Executive Director

Executive Director

Friends of the Children - Stockton

Stockton, California

The Moran Company is pleased to partner with Friends of the Children - Stockton to recruit the organization's next Executive Director.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a high-capacity nonprofit leader to build upon a strong launch foundation and guide a growing chapter through its next phase of visibility, impact, and sustainability.

Organizational Background

Friends of the Children is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization with a powerful mission to impact generational change by empowering youth who face the greatest obstacles through relationships with paid professional mentors—12+ years, no matter what. For more than three decades, the Friends of the Children model has produced measurable outcomes for children and families across the country. Friends of the Children’s impact is evident - a longitudinal study by the Harvard Business School Association of Oregon confirmed that for every $1 invested in Friends of the Children, the community benefits over $7 in saved social costs.

Established in 2024, Friends of the Children - Stockton has been building the infrastructure, partnerships, and organizational capacity to support sustainable growth in its mission. The chapter has a strong foundation in place, including strong seed funding (approximately $1.7 million in fundraising revenue last year), a dedicated and mission-driven staff team of five, an engaged seven-member Board of Directors, and the collaborative support of a proven national network, including operational, financial, programmatic, and leadership resources. The chapter is poised to accelerate its visibility, expand its impact, and strengthen its position as a leading force for children and families throughout Stockton and San Joaquin County. The Executive Director role is an incredible opportunity to build upon this momentum, helping establish Friends of the Children - Stockton as one of the region's most visible, trusted, and influential organizations serving children and families through its two-generation approach.

Position Summary

Friends of the Children - Stockton seeks a highly relational, entrepreneurial, and community-centered Executive Director to lead the organization through a start-up stage of growth and impact.

Reporting to the Board of Directors and partnering collaboratively with Friends of the Children National, the Executive Director serves as the organization's chief executive, fundraiser, strategist, ambassador, and culture-builder. The Executive Director will inherit an organization with strong momentum and the opportunity to elevate it to the next level—expanding visibility, increasing philanthropic investment, strengthening community partnerships, enhancing organizational capacity, and growing long-term impact for children and families throughout Stockton and San Joaquin County. Working closely with community leaders, schools, nonprofit partners, and investors, this leader will help advance solutions that address the unique challenges facing youth and families in the region.

The Executive Director will be a passionate advocate for children and families facing life's greatest challenges and an effective communicator and storyteller of both the urgency of the mission and the measurable outcomes of the Friends of the Children model. As the organization's primary spokesperson, they will excel at building authentic relationships with donors, corporate leaders, foundations, community partners, and the families and communities served.

The successful candidate will be equally comfortable in the boardroom, the community, and alongside staff. They will bring strategic sophistication to lead a growing nonprofit organization while maintaining the humility, accessibility, and hands-on leadership style needed to inspire trust and build relationships. They will understand how to translate vision into action, build systems without bureaucracy, and build momentum without losing sight of mission.

This is an ideal role for an accomplished nonprofit executive leader who brings both strategic vision and roll ‑ up ‑ your ‑ sleeves execution, combining entrepreneurial business acumen with a deep commitment to mission and a desire to help scale a high ‑ impact organization in a new market.

Roles & Responsibilities

Leadership

• Provide enthusiastic leadership, inspiration, strategic direction, focus, and long-term vision for the organization.
• Be the lead fundraising champion and enthusiastic spokesperson, ambassador, and advocate for Friends of the Children - Stockton.
• Build trust across staff, board, community partners, families, and donors. Model professionalism and high ethical standards throughout the organization.
• Partner with the Board to expand governance capacity, strengthen committee infrastructure, and diversify leadership representation.
• Lead and model Friends of the Children’s commitment to fostering a culture of engagement, empowerment, support, belonging, and mutual respect.
• Foster a transparent, approachable, collaborative, and servant-oriented leadership culture where staff feel heard, valued, and supported.
• Work closely with the National CEO and National staff to ensure that Friends of the Children - Stockton and National are working together as collaborators, that the program is administered with fidelity, and to promote and grow the mission locally and across the county.
• Work closely with other Executive Directors in the state of California to align around opportunities for leadership, fundraising, and statewide collaboration.

Fundraising & Community