Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Location Everett, WA 98201 Date Posted September 29, 2026 Job ID 15435 Employment Type Retained

Scion Executive Search has been engaged to conduct the search for the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Volunteers of America Western Washington, one of the region's most comprehensive human services organizations. This is a pivotal opportunity for an accomplished, mission-driven executive to lead a nearly 130-year-old organization through a period of strategic renewal, financial discipline, and expanded community impact while honoring its distinctive faith-in-action identity.

ABOUT VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA WESTERN WASHINGTON

Volunteers of America Western Washington (VOAWW) empowers people and strengthens communities in need. Guided by the values of respect, integrity, stewardship, and empathy, the organization provides essential support to people in their most vulnerable moments and works toward healthy, safe communities where all people can live self-sufficient, fulfilled lives.

Established in 1898, VOAWW has evolved into a broad and deeply rooted human services organization serving communities across Western Washington. Its work spans crisis care and behavioral health, housing and shelter, hunger prevention, early learning, personal support services, community resource centers, dispute resolution, workforce development, and other services that respond to urgent needs while helping individuals and families build long-term stability.

The scale and reach of the organization are significant. In 2025, VOAWW responded to hundreds of thousands of requests for assistance, including more than 286,000 calls, chats, and texts through its behavioral health services. The organization operates with approximately 750 employees, with 90 percent of operating expenses directed to programs and services.

VOAWW is part of the national Volunteers of America network, an ecumenical movement of faith in action united in service to God and humanity. Its Christian spiritual foundation is expressed through an inclusive ministry of service that welcomes and supports people of every identity, orientation, religious persuasion, citizenship, origin, color, and creed. This combination of faith and community responsiveness is central to VOAWW's history and future.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer will provide enterprise leadership for VOAWW's mission, strategy, people, programs, financial health, and external relationships. The CEO will lead a strong and tenured executive team, work closely with the Board, and represent the organization with government partners, funders, donors, community leaders, Volunteers of America National, staff, and the people and communities VOAWW serves.

The next CEO will assume leadership of an organization with exceptional program breadth, deep community trust, strong financial visibility, and major assets from which to build. The leader will also step into a demanding operating environment shaped by shifts in public funding, the completion of significant capital projects, workforce change, and the need to bring greater discipline to portfolio, cost, and investment decisions. Early success will require a deliberate assessment of the organization, close partnership with the executive team, and decisive action to strengthen long-term sustainability.

Beyond stabilization, the mandate is one of thoughtful strategic growth. The CEO must drive VOAWW's strategic plan into a living operating framework, diversify revenue beyond government sources, strengthen private philanthropy and community partnerships, and expand the organization's presence and impact across Western Washington. The leader must pair ambitious vision with practical execution, understanding the distinct economics, risks, quality requirements, and community relationships within a complex portfolio of services.

The successful candidate will be a visible, hands-on, and relationship-centered executive. They will build trust across all levels of the organization, engage communities throughout the region, and strengthen an active and accountable Board partnership. This CEO should also strengthen the partnership with VOA National through collaboration, candor, warmth, and sound judgment as a servant leader. They will authentically embrace VOA's ministry identity and complete the organization's constituent membership and minister commissioning process within the required timeframe.

The position is based in Everett, Washington, and requires consistent on-site and community presence, with regular travel within the Agency's footprint and periodic national travel.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Enterprise Strategy and Organizational Leadership

• Set and communicate a clear enterprise direction that advances VOAWW's mission, strengthens organizational health, and aligns the Board, executive team, staff, and partners around shared priorities.
• Translate the strategic plan into a practical operating roadmap with defined outcomes, ownership, milestones, measures, and a consistent cadence for review and accountability.
• Assess the organization's program portfolio, structure, capabilities, and resource allocation, making disciplined decisions about where to strengthen, reshape, grow, partner, or exit.
• Lead with visible commitment to dignity, inclusion, service, and responsible stewardship while preserving the responsiveness and community connection at the heart of VOAWW's work.
• Build organizational resilience by anticipating changes in public policy, funding, workforce conditions, community needs, and the broader human services environment.

Financial Sustainability and Operational Excellence

• Partner closely with the Chief Financial Officer and the rest of the executive team to strengthen forecasting, cash and reserve planning, cost discipline, enterprise risk management, and Board-level financial visibility.
• Address structural operating pressures as major capital projects conclude, aligning the cost base and program portfolio with sustainable sources of revenue.
• Understand the economics and value drivers of each service line and establish clear expectations for program quality, financial performance, compliance, and impact.
• Strengthen systems, processes, data, technology, and management practices that support consistent execution across a large, geographically distributed, highly regulated organization.
• Navigate material legal, regulatory, reputational, and safety risks with sound judgment, timely transparency, and effective partnership with counsel and other expert advisors.

