CONFIDENTIAL POSITION SPECIFICATION
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Organization: SBP
Location: New Orleans, LA
Reporting Relationship: Board of Directors
ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND
SBP is a national social impact organization dedicated to helping communities shrink the time between disaster and recovery by rebuilding homes, increasing preparedness and resilience, and improving systems to better serve the needs of all Americans, everywhere.
SBP was founded in March 2006 in the St. Bernard Parish southeast of New Orleans, where Katrina left 68,000 people homeless and at their breaking point. Since those early years, hundreds of thousands of generous volunteers, AmeriCorps members, investors, donors, and tireless employees have helped SBP become a national leader in disaster resilience and recovery. Utilizing the Toyota Production System and trained AmeriCorps members, SBP has rebuilt homes for more than 6,300 families with the help of 150,000 volunteers in 14 communities across the U.S. and the Bahamas since 2006.
RECOVERY OPERATIONS & OBJECTIVES
Across the country, SBP helps communities affected by major disasters rebuild, recover, and return home. We go where the needs are greatest to help families rebuild homes and navigate the recovery process. We also train local partners in underserved communities to increase preparedness and build resilience for the long term. SBP takes a holistic approach to combating natural disasters—increasing the readiness and resilience of communities before they happen and streamlining rebuilding and recovery after.
Priority initiatives to achieve these objectives include:
Build: help communities and disaster survivors rebuild and recover from natural disasters.
- The importance of home and community have been at the heart of SBP’s work since we were founded in New Orleans in 2006 in response to Hurricane Katrina. After natural disasters, we partner with survivors to rebuild their homes–and we stay as long as it takes.
Prepare: help communities increase readiness and resilience reducing risk.
- Knowledge is power—especially in the face of climate change and an increase in extreme weather events. We empower households, businesses, and community leaders with essential tools to prepare and build resilience to minimize loss. We cannot know exactly when disasters will strike, but we can reduce their impact by planning ahead and taking collective action.
Share: strengthen the capacity of local nonprofit partners.
- We're on a mission to expand our impact by sharing our deep knowledge and operational expertise with local nonprofit leaders and partners. By increasing the effectiveness of nonprofit partner organizations with deep roots in at-risk communities, we’re building on what’s already working and delivering effective solutions at a greater scale.
Advise: strengthen the capacity of state and local government partners.
- When disasters strike, knowledge and experience are essential to charting plans to help communities recover. We share our know-how, best practices, and technical expertise with local and state government partners to strengthen their capacity to lead a fast, equitable recovery process for people in their communities.
Advocate: improve policies to meet the needs of all Americans.
- We're not just rebuilding lives, we're reshaping the future of disaster recovery. Through people-centered, evidence-based advocacy, we're driving policy change, strengthening systems, and setting benchmarks to ensure that the disaster recovery system effectively and equitably meets the needs of all survivors, everywhere.
SBP’s COMMITMENT TO INTEGRITY & ACCOUNTABILITY
SBP is committed to reinforcing a culture of respect, integrity, accountability, and transparency. A deep sense of compassion underpins everything we do, as does a high standard of respect for each other, our partners and our supporters. We are committed to preserving the trust of our stakeholders; and we are dedicated to preserving that trust by acting with integrity and demonstrating accountability in everything that we do.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Executive Officer will work closely with the Board, senior management, and staff to drive the ongoing success and growth of the organization. They will be responsible for providing inspirational and collaborative leadership to ensure the organization innovates and continues to deliver impactful programs and services to meet the unique and varied needs of the community to reduce the time between disasters and recovery. An accomplished, high-energy and creative senior executive, the CEO of SBP will be a strategic and dynamic leader, and skilled institution-builder, with the ability to create a supportive and positive culture in service of those most in need.
Key responsibilities include:
- Strategic Vision, Business Planning and Execution: Shapes and executes upon SBP’s strategic vision and business plan; drives a collaborative process with the Board and staff. Uses performance metrics and quality indicators to guide operational decision-making.
- Talent Management: Attracts, retains, and develops a diversity of high caliber talent. Creates an environment where staff are engaged and are supported to be able to positively impact objectives.
- Innovation and Partnerships: Builds strategic partnerships with corporate sector, engaging corporations and demonstrating a strong value proposition for mutual benefit. Embraces technology, demonstrates digital savviness, and drives creative opportunities for unique collaboration to develop groundbreaking strategies, tactics and technologies for the visually impaired.
