Montana Career Opportunities – Executive Director – NeighborWorks Great Falls

OUR MISSION:
To Foster a Continuity of Voluntary and Professional Leadership
for the Nonprofit Sectors of the United States and Canada

For the past 37 years NeighborWorks Great Falls (NWGF) has transformed blighted neighborhoods into vibrant communities. NeighborWorks was founded by local residents, lending institutions and city officials to improve declining neighborhoods by developing and advocating quality affordable housing. NWGF helps families become successful homeowners, so that they too can give back to the community one day, providing services including financial counseling, Homebuyer Education, rentals, new construction homes, & second mortgages.

NeighborWorks Great Falls’ mission is to build strong neighborhoods, create successful homeowners and promote quality, affordable housing, primarily for low and moderate income families.

NeighborWorks Great Falls is recognized locally, across Montana and nationwide as an innovative leader in the field of community development and affordable housing. Its high performing Executive Director for the past 14 years, Sheila Rice, is retiring at the end of 2017 or early 2018.

About the Organization: Structure and Leadership

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, NeighborWorks Great Falls serves Great Falls and Cascade County, Montana, and is governed by an 18-member board of directors who bring the organization a wide range of skills, community contacts and perspectives.

NeighborWorks Great Falls is a chartered member of NeighborWorks America, a national network of community development organizations. As a NeighborWorks organization and a NeighborWorks Montana partner, NWGF operates locally, while thinking and participating nationally. This includes having a strategic voice in policy decisions through involvement on local, regional and national boards, and participation in various membership advocacy groups.

NeighborWorks Great Falls’ operating budget hovers around $1.3 million annually, supporting a staff of 16, including a seasoned professional management staff. The organization operates with a relatively flat and flexible structure and the culture is collaborative, involving staff throughout the organization, encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset with open communication and a high level of staff autonomy.

Programs

NeighborWorks Great Falls offers the following four primary program areas, with specific services noted within each:

Rental Housing Portfolio and Development: NeighborWorks Great Falls entered the rental development line of business two years ago and owns 12 unit and 4 unit apartment houses and is in partnership to develop 124 housing tax credit apartments in the next two years. The apartments are managed by an outside property manager, but NeighborWorks Great Falls intends to bring the property management function in house when the portfolio exceeds 500 units. It is interested in exploring downtown housing development and the purchase of unsubsidized rentals.

Homeownership Programs: NeighborWorks Great Falls operates affordable homeownership programs, including comprehensive homebuyer education delivered in person and on-line, coupled with one-on-one sessions with housing counselors, to prepare buyers to afford and maintain their homes for years to come. NWGF provides down payment assistance from its internal revolving funds and City of Great Falls HOME funds. Loan origination, processing and servicing is contracted out to NeighborWorks Montana. Home improvement loans, foreclosure mitigation (including loans), and home equity counseling are also offered. To increase lending capacity, NeighborWorks Great Falls is seeking patient capital at low interest rates.

Single Family for Sale Construction: NeighborWorks Great Falls builds 16 to 18 new homes per year, including a high school house (built by high school advanced building trades) and ten owner-built homes, with NWGF supervising the construction. Other homes are built for NWGF by general contractors, about half are income restricted and half are sold in the open market. Funding to develop a 14 home pocket neighborhood was recently approved.

Community Building and Engagement: A strong and broad-based community program, including Neighborhood Watch, April Clean-up, Cascade Center for Community Leadership, Safe Neighborhoods and other programs which enhance neighborhoods.

Additional information about the organization can be found at http://www.nwgreatfalls.org/index.htm

The Leadership Opportunity

The successful candidate will inherit a strong organization with an excellent reputation in the community. NeighborWorks Great Falls’ program scope, housing portfolio and balance sheet have all grown over the years, and as a result of that success, the organization has had a steadily increasing impact within Great Falls and Cascade County.

Nevertheless, financing and funding for affordable housing and community development is never guaranteed, and the organization seeks to manage its risk in the case of potential government and other institutional funding cuts, especially given its wide range of programs. The organization’s program scope is sufficiently broad that the draft 2016-2018 Strategic Plan specifically calls for a greater focus on organizational planning and program selection and retention.

