Executive Director – Fostering Healthy Futures Colorado

Colorado Nonprofit Association; Denver (CO); Remote; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Colorado Nonprofit Development Center (CNDC) is seeking an Executive Director to lead the statewide expansion, sustainability, financing, and administration of FHF Colorado. This role will cultivate community sites, secure funding, and manage staff and vendors while guiding strategic partnerships with policymakers and partners.

The Executive Director will supervise two Directors of Implementation, ensure program quality, and oversee external communications, fundraising, and organizational

Qualifications

• At least 10 years of leadership experience in public policy, nonprofit leadership, or related fields.
• Deep knowledge of child welfare systems, policy, and financing.
• Experience with strategic planning, budgeting, grant management, and fundraising.
• Strong relationship-building, public speaking, and facilitation skills.
• Ability to supervise senior professionals and manage consultants/vendors.

Responsibilities

• Lead statewide strategy for expanding FHF Colorado across Colorado.
• Secure funding for personnel, operations, and statewide infrastructure.
• Build partnerships with state agencies, policymakers, and funders.
• Supervise Directors of Implementation and ensure program fidelity and growth.
• Oversee communications, governance, and organizational performance.

Skills

Leadership

Public policy

Fundraising

Strategic planning

Public speaking

Project management

Staff supervision

Relationship building

Analytical thinking

Education

Master’s degree or higher in public policy / public administration / nonprofit management or related field

Job description

Colorado Nonprofit Development Center (CNDC) is dedicated to promoting a healthy and vibrant nonprofit sector in Colorado by enhancing the effective and efficient use of community resources. Our values of partnership, respect, accountability, innovation, and learning guide our work. CNDC provides comprehensive fiscal sponsor services to emerging and transitioning charitable groups ("Projects") serving their communities in areas as varied as education, arts, human services, and public health.

Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF)®, a project of CNDC, has a current annual budget of nearly $1 million and portfolio of three programs:

• Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens (FHF-P)
• Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens (FHF-T)
• Fostering Adolescent Skills Through Mentoring (FASM)

Fostering Healthy Futures for Preteens and Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens are evidence-based mentoring and skill-building programs that promote healthy development among children and adolescents with current or previous child welfare involvement. The Fostering Adolescent Skills Through Mentoring (FASM) evidence-based training curriculum is designed to enhance the impact of existing mentoring programs serving diverse teens (both with and without child welfare involvement).

Please see www.fosteringhealthyfutures.org for more information about these programs.

Position Summary

The inaugural Executive Director will provide strategic and organizational leadership for the statewide expansion, sustainability, financing, and administration of FHF Colorado. The Executive Director will cultivate community-based implementation sites, secure and maintain funding for FHF personnel and operations, develop public and private funding strategies, build relationships with policymakers and partners, supervise staff, manage consultants and vendors, oversee external communications, and work with CNDC to ensure sound organizational operations.

The Executive Director will supervise two experienced Directors of Implementation. One leads implementation of FHF-P and FHF-T, and the other leads implementation of FASM. Together, they oversee site support, training and technical assistance, fidelity monitoring, curriculum and implementation-resource refinement, implementation data systems, and continuous quality improvement. The Executive Director will provide administrative supervision, coordinate organizational priorities and resources across programs, and address barriers to growth and sustainability, while the FHF Founder, Dr. Heather Taussig, will provide scientific and technical oversight.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership, Expansion, and Partnerships

• Develop and execute a comprehensive statewide strategy for expanding the Fostering Healthy Futures portfolio of programs throughout Colorado.
• Assess opportunities for growth in urban, suburban, rural, frontier, and Tribal communities and identify, cultivate, and support new community-based implementation sites.
• Build partnerships with child welfare agencies, behavioral health organizations, colleges and universities, healthcare systems, schools, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, and other entities positioned to implement or support FHF’s programs.
• Work with the FHF Directors of Implementation to identify the infrastructure, staffing, training, technical assistance, and financing needed for successful program delivery.
• Maintain an understanding of evidence-based and evidence-informed programs, program registries, implementation practices, and quality improvement approaches.
• Ensure that implementation and expansion decisions are informed by available evidence, practical experience, and community input.
• Center health equity, community voice, and culturally responsive practices in statewide planning and promote equitable access to FHF programs across the state.

