Executive Director - Orange County (Santa Ana, CA)

American Red Cross•Santa Ana, CA

5d•$120,780 - $130,281•Onsite

About The Position

The American Red Cross is seeking a professional, innovative, and enthusiastic Executive Director for its Orange County Chapter, based in Santa Ana, California. This position is primarily external-facing, focusing on community relations and fundraising, with very little operational responsibility. The Executive Director serves as the primary community-facing leader and facilitator for the American Red Cross at the chapter level. As a facilitative meta-leader, the ED, in partnership with functional supervisors, convenes, aligns, and empowers cross-functional teams and external partners to deliver core services, deploy secondary services where needed most, and strengthen community resilience. The ED represents the organization publicly, leads collaborative chapter planning with and alongside the community, and stewards strategic relationships to achieve regional program, revenue, volunteer recruitment & engagement, blood collection, and community engagement goals. This is a unique opportunity for a visionary leader who thrives on building relationships, mobilizing resources, and inspiring collective action. As the chapter’s principal external leader, the Executive Director will elevate the Red Cross presence across Orange County—engaging donors, volunteers, and community partners to advance humanitarian impact and long-term resilience.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
Minimum 7 years of related experience or equivalent combination of education and related experience required.
Demonstrated fundraising experience, including donor engagement and revenue generation.
Ability to work on a team.
May travel and participate in meetings and conferences throughout chapter jurisdiction, state, and Red Cross system.
Ability to use a personal computer, applicable software, and office equipment for sustained periods of time.
May include sitting for long periods of time, driving a vehicle, and working under challenging conditions.

Nice To Haves

Established connections within the community.
Strong, demonstrated connection to and understanding of the local community, enabling effective stakeholder engagement and meaningful impact.
Familiarity with local networks and existing community relationships is highly valued.
Bilingual (Spanish-speaking) is a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary community facing leader and facilitator for the American Red Cross at the chapter level.
Convene, align, and empower cross-functional teams and external partners to deliver core services, deploy secondary services where needed most, and strengthen community resilience.
Represent the organization publicly.
Lead collaborative chapter planning with and alongside the community.
Steward strategic relationships to achieve regional program, revenue, volunteer recruitment & engagement, blood collection, and community engagement goals.
Maximize presence, connectivity, and recognition of Red Cross contributions in the community.
Span organizational boundaries and bridge silos for coordinated community response (“unity of effort”).
Ensure upward, downward, and outward connectivity—coordinating stewardship across Programs, Communications, and Fundraising.
Participate as a member of the Regional Leadership Team to support achievement of regional program, revenue, volunteer recruitment & engagement, blood collection, and community engagement goals.
Lead the chapter planning process and drive progress toward plan objectives.
Convene and align cross-functional teams and external stakeholders across sectors (government, nonprofit, business, faith) to co-create chapter plans with shared outcomes, roles, and accountability.
Use data and community voice to prioritize where secondary services are deployed to close gaps, strengthen resilience, and improve equity of access to Red Cross services.
Lead the chapter in supporting the achievement of the region’s revenue targets.
Meet the assigned individual fundraising target.
Meet the annual chapter board members’ give and get campaign goals.
Maintain assigned donor accounts as defined by the Regional Executive and CDO.
Actively participate in influencing fundraising in conjunction with the Chief Development Officer.
In partnership with the CDO, recruit, develop, and support philanthropy committee members who have philanthropic influence in the community and will actively play a leadership role in fundraising.
Manage a portfolio of strategic relationships: local elected officials, key community leaders & stakeholders.
Serve as a member of the Elected Officials Liaison Network.
Support disaster responses locally, regionally, and nationally consistent with ConOps.
Develop, support, and ensure the success of the Chapter Board of Directors in support of the Red Cross mission.
Manage and ensure the board meets published board guidance for membership.
Develop, lead, and manage a cadre of community volunteer leaders who serve as the face of the Red Cross in assigned territories.
Support mission capacity building by developing and stewarding key community partnerships and support recruitment of volunteers.
Serve as a partner team member to Communications and Fundraising teams to align messaging, stewardship, and campaign execution.