Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Oregon Humane Society•Portland, OR

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. Oregon Humane transforms compassion into action through life-changing programs that support and celebrate the human-animal connection, including adoption, veterinary care, education, humane law enforcement, and legislation. With campuses in Portland and Salem, Oregon Humane is an independent non-profit organization that receives no government funding and is fueled entirely by donors. Oregon Humane has a yearly budget of $40,000,000, employs nearly 400 employees, and collaborates with partners throughout Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, and across the nation. Within the last five years, the organization has opened a state-of-the-art Community Veterinary Hospital, a Behavior & Rescue Center, and an Animal Crimes Forensic Center. Oregon Humane has also expanded its footprint into the mid-Willamette Valley and has made major facility upgrades to its Salem shelter and Veterinary Clinic. In addition to Oregon Humane’s shelter and medical facilities, the organization has a wide array of teams to improve the lives of animals, including Training & Behavior, Humane Education, its Second Chance transfer program, and Humane Law Enforcement. Oregon Humane is at the forefront of animal welfare’s understanding of the integral and complex relationship between human and animals, employing one of the nation’s few Veterinary Social Workers and partnering with local non-profits to meet the community’s greatest needs so that more pets and people can stay together. To broaden people’s understanding of how they fulfill their mission, Oregon Humane organizes their programs and services within four pillars: Well-Being, Connection, Knowledge, and Advocacy. Oregon Humane’s mission statement demonstrates their collaborative, holistic approach to animal welfare: We transform compassion into action, creating an ecosystem where all of us—animals and humans—feel safe, valued, and part of something bigger. The Chief Executive Officer is the leader of a collaborative Executive Team. This person will lead the Executive Team to ensure organizational alignment with Oregon Humane’s strategic objectives and priorities. The CEO drives the organization’s strategic direction, fostering a culture of innovation and accountability, and managing internal and external relationships. The positions reporting to the CEO include: Chief Financial Officer, Chief Advancement Officer, Chief People and Culture Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Humane Law Officer. In addition, the Senior Leadership team includes representatives from the Oregon Humane location in Salem, Oregon, shelter staff, training and behavior staff, veterinary clinic staff and internal operations and support services.

Requirements

At least 10 years of exceptional strategic and operational leadership experience in nonprofit, government and/or private sector organizations.
Experience managing and developing operations across multiple worksites and service areas.
Ability to anticipate and address significant industry challenges and opportunities.
Proven and quantifiable track record building and leading high performing teams.
Strong financial and business acumen within an organization of similar scale and complexity.
Capability to maintain strong relationships with high-profile individuals, donors, and program partners.
Ability to speak publicly and advocate in front of the media, with donors, and the public.
Policy and public advocacy experience with government and elected officials.
Able to exercise sound judgment and maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff, and volunteers.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful, and professional manner.
Satisfactory completion of Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) background check including fingerprinting.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated visionary leadership, broad perspective, and a high degree of flexibility and adaptability.
Strong leadership skills, demonstrating authenticity, inclusivity and collaborative decision-making.
Ability to manage and make timely decisions within highly complex situations and operations.
Ability to work effectively with high profile external business and political leaders.
Possess the style and interpersonal skills to effectively partner with people of diverse backgrounds.
Experience with animal shelters, animal care and/or CAWA certification.

Responsibilities

Cultivates an effective Board of Directors ensuring they exercise their full governance, vision and service potential on behalf of the organization.
Executes on the organization’s strategic and business plans.
Works closely with the Board and Nominating Committee Chair to recruit and retain board members and evaluate them annually.
Supports operations and administration of the Board, interfaces between Board and staff, and supports the Board’s evaluation of the CEO.
Provides leadership and oversight of campuses in Portland and Salem, Community Veterinary Hospital, Behavioral Training Center, and the Humane Law Enforcement Unit.
Ensures the effective stewardship of all organizational resources including finances, people, technology, and brand.
Leads the Senior Leadership Team and directly supervises, supports, and evaluates the Executive Leadership team.
Keeps current on best practices in use at other U.S. animal welfare and veterinary healthcare organizations and updates shelter operations and policies where appropriate.
Provides the board and staff with a timely report of these enhancements and communicates these accomplishments to various stakeholders as appropriate.
With the Chief People and Culture Officer, sets the culture and tone of Oregon Humane, creating an organization where people thrive while operating in a complex, fast-paced, and dynamic work environment in multiple locations and departments.
Builds trusting relationships across teams by consistently demonstrating Oregon Humane’s core values, inclusive and authentic leadership, and a deep commitment to the mission and vision.
With the Chief Advancement Officer and the Board’s Advancement Committee, develops and plans specific strategies for acquiring proper funding for operations and programs.
Provides personal leadership for cultivation and solicitation of major gifts, community and legacy giving.
Builds and executes on strong business plans for each business unit to build and diversify revenue streams while providing quality service.
With the Chief Financial Officer, develops annual organization and department budgets for Finance Committee and Board approval.
Oversees business planning, revenue diversification and investment strategies in collaboration with Finance and Board Committees.
Regularly reports on business plan execution and development of business strategies for the long-term health of the organization.
With the Chief Medical Officer overseeing managers in Portland and Salem, ensures appropriate design, management, and delivery of quality programs, products, sales and services.
Actively participates in community engagement, national associations and advocacy efforts to promote shelter activities.
With the Chief Medical Officer, ensures high quality execution of services to the community both paid and donated.
Actively participates in the development of business and funding plans that meet the needs of community and national standards for care.
Advocates for on-going needs of animals and owners.
With the Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer, provides leadership and guidance for interventions and prosecution of animal abusers.
Builds and maintains relationships with the Oregon State Police.
Ensures adequate enforcement support and resources.
Engages with advocacy efforts at the state level related to humane law enforcement.