Founding Executive Director - SA Gears

Job Description

Job Description

01 The role

This seat is a founding executive role, and the person who fills it inherits a great head start. The model, the board, the case management partner, a founding funder, and the legal entity are in place before the first day, and the public brand is in development. The Executive Director turns that foundation into an operating organization with its own team, shop, training program, and funding base.

The founding grant gives SA Gears a strong start and steps down after 2027. The right leader treats that support as runway and builds local revenue early. The board and steering committee will hold that urgency alongside a firm commitment not to rush the launch past what is wise.

02 First-year outcomes

• Complete an immersion with ChangingGears in Cincinnati during spring 2027, observing technician training classes, the repair shop, the purchase program, and the CityLink partnership firsthand.
• Hire the lead master certified technician and secure the first location, near SA Hope Center's Westside campus, by the end of the second quarter. Build the rest of the founding team, including a director focused on training and employer partnerships, on a sequence the board approves.
• Place the first vehicles with working families referred through SA Hope Center by the end of the third quarter.
• Enroll the first technician training cohort by the end of the fourth quarter, with employer partners prepared to hire its graduates.
• Introduce SA Gears to San Antonio funders beginning in mid-2027, and present the board with a 2028 budget and a multi-year funding plan.

03 Responsibilities

• Programs. Run the purchase, repair, and technician training programs to the ChangingGears standard, adapting them to San Antonio where the steering committee's decision rule allows. Hold the vehicle quality standard, keep repair turnaround fast, and keep the posture that clients pay a fair price and are never simply handed a car.
• Partnerships. Own the referral partnership with SA Hope Center, including the on-site SA Hope teammate and the written case management standard. Build employer relationships with dealerships and independent shops chosen for the advancement they offer graduates.
• Funding and finance. Build a diversified revenue base from vehicle sales, foundations, individual donors, and events, and steward the relationship with the Adam R. Scripps Foundation. Prepare the annual budget for board adoption, manage the no-interest vehicle loan portfolio, and oversee dealer licensing and garage insurance.
• People and systems. Hire, lead, and develop all staff. Build documented systems so the operation runs on practice rather than on any one person, and report outcomes against standardized definitions for completion, placement, retention, and loan repayment.
• Board and city. Serve as chief executive under the bylaws and report to the board through the Chair. Represent SA Gears across San Antonio's business, civic, faith, and philanthropic communities.

04 The candidate

• Deep roots in San Antonio and real standing with its business, civic, and philanthropic leaders. The board expects this leader to sit across the table from the city's major funders and be trusted from the first meeting.
• A record of building something: a start-up, a new program, or a business unit taken from early stage to steady operation, with direct responsibility for hiring, budgets, and results.
• Proven fundraising from foundations and individuals, or full ownership of a profit and loss statement that depended on earned revenue.
• Operating judgment for a service business with a shop, vehicle inventory, a loan portfolio, and compliance requirements. Automotive industry experience is valued and not required; the lead technician carries the craft.
• High expectations for clients held together with genuine warmth toward them, and ease working alongside faith-based partners. Fluency in Spanish is valued.

05 Terms

The position is full-time and based in San Antonio, with periodic travel to Cincinnati, OH during the first years. Novum Partners is managing the search on behalf of the SA Gears board. The board makes the appointment, and the selected candidate completes a background screening before an offer is final.

Learn more and submit an official application at

Company Description

SA Gears is a new San Antonio nonprofit that will put reliable cars, fair repairs, and automotive careers within reach of working families. Its board is searching for the leader who will open it in 2027 and build it to stand on its own.

Company Description

SA Gears is a new San Antonio nonprofit that will put reliable cars, fair repairs, and automotive careers within reach of working families. Its board is searching for the leader who will open it in 2027 and build it to stand on its own.