- Fundraising: Leads the organization in the development and cultivation of fruitful and long-term relationships with individuals, foundations, corporate donors/funders, and government. Builds and maintains key relationships to ensure fund development strategy is achieved.
- Programs: Works with senior staff to ensure programmatic excellence and maximum impact is achieved by establishing operational benchmarks, setting timelines, obtaining required resources, and evaluating effectiveness.
- Financial Management: Develops plans that maximize the financial strength of the organization without adversely affecting other criteria of success. Communicates the key performance levers and manages to these measures to rationalize programs. Oversees implementation of budgets and monitors progress/changes related to budgets.
- External Relations: Serves as ambassador and spokesperson, representing SBP in front of a diversity of audiences and at all external events. Positively influences partners, the media and public policies to generate support, donors and other resources.
- Advocacy: Raises awareness of the need for access to disaster recovery services across government and regulatory agencies, corporate partners, influential stakeholders, and the general public. Establishes and enhances key government relationships and advocates for appropriate legislative responses to issues affecting people suffering from disasters. Builds strategic alliances with other stakeholders to influence public policy initiatives that support individuals impacted.
- Board Relations: Cultivates a strong Board willing to lead and contribute to the success of the organization. Works to assure effective governance oversight and performance accountability of the Board.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS
The CEO must be passionate and committed to SBP’s mission to help communities shrink the time between disasters and recovery. This individual will be a dynamic and energetic leader who exhibits confidence, a collaborative spirit, and an inspired approach that will influence and motivate key stakeholders, donors, partners, and staff.
Specific experience/qualifications sought include:
- A deep commitment and passion for the overall mission of the organization.
- 10+ years of proven executive management and leadership with a strong business and financial acumen in a complex, multi-stakeholder organization.
- Demonstrated experience managing a multi-source budget of similar scale and complexity to SBP.
- Proven success in developing and executing a strategic plan that evolves an organization and coalesces stakeholders around shared goals.
- Experience, knowledge and passion of the disaster relief space preferred. Demonstrated ability and success in working with non-profit organizations, corporations, governmental agencies, academic institutions and multiple community-based groups.
- Successful track record of recruiting, retaining, and developing a strong team of employees. Experience in developing a diverse and inclusive work environment supported by best-in-class organizational operating processes and HR policies.
- Demonstrated growth mindset with ability to create and maintain standards of high performance and accountability, and foster innovation, continuous learning and improvement.
- Fundraising experience at the highest levels; a known relationship builder who is adept and authentic in influencing. Other revenue generating experience will also be considered.
- Ability to serve as the principal spokesperson and ambassador, including building bridges and creating innovative relationships with strategic partners, corporations, government and community leaders.
- Exceptional board relations and management experience; an understanding of how to energize influential leaders and leverage the collective power of the organization.
- Financial savviness and a proven track record of successfully managing a significant fund or a large pool of resources in partnership with a board committee and investment advisors.
- Thrives operating in a fast-paced and demanding environment; ability to pivot in response to growth and organizational priorities. Considered an effective change agent and sponsor of best practices and business growth.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills. Confident and effective at communicating across all levels of the organization, presenting to Boards and other diverse external constituencies.
- Experience in and knowledge of effective crisis management techniques, emergency preparedness best practices, and risk management.
- Demonstrated engagement and initiative with organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts both internally and externally.
- Ability to innovate; has redefined businesses through novel ideas/partnerships to build new capabilities, products, or business models. Has a clear vision of how to leverage technological advancements for the benefit of SBP’s mission.
- Extraordinary judgment, integrity and the highest ethical standards, embodying the spirit and mission of SBP.
EDUCATION
An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university or other pertinent experience.
COMPENSATION
A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract the most qualified candidates.
TO APPLY TO KORN FERRY
Nominations are also welcome via email at: sbp_ceo@kornferry.com.
SBP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome diversity in our workforce and encourage all qualified applicants to apply.
KORN FERRY CONTACTS
Divina Gamble
Managing Partner; Practice Co-Leader
Global Nonprofit, Philanthropy & Social Enterprise
divina.gamble@kornferry.com
Sophie Carr
Associate
Global Nonprofit, Philanthropy & Social Enterprise
sophia.carr@kornferry.com
Ashley Batres
Project Coordinator
Global Nonprofit, Philanthropy & Social Enterprise
Ashley.batres@kornferry.com
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Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.