Policy, Financing, and Resource Development

• Lead efforts to secure and maintain sufficient funding for FHF personnel, including the Executive Director and Directors of Implementation, and for consultants, program operations, and statewide implementation infrastructure. The Executive Director will hold primary organizational responsibility for the financial sustainability of FHF Colorado.
• Serve as a primary liaison to policymakers, legislators, state and local agencies, county leaders, and other public‑sector partners.
• Build and maintain relationships with decision‑makers in Colorado’s child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, healthcare, Medicaid, prevention, and youth‑serving systems.
• Monitor relevant policy, regulatory, budget, Medicaid, behavioral health, healthcare, prevention, juvenile justice, and child welfare developments and translate them into actionable strategies.
• Build relationships with foundations, agencies, healthcare organizations, corporations, and donors and develop FHF Colorado’s fundraising strategy.
• Ensure that policy and advocacy activities are conducted in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, and organizational requirements.

Organizational, Financial, Grant, and Team Management

• Work with CNDC to ensure effective financial, contractual, administrative, human resources, information technology, and compliance systems.
• Establish shared priorities, clarify responsibilities, coordinate resources, and address cross-program or organizational barriers while respecting the Directors of Implementation’s expertise and substantial autonomy in day‑to‑day implementation.
• Lead budgeting, multiyear financial planning, resource allocation, grant writing, grant administration, reporting, and financial oversight.
• Administer current grants and contracts and develop systems for tracking goals, deliverables, budgets, partnerships, risks, and organizational performance.
• Provide administrative supervision and organizational support to the two Directors of Implementation and any additional employees hired as FHF Colorado grows, including goal setting, performance planning, professional development, and formal evaluation.
• Identify the external expertise needed to advance FHF Colorado’s strategic goals.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary team of staff, consultants, advisors, contractors, and professional service providers, and monitor consultant contracts, performance, budgets, timelines, and deliverables.

Communications and Public Presence

• Oversee FHF’s website, social media, newsletters, announcements, and other external communications and outreach materials.
• Represent Fostering Healthy Futures Colorado at statewide meetings, conferences, legislative briefings, community convenings, and public events.
• Coordinate with the Founder to ensure that public communications accurately represent the programs, evidence base, and outcomes.
• Translate research and program information into clear communications for policymakers, funders, implementation partners, communities, and other audiences.

Governance and Collaboration with the Founder

• Work in close partnership with the Founder of Fostering Healthy Futures while maintaining clear and complementary areas of responsibility.
• Actively utilize research and program evaluation findings to inform implementation, policy, and financing decisions.
• Work with the Founder, CNDC, and other appropriate stakeholders to make a future joint decision about whether FHF should establish a governing board, advisory board, steering committee, or other leadership body. Support development of the governing body’s structure, membership, roles, and operating processes.

Required Qualifications

• At least 10 years of leadership experience in child welfare, juvenile justice, public policy, public administration, behavioral health, healthcare, nonprofit leadership, or a related field.
• Deep knowledge of child welfare systems, policy, and financing, including public financing mechanisms and government budgeting processes.
• Significant experience working with state or local government agencies, policymakers, legislators, or other public‑sector leaders.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, budgeting, financial and grant management, fundraising or resource development, and organizational leadership.
• Experience supervising senior professionals and managing consultants, contractors, or vendors.
• Strong relationship‑building, public speaking, facilitation, writing, and project‑management skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to health equity, inclusion, and community‑centered practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in public policy, public administration, social work, public health, nonprofit management, law, behavioral health, healthcare administration, education, or a related field.
• Existing relationships within Colorado’s child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, healthcare, nonprofit, philanthropic, research, and public policy communities.
• Knowledge of Medicaid, healthcare and behavioral health financing, prevention funding, and sustainable financing for evidence‑based or evidence‑informed programs.
• A successful record of securing grants, government funding, contracts, philanthropic support, or other significant funding.
• Experience with board development, nonprofit governance, fundraising, and donor cultivation.
• Experience overseeing organizational communications, social media, newsletters, or public‑facing content.
• Experience implementing mentoring programs or other evidence‑based programs.
• Understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges of serving Colorado’s diverse communities.

Employer and Reporting Relationships

The Executive Director will report to the Founder of FHF, Dr. Heather Taussig, who is in an unpaid leadership/advisory role at CNDC. The Executive Director directly supervises the Directors of Implementation and may supervise additional staff as FHF Colorado grows.

Work Environment and Travel

• Although the Executive Director position is primarily remote because CNDC does not maintain offices, the Executive Director will need to reside in Colorado to attend regular in‑person meetings.
• Statewide travel is required, including travel to rural communities.
• Some evening or occasional weekend work may be required for community meetings, legislative activities, conferences, governance meetings, or special events.