bring diverse racial, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds to the organization. The role requires a deep understanding of how the varied needs of these groups differ and intersect in order to foster an inclusive culture that prioritizes the needs of each audience without bias. The CEO needs an action-oriented mindset to readily engage and support the staff and board in the antiracist work underway and ensure it remains an organizational priority.

The position is based in Seattle on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples and specifically stands on the lands of the First Peoples of Seattle, the Duwamish. FareStart honors the land they occupy and the Duwamish Peoples.

COMPENSATION

In keeping with previous pay ranges for this position, the cash compensation range for this role is $300,000-$325,000, plus benefits.