Executive Director, Wildflower

Wildflower Seeks Executive Director

Founded in 2004, Wildflower envisions a world where all children and families who experience the death of a parent receive the support they need to build resilience and to thrive. Wildflower provides the gifts of camp, enriching experiences, and consistent, long-term support as a catalyst for healing and to help families strengthen their resilience and create positive opportunities for their futures. This enduring commitment enables Wildflower to make a real and lasting impact on the at-risk kids it serves, offering a restorative experience for the children and their widowed parents as they recover from their loss.

The keystone of Wildflower’s mission is that long-term commitment. Once a child becomes a Wildflower camper, the camper and their family are supported throughout the child’s camp years, so many campers become part of the Wildflower family for more than a decade! Wildflower works to match a child’s interests and talents with the camp best suited to their needs, and with the support of partnering camps, Wildflower campers are offered opportunities to work through the trauma of losing a parent allowing them to transition from being children-at-risk to those who are thriving with renewed spirit, creativity, and talents. 

Each Wildflower family is paired with a family liaison, a trained human services professional, who works with the parent and his/her children by lending a listening ear, helping them find best-fit camps, and providing referrals to grief programs and other resources when needed. Ultimately, Wildflower provides advocacy, camp tuition negotiation, and much needed financial support to make camp and enrichment opportunities a possibility to help families rebuild their lives after loss.

Headquartered in Lexington, MA and currently operating as a hybrid organization, Wildflower has a staff of five including the Executive Director position, a volunteer liaison corps of twenty, and an annual operating budget of approximately $750,000. Wildflower is overseen by a 13-member Board of Directors and a 12-member Advisory Board collectively comprised of community and business leaders as well as camp and grief specialists.

For the last three years, Wildflower has been extremely well-led by Audrey Loria, its former Program Director who became the organization’s first full-time, paid Executive Director, succeeding Cyndi Jones who founded and led Wildflower as a volunteer for more than fifteen years. Audrey plans to transition to retirement on or about August 31.

The Executive Director will have the opportunity to lead a passionate, caring, committed, empathetic, and collaborative nonprofit with a unique and compelling mission. In partnership with a dedicated, experienced, and cohesive team of professionals, camp partners, and an engaged board, the Executive Director will manage Wildflower’s business operations, forge partnerships, grow programs, increase visibility and impact, and secure the financial resources required to deliver on its mission. Guided by its core values and commitment to diversity, high priorities for the Executive Director include:

·         As the organization’s first externally recruited leader, ensuring that existing and strong relationships with donors and partners are transitioned, maintained, and grown.

·         Serving as Wildflower’s primary professional fundraiser, developing and executing a comprehensive development plan that leverages prior successes and consistently capitalizes on new avenues for support.

·         Networking regularly with the funding, camp, and grief communities to expand awareness of Wildflower, promote its value, and sustain resources.

·         Evaluating Wildflower’s delivery model to determine if the long-term use of a volunteer liaison corps remains effective and efficient given Wildflower’s current scale and future growth plans.

·         Empowering and supporting a team of highly skilled, experienced, committed, and mission-driven professionals to maximize their input and impact and to ensure their creative solutions to complex problems are heard and considered.

·         Evolving the Board of Directors to continue to incorporate the governance best practices and to implement its established succession plans.

·         Continuing Wildflower’s practice of aligning growth to ensure capacity and resources align with ambitions.

·         Championing Wildflower’s commitment to increase the racial, ethnic, and economic diversity of the families it serves and to reflect that same diversity within the composition of the Board and staff.

Credentials:

·         A minimum of five years of senior leadership, or equivalent experience, preferably at a nonprofit of comparable scale.

·         Passion for and commitment to Wildflower’s unique mission focused on loss, grief, and resilience or the value of camp would be ideal.

Skills and Qualities:

Experienced Fundraiser, Creative Marketer, and Compelling Communicator

·         Skilled at and motivated to expand the network of donors committed to supporting Wildflower’s mission and programs and continue to grow the active participation of board members in fundraising activities.

·         Adept at strategically identifying, stewarding, and sustaining new donors across all funding sources including foundations, individual donors, and corporate partners.

·         Able to develop and implement strategies to grow individual donors into major donors.

·         Excellent written and verbal communication skills to articulate clearly and passionately the mission and impact of Wildflower.

·         Confident and excited to serve as the chief spokesperson for Wildflower to enhance its public image and visibility with donors, camping partners, media, families, civic organizations, etc.

·         Able to develop and implement comprehensive marketing and communication strategies which promote Wildflower’s programs and activities to grow awareness and increase financial support.

Entrepreneurial and Strategic Leader

·         Entrepreneurial and hands-on administrator with prior experience leading a growth-oriented organization of comparable size and scale.

·         Proactive, intellectually curious, and innovative with the ability to lead the board and staff through strategic discussions that consider expansion within the context of institutional capacity and long-term sustainability.

·         Committed to assuring that strategic goals and objectives are achieved and qualitatively and quantifiably measured and reported upon.

·         Skilled at evaluating and creating an organization structure and human resource strategy which maximizes the contribution of a small staff, a large cadre of volunteers, camp consultants, camp partners, and outside agencies.

·         Able to grasp Wildflower’s financial model, develop and manage annual and long-term budgets, and present financial reports.

·         Able to establish sound working relationships and cooperative arrangements with community groups and organizations.

Empathetic and Compassionate Leader of People and Culture

·         Experienced at hiring, onboarding, managing, and empowering professional staff members with unwavering commitments to the mission.

·         Skilled in human resource practices including record keeping, regulatory compliance, performance management, and professional development.

·         Able to create and sustain an organization-wide culture that is humane, interpersonal, caring, compassionate, and collegial.

·         Active listener who graciously considers all opinions to make the most-informed decisions.

·         Commitment to advancing a climate of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to support Wildflower’s mission and goals and expand institutional representation.

·         Ensure that Wildflower’s values and practices are modeled throughout the organization and embedded at every level.

·         Board developer who supports the recruitment, engagement, and proactive participation of all members.

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position with a starting total compensation package of $115,000 to $140,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Benefits are negotiable, likely in the form of a monthly stipend, and generous paid leave is offered. An on-site presence at the office in Lexington is required with flexibility for hybrid work.

Wildflower is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, neurodiversity, and physical disability, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. Wildflower is committed to a work culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Candidate must include a resume and a cover letter that describes how qualifications and experience match the needs and mission of Wildflower. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Upload required documents to: https://eostransitions.applicantpool.com/jobs/.

This executive search is being conducted by Eos Transition Partners consultant, John Tarvin. All submissions will be acknowledged and are confidential, and any questions can be submitted to John at: jtarvin@eostransitions.com.