Oakland, CA

The Organization

Mission

The mission of First Place is to help foster kids build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood.

Vision

We believe that all foster kids in the United States can achieve self-sufficiency and make a successful transition to adulthood so that the disparities between them and their non-foster care peers are eliminated. First Place is a national leader in building the evidence to support this drive and in increasing awareness, changing perceptions and building a movement to make it happen.

Position Overview

First Place for Youth (First Place), a $25M nationally-scaling nonprofit committed to supporting young people as they transition from foster care to adulthood, seeks a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead First Place into a new era of impact and geographic expansion.

First Place for Youth believes that foster youth, just like all youth, need a runway of support in the transition from adolescence to adulthood.  First Place partners with young people in finding a safe place to live, getting their first job, and continuing their education. Headquartered in Oakland, CA, First Place serves young people in six California counties and two additional states – with additional expansion on the horizon.

Leading a dynamic, youth-centric, and outcomes-driven organization, the new CEO will build upon First Place’s strong data-driven programming and national brand as it seeks to strengthen its impact and continue development of the national My First Place Affiliate Network.

This moment of opportunity requires an inspirational leader with an exceptional combination of qualities, skills, and experiences, including: a sophisticated understanding of executive leadership in child welfare, education, workforce development, or a related field; a proven ability to grow and scale an effective model to the national stage; a track record of supporting the use of data and evaluation to prove impact and improve programming; a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion internally and externally; a bold and effective approach to fundraising; and proven success convening a broad set of stakeholders in advancing evidence-informed policy change at the national level.

The ideal candidate will lead First Place with a deep and authentic passion for marginalized young people, overseeing programming, affiliate expansion, policy and advocacy, learning and evaluation, fiscal management and fund development, and the continued growth, development and retention of high-performing staff. S/he/they will be a proven leader with the capacity to inspire, bringing deep and broad networks together in building a larger movement to end the disparities that young people in foster care experience as they enter adulthood.

INQUIRIES & APPLICATIONS

This search is being conducted by Allison Kupfer Poteet and Makeba Greene of the national search firm, NPAG. Nominations and applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, and your resume (in Word or PDF format) should be submitted to: FPFY-CEO@nonprofitprofessionals.com.

Please visit http://nonprofitprofessionals.com/job/fpfy-ceo/ to read the full position description.

Cultivating a diverse and inclusive team is an essential component of First Place for Youth’s commitment to advance equity. Candidates of all backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.