Chief Executive Officer, Burnaby (CLOSED)
About Variety
Variety is one of the world’s best recognized children’s charities, boasting 43 chapters in 11 countries. Variety’s BC chapter (“Variety”) was established in 1966 and has since played a key role in raising awareness and funding for children with special needs through individual grants and capital campaigns for child development centres, and specialized schools and daycares throughout the province.
Variety now generates over $8 million in annual revenues, operating with a team of 15 staff, and aims to be the top-of-mind children’s charity known for stepping in where healthcare ends to improve the lives of children with special needs.
As a fundraising and granting organization, Variety raises most of its revenues through individual donations, receiving over 20,000 unique donations per year. Additionally, they raise revenues through telethons, events, and corporate sponsorships. Variety’s key events include the celebrity-packed “Show of Hearts” and “Variety Week” on Global TV, as well as the Boat for Hope. Variety’s core grant areas range from mobility programs and life-saving medical equipment, to specialized therapies, autism assessments, mental wellness counselling, and educational programs.
Raising awareness through storytelling is core to Variety’s passionate team culture. There is a meaningful sense of contribution, which makes for a uniquely rewarding workplace where all staff, volunteers, and supporters can make a specific and scaled difference for children with special needs, build connections, and help families flourish.
Read more details about the organization on their website.
The Opportunity
Chief Executive Officer
Variety is seeking qualified candidates to apply for their Chief Executive Officer position. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO is responsible for inspiring vision and providing strategic and operational leadership to the organization.
This is an ideal time for a new CEO to join as Variety is in the last year of its 5-Year Strategic Plan and has recently benefited from exceptional financial performance and support from the community. Variety’s revenues nearly doubled over the course of the pandemic, which resulted in increased grant distributions and the capacity to fund new areas of need, such as autism assessments and specialized therapies. Additionally, with the potential changes to special needs funding in BC, Variety may be drawn upon to forecast and meet the community’s dynamic needs in this shifting landscape.
The new CEO will lead a passionate hybrid workforce headquartered in Burnaby, inherit a fully engaged Board, and the mandate to help shape Variety’s vision to benefit children with special needs. The initial priorities for the new CEO, may include:
Assuming leadership of the strategic planning process, in partnership with the Board, and setting a bold new vision to maximize Variety’s impact;
Diversifying and modernizing Variety’s fundraising strategy to engage all key audiences, including underrepresented communities;
Elevating Variety’s profile and presence throughout the province through personal and collective outreach to major donors, corporate and non-profit partners, and community and government leaders;
Enhancing accessibility and equitability for grants and streamlining distribution;
Ensuring all teams are optimally staffed and engaged, especially in light of Variety’s increased demand and growth; and
Improving Variety’s systems and use of data and technology.
The CEO is responsible for ensuring that the organization and its staff achieve the fundraising, operational, financial, and strategic goals and objectives established in the strategic plan. Serving as Variety’s chief spokesperson, the CEO will focus on developing and maintaining strong engaged relationships with major donors, corporate supporters, partner organizations as well as local, national, and international stakeholders.
Reporting to the Board, the CEO will be supported by the following direct reports:
Director, Finance
Director, Marketing & Communications
Director, Development
Director, Philanthropy Services
Specific accountabilities include:
Strategic Planning
In collaboration with the Board and the leadership team, co-creates and designs the strategic plan that charts the future course of Variety.
Facilitates portfolio-level and broader organizational planning with relevant stakeholders, and provides the Board with operative data.
Cultivates a network to keep abreast of trends and needs in the development field, exploring and recommending new and innovative approaches that could enhance Variety’s performance.
People Strategy and Leadership
Provides strong leadership to create an exceptional employee experience and full engagement of all stakeholders (Board, volunteers, community, corporate), creating excitement and alignment with the organization’s mission, vision, and goals.
Fosters an environment that encourages creativity, innovation, volunteer involvement, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Each year, in conjunction with the leadership team, establishes a list of objectives in the context of the Strategic Plan to be achieved by the CEO and leadership team in the upcoming year.