In addition, NeighborWorks Great Falls is currently launching a new social enterprise, supported by NeighborWorks America through their Sustainable Homeownership Program. The Survive and Sustain Initiative aims to increase earned income in all business lines through efficiency, scale and impact and will including an expansion of one or more service lines into a profit generator.

The Position and Priorities

The Executive Director will have the following strategic priorities for the first 18-24 months of his/her tenure:

Sharpen strategic focus: Continuously analyze lines of business by their contribution to net surplus and/or contribution to pipeline of profitable lines and plan for any changes as indicated by the analysis.

Grow the soon to be launched endowment: Leverage NWGF’s strong track record to complete a feasibility study and continue to develop an endowment (now at $500,000) to create a sustainable and predictable unrestricted future income stream

Lead and facilitate collaborative planning processes to achieve optimal program selection and design: Engage NeighborWorks Great Falls’ deep expertise among the board and staff on a regular, inclusive basis, and foster a collaborative planning and decision making process for program selection and design.

Make quality homeownership opportunities sustainable and profitable by growing the number of homes built, expanding to a higher income market, offering pre-sales and focusing on homebuyer education and pre-purchase counseling.

Develop and continuously refine the rental housing program to contribute to the bottom line and meet the rental needs of Great Falls residents.

Develop and cultivate community partner relationships to enable effective collaboration with a goal of leveraging the greatest possible collective impact in implementing the strategic plan.

Experience, Skills and Attributes

The Executive Director personifies the mission of NeighborWorks Great Falls. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED provides leadership for the organization, and is responsible for the overall management, strategic direction, fundraising, accountability, and administration to ensure the organization achieves its goals, according to board approved policies and procedures.

Ideal candidates for this position will be passionate about NeighborWorks Great Falls’ mission of developing affordable housing and helping improve the livability of Great Falls neighborhoods. The ideal candidate will have high emotional intelligence and excellent communication skills in order to develop, build and maintain strong relationships and raise funds for the organization. The ED should have proven nonprofit management skills, and be an inspirational and collaborative team builder, with a facilitative leadership style, engaging public speaking skills, and an ethic of transparency and openness.

Preferred qualifications include:

A Bachelor’s degree in public, non-profit, or business management, plus eight years progressively responsible experience in nonprofit leadership and development, with five years’ experience in a senior leadership role. Educational qualifications may be waived depending on work history. Executive level corporate or public sector experience with significant volunteer leadership roles may substitute for nonprofit experience.

Knowledge of non-profit management and human resources best practices, laws and regulations.

Demonstrated leadership skills in inspiring, empowering, and developing current and future staff to achieve strategic organizational goals. Demonstrated team-building skills.
A proven track record of fundraising and relationship development; ability to successfully develop new revenue sources within the local market conditions.

Experience managing a budget and performing business and program analysis within an organization of a similar or greater size and complexity.

Education and/or experience in community and/or affordable housing development, urban planning, community lending or a related field.

Excellent written, oral and social media communication skills at all levels, with staff, board, and community stakeholders.
Coalition building experience: Demonstrated effectiveness in inspiring support and confidence in building and maintaining relationships among diverse community stakeholders and partners, to develop and implement collaborative strategies and plans.

Job Requirements

Valid driver’s license, safe driving record, current vehicle insurance, and ability to use personal vehicle for NWGF business.

Willingness to travel within Montana and nationally.
Must be able to pass criminal background and credit checks.

Working Conditions

Work is performed typically in an office environment and a variety of settings among diverse stakeholders and audiences. A considerable amount of time will be spent in meetings, at a computer screen for extended periods, at NWGF events, and speaking before public audiences. Frequent use of phones and e-mail will be required to communicate with stakeholders. Frequently works outside normal working hours and will drive due to work performed with donors and other stakeholders in the community. Occasional travel out of town and out of state will be required.

Compensation: Competitive salary, plus medical and dental coverage, disability insurance, employer contribution toward pension plan and flexible spending account.

Application Process

To apply, interested candidates should e-mail his or her resume, cover letter and salary requirements to: [email protected]
(E-mail applications are required)

Other inquiries may contact:
Jan Glick
[email protected]
(206) 276-7174

NeighborWorks Great Falls is an Equal Opportunity Employer and makes its hiring decisions without regard for race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.