Executive Director for Tampa Bay

OVERVIEW

Better Together works to end the root causes of poverty, dependency, divorce and child abuse by leveraging the power of the local church to provide struggling families with supportive relationships and meaningful work. Once properly supported, families can achieve independence, stay together and thrive.

The Better Together team seeks a dynamic Tampa Bay Executive Director to oversee, support, and grow the Better Families program in the Tampa Bay region, which consists of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. The Executive Director will lead the continued development of the Better Families program as well as spearhead its growth by cultivating and building new relationships with donors, community partners, volunteers and churches.

An ideal candidate will have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in social work or another human service-related degree with at least three years of direct experience working with vulnerable children and families. A master’s in social work or another leadership or human services-related degree and 2-4 years’ experience in a leadership role is strongly preferred. They should feel called to minister to children and families in crisis and share our passion for keeping children out of foster care and families together. They should have demonstrated skills in leadership, communication, organization, networking, coaching/training, and motivating volunteers and the community. He or she should be a self-starter who is comfortable working remotely and has a demonstrated ability to analyze problems and find creative solutions and thrives when challenged.

CULTURE AND FIT

The people who consistently succeed at Better Together are those whose actions and behavior reflect our five core values. If you adhere to these values and answer “yes” to each of these questions, you may be a fit.

1. Owners Mindset: You are invested in the outcomes of our mission.
   • Are you a self-starter who is able to take initiative in order to complete a task?
   • Do you often seek opportunities for professional growth?
2. Choosing Gratitude: There are many things in life that can make us upset. Every day we have a choice to either be negative or give thanks.
   • Do you often go out of your way to help others?
   • Have you written a thank-you card in the last 30 days?
   • Are you a positive person who is more focused on opportunities instead of obstacles?
3. Love Others: We aim to love others like Christ loves us. Our hope is that our lives would be filled and overflowing with love, so that we can make a difference in this world.
   • Do people often say you are a good listener?
   • Do you make decisions based on what’s best for others over yourself?
   • Do you often find yourself looking for ways to make others feel empowered, important and appreciated?
4. Partnership-Oriented: Internal and external relationships are not transactional. That starts with our team members and the perspective that we need the rest of the team to succeed in order to win personally.
   • Are you comfortable creating your own structure for work, such as setting work hours, your own priorities, and creating clarity and a work plan from a broad goal?
   • Do you tend to be the one who initiates conversations with colleagues, rather than waiting for them to come to you?
5. The Sky is the Limit: We have a big vision at Better Together. No one on our team is counting hours or widgets. We are here to get results, and sometimes that will require going the extra mile or doing a job that isn’t technically ours.
   • Do you often set yourself audacious goals?
   • Do you wholeheartedly agree with our principles, which include that people’s lives are made better through work and that we can and will end the foster care crisis?

The vast majority of those who don’t get hired (or don’t last) at Better Together lack a fit with these values. Be prepared to have very candid conversations about them in our interview process.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Director will have four primary roles, broken down into key responsibilities. They are:

1. Leadership, Metrics, and Accountability
2. Supervision and Support
3. Donor Prospecting and Cultivation
4. Church and Community Engagement

Leadership, Metrics, and Accountability

• Hire and retain qualified staff
• Coach, motivate and support team members
• Meet regional annual goals and metrics of success
• Manage regional budget
• Employ strategic planning and problem solving
• Maintain data entry and reporting

Supervision and Support 

• Ensure that all Better Families policies and procedures are being implemented
• Provide oversight and support of families being served
• Provide oversight of volunteer screening and approval process
• Submit accurate, complete, and timely required reports
• Demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs
• Use de-escalation and creative problem solving in high crisis situations
• Step in when staff are unavailable and be available to team members

Donor Prospecting and Cultivation

• Work closely with the development team on the fundraising strategic plan
• Prospect, engage and cultivate donors
• Engage and support the regional community board
• Meet with donors and solicit funding support
• Assist in planning and execution of annual fundraising event

Church and Community Engagement 

• Engage community partnerships that are an appropriate fit for Better Together and help us achieve our mission.
• Conduct public speaking and presentations
• Meet regularly with local government officials, the Department of Children and Families, law enforcement and other first responder organizations to engage, collaborate and enhance those partnerships
• Research, prospect and cultivate church partnerships

REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum of 5+ years’ experience working in child welfare or with at-risk children and families
• A minimum of 3+ years’ leading and managing a team
• A bachelor’s degree in social work or another human service field
• A master’s degree in social work or human services-related field is preferred
• Child welfare knowledge or local expertise
• Technological requirements: Google Workspace, Salesforce and Basecamp
• Match Better Together’s core values (described above)

TIMING, LOCATION AND COMPENSATION

Better Together seeks to fill this position as soon as possible. The organization’s headquarters are in Naples, Florida, but all the Better Together staff reside in Florida. Better Together has built a highly successful work culture over the past decade with systems and structures designed for clarity, flexibility, and great communication. Key elements of the environment include:

• Weekly team meetings with clear accountability and the opportunity to solve issues as a team.
• Quarterly in-person team meetings at which you’ll build deeper relationships, set clear goals aligned with the Better Together vision, and brainstorm how to seize new opportunities
• An intensive 90-day orientation to familiarize you with the Better Together team, our policies, and how we operate
• Home office setup, including equipment and communication tools you need to hit the ground running