Fundraising Strategy and Management
In collaboration with the Director of Development, creates and implements a comprehensive fundraising plan to achieve established revenue generation and donor development goals.
Leads the strategy, vision, and execution of the telethon, special events, and third-party events with a view to achieve financial success.
Continuously builds and expands upon Variety’s existing relationships, including corporate partners, potential donors, community organizations, government leaders, the membership, and the Board.
Grants Strategy
Forms Variety’s grant strategy, priorities, and policies by assessing applicable community needs with the Board, staff, membership, key external health service providers and associations.
Works with all relevant committees for grant distribution to ensure Variety’s funds are distributed efficiently, effectively, and according to Variety’s policies.
Strategic Marketing
In collaboration with the Director of Marketing & Communication, ensures a strategic communications program is in place that supports the achievement of communications objectives established in the Strategic Plan.
Acts as a key spokesperson for Variety—undertakes speaking engagements to enhance the public understanding of Variety’s mission, vision, and goals.
Finance, IT & Operations
In collaboration with the Director of Finance, oversees and assists with the preparation of the annual budget and ensures the financial and operational elements of the organization operate in a manner that achieves the goals and objectives established in the Strategic Plan.
Stays abreast of leading technology and enterprise solutions to increase organizational efficiencies where applicable.
Manages expenses to maximize budget allocation toward grants.
Stakeholder and Volunteer Engagement
Develops positive and productive relationships with external stakeholders, including members, volunteers, donors, partners, government officials, and the corporate community.
Board Relations
Develops processes and systems to ensure the Board has all the information necessary to properly exercise its governance and fiduciary responsibilities.
Keeps the Board engaged and current on all relevant information regarding Variety’s operations.
Essential Qualities and Experience
The ideal candidate will be a proven strategic and visionary leader who is clearly aligned with Variety’s mission and values. In order to successfully identify needs and raise funding and awareness, the CEO will be masterful at storytelling, engaging audiences, and connecting with a diverse range of individuals and communities across the province—from children to seniors, newcomers to generational members, grassroots donors to media personalities, senior government officials to corporate executives, and from Indigenous communities to new immigrants.
As Variety operates with a lean but effective and tight-knit team, the organization will be drawn to candidates who demonstrate a track record of engaging the collective expertise of a team, building capacity, and successfully recruiting, retaining, and developing staff. Variety welcomes credibly experienced leaders to apply, but will prioritize candidates who have:
A clear passion for Variety’s mission to help children with special needs;
5+ years of senior leadership experience in the non-profit, charitable, or other transferrable sectors such as health, senior government, or business;
Broad management experience in an organization of comparable complexity with a diverse team of direct reports;
Demonstrated experience with formulating and executing strategic plans;
A successful track record with fundraising or business development, ideally with a nuanced understanding of major gifts, events, annual giving, and legacy giving in comparable organizations;
Compelling public speaking and presentation skills—experience connecting with large audiences in various venues and media;
An ability to engage community partners, medical professionals, and government stakeholders at all levels to identify current and potential funding gaps for children with special needs;
A solid track record of reporting to and working effectively with governance Boards or Committees; and
Acute skills in financial literacy and operational budgeting.
Compensation and Search Process
Variety’s CEO position is a strategic leadership role and is budgeted to pay competitively within the sector, depending on experience.
The search process may include conventional longlist, shortlist, and committee interview stages. We will request for finalists to offer comprehensive references and complete a thorough background check.
We expect to process our first review of applications by August 15, 2022.
Our client values diversity, equity, and inclusion in our hiring and organizational policies and practices. We encourage candidates who require any accommodations to contact us directly with related questions, which can be addressed in confidence as appropriate.
To apply, please forward your resume and cover letter to
info@mosaicsearch.ca
You are also welcome to email
Dave Namkung (dave@mosaicsearch.ca) or
Beth Young (beth@mosaicsearch.ca) with any related questions.
