Request for Proposals: Executive Search Services for People’s Solar Energy Fund

People's Solar Energy Fund

5d•Remote

About The Position

People’s Solar Energy Fund (PSEF) is seeking proposals from qualified executive search firms to assist in the recruitment and hiring of its next Executive Director. PSEF is particularly interested in firms with a proven history of successful searches for mission-driven organizations, especially those with expertise in climate justice, clean energy, community finance, loan funds, enterprise development, or community wealth building. This search is critical as PSEF navigates a leadership transition and implements a new strategic direction. The ideal partner will manage a rigorous, equitable, and values-aligned process that reflects PSEF's member-centered governance and capital strategies. The organization does not view itself as a traditional nonprofit and seeks a leader with strong enterprise instincts, not solely nonprofit management experience. PSEF is a member-organized nonprofit focused on advancing a just transition through community-rooted clean energy, shared ownership, and non-extractive capital strategies. The organization operates at the intersection of climate justice, community development, democratic governance, and equitable energy investment. The next Executive Director will be responsible for day-to-day management, fundraising, and expanding membership and partnerships. PSEF is currently focused on strengthening internal systems, executing its 2026–2029 strategic plan, aligning capital products and fundraising with community energy models, and identifying leadership for its next growth phase. The Board seeks a leader capable of navigating complexity, building trust across diverse stakeholders, aligning them around a common vision, and designing innovative capital solutions for community-owned power.

Requirements

Significant experience conducting Executive Director, CEO, or comparable senior leadership searches for mission-driven organizations.
Experience in placing leaders who have experience managing funds, loan pools, community investment strategies, or other mission-driven financing structures.
Experience in recruiting leaders able to implement multi-year strategic plans in organizations balancing governance, movement relationships, fundraising, and capital deployment.
A strong track record of recruiting diverse candidate pools and supporting equitable, inclusive search processes.
Experience in working effectively with a committee-led and Board-approved process and provide clear guidance to volunteer search committee members.
Strong project management, communication, and candidate stewardship practices.
Experience in providing a right-sized approach appropriate for PSEF’s scale, values, leadership context, and budget sensitivity, including transparent pricing or rate information.
Familiarity with organizations working in social justice, climate, environmental sustainability, clean energy, philanthropy, community development, community finance, lending, loan funds, enterprise strategy, financial institutions, or movement ecosystems.
Ability to conduct original candidate research and direct outreach beyond existing databases and established contacts.
Ability to track the diversity of candidate pools.
Ability to provide clear fee structure, including total anticipated professional fee, optional or additional costs, payment schedule, and length of placement or replacement guarantee.
Ability to address the challenge of recruiting PSEF’s next Executive Director.

Nice To Haves

Firms that have run successful searches for mission-driven organizations with a track record in climate justice, clean energy, community finance, loan funds, enterprise development, or community wealth building.
Firms who understand how to assess candidates for both executive leadership capacity and alignment with movement-facing, member-informed organizational models.
Experience with funds, lending programs, loan pools, community investment vehicles, nonprofit finance, or mission-driven capital deployment strategies.
Familiarity with organizations working in social justice, climate, environmental sustainability, clean energy, philanthropy, community development, community finance, lending, loan funds, enterprise strategy, financial institutions, or movement ecosystems.

Responsibilities

Design and manage a national search for the next Executive Director.
Refine the search strategy.
Advise on candidate profile and market positioning.
Recruit and assess candidates.
Support the evaluation process.
Guide the Board through finalist selection and offer stages.
Engage PSEF staff for organizational context, culture, role clarity, and strategic implementation insight.
Coordinate with the Board at key milestones.
Refine a candidate profile capable of implementing the Strategic Plan, including enterprise thinking, non-extractive capital deployment, fundraising growth, and stewardship of a member-led Commons.
Assess candidates’ ability to align capital products, member support, governance practices, and external positioning with the Strategic Plan’s direction and implementation milestones.
Provide launch and planning support, including kickoff meetings, clarification of roles, refinement of search timeline, and confirmation of decision-making process.
Provide communications guidance related to candidate-facing materials, search launch sequencing, confidentiality practices, and efficient proposal review methods.
Provide position development support, including review and refinement of the Executive Director job description, candidate profile, compensation framing, and recruitment messaging.
Conduct active outreach, network-based sourcing, and national recruitment of diverse, highly qualified candidates.
Supplement provided contacts through own networks and original candidate research.
Conduct candidate screening and assessment, including interviews, semi-finalist evaluation, reference approaches, writing or work sample recommendations, and presentation of a well-vetted candidate pool.
Assess fund and lending competencies, including the firm’s approach to evaluating candidates with experience in loan funds, revolving funds, community finance, capital deployment, underwriting oversight, financial institutions, or management of mission-aligned pools of capital.
Assess strategic implementation competencies, including the ability to lead organizational excellence, member readiness, investment strategy, fundraising infrastructure, and movement alignment in line with PSEF’s Strategic Plan.
Design an equity-informed process, including practices that support fairness, mitigate bias, advance candidate diversity, and reflect PSEF’s justice-centered values.
Provide search committee and Board support, including meeting facilitation, interview planning, decision support, finalist coordination, and consultation through offer and acceptance.
Provide transition and onboarding advice, including recommendations for successful onboarding and leadership transition planning.