Revenue Diversification, Partnerships, and Growth

• Build a diversified and resilient revenue strategy that preserves strong government and municipal partnerships while expanding private foundation, major donor, corporate, faith-community, and individual support.
• Serve as VOAWW's lead ambassador and relationship builder, developing authentic, long-term partnerships across the political, philanthropic, business, civic, and social service communities.
• Personally cultivate and steward high-value funder and donor relationships, securing materially significant funding supportive of both the donor's goals and VOAWW's mission.
• Evaluate and pursue responsible opportunities to deepen VOAWW's presence across Western Washington, with particular attention to underserved communities and areas where the organization can deliver distinctive value.
• Represent VOAWW as a credible, nonpartisan public voice for the needs of the people it serves, building productive relationships across differing viewpoints.

People, Culture, and Program Impact

• Lead, support, and hold accountable a capable executive team, clarifying roles and decision rights while developing the leadership capacity needed for enterprise-wide performance.
• Build trust with frontline staff and leaders through visibility, listening, candor, consistency, and follow-through, especially as the organization continues to navigate change.
• Foster an inclusive, mission-aligned culture in which employees with differing identities and perspectives feel respected, connected to purpose, and accountable for shared results.
• Strengthen performance management, succession planning, leadership development, and workforce engagement across approximately 750 employees and a diverse range of professional disciplines.
• Ensure that program strategy and quality remain grounded in the lived needs of communities, measurable outcomes, regulatory requirements, and the safety and dignity of those served.

Ministry Leadership, Governance, and National Partnership

• Build a candid, transparent, and appropriately governed partnership with the Board, providing timely information, surfacing difficult issues early, and drawing on members for strategic counsel without shifting operational responsibility.
• Help the Board deepen its engagement, composition, community reach, and fundraising leadership while respecting the distinction between governance and management.
• Develop a constructive and mutually accountable relationship with Volunteers of America National, engaging the broader affiliate network.
• Serve as the lead minister of VOAWW, integrating the organization's Christian faith-in-action identity with an inclusive ministry that welcomes and serves all people.
• Complete the required constituent membership and minister commissioning process and represent VOAWW's ministry identity authentically with staff, communities, donors, and national partners within the required time frame.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Significant senior executive leadership experience within a complex human services, healthcare, behavioral health, housing, social services, or similarly regulated, multi-program organization; prior CEO or comparable enterprise leadership experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading at meaningful organizational scale, ideally including responsibility for a workforce, budget, and program portfolio comparable to VOAWW's complexity.
• Proven ability to stabilize and strengthen financial performance, understand diverse program economics, make difficult resource decisions, and build sustainable operating models in a constrained funding environment.
• A record of diversifying revenue and personally developing relationships with government partners, foundations, major donors, corporate leaders, and other sources of philanthropic support.
• Experience translating strategy into execution through clear priorities, operating rhythms, data, accountability, and measurable results.
• Strong people leadership and organizational development capabilities, including experience leading through restructuring, building trust, developing executives, and strengthening culture across a dispersed workforce.
• Demonstrated governance maturity and experience partnering effectively with a nonprofit or public-sector Board, with a reputation for transparency, sound judgment, and constructive accountability.
• Experience navigating affiliated, federated, or networked organizations is strongly preferred, as is familiarity with complex relationships involving national entities, local governance, and shared standards.
• Operational familiarity with 24/7, residential, crisis, behavioral health, housing, or other high-acuity direct services is strongly preferred.
• Exceptional communication and public leadership skills with the ability to build trust across diverse communities and differing perspectives.
• Authentic alignment with VOAWW's mission, values, and Christian faith-in-action identity with a demonstrated commitment to dignity, inclusion, and service to all.
• Willingness and ability to complete the Volunteers of America constituent membership and minister commissioning process within three years of employment.
• Meaningful connection to the Pacific Northwest is preferred. Candidates from outside the region must demonstrate a genuine commitment to relocate, embed in the community, and build a lasting presence in Western Washington.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Volunteers of America Western Washington will offer a competitive executive compensation package, including an anticipated base salary of $295,000 to $300,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. The organization also provides a comprehensive benefits package featuring four Aetna/Meritain medical plan options with prescription coverage, including an employer-paid employee-only high-deductible health plan; virtual care; Delta Dental coverage; VSP vision coverage; employer-paid basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance for employees enrolled in medical coverage; health savings and flexible spending accounts; and a complimentary 24/7 employee assistance program offering counseling, crisis support, and legal and financial resources.

Retirement offerings include the employer-funded Volunteers of America National Pension Plan, subject to plan eligibility, as well as a 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer matching. Eligible executives and select employees may also participate in a supplemental tax-deferred 457(b) plan. Additional benefits include employee discount programs, coverage options for eligible dependents, and potential relocation assistance for the selected candidate.

APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS

Volunteers of America Western Washington has retained the services of Scion Executive Search, a national executive search firm specializing in nonprofit recruitment, to assist in conducting this important search. For immediate consideration, please apply with your resume and cover letter, formatted in Microsoft Word, via: https://scionexecutivesearch.com/job/15435.

Please address applications to:

Sydney Burnham, Senior Executive Search Principal

Scion Executive Search

Review of applications, nominations, and expressions of interest will begin immediately and continue on a confidential basis until an appointment is made.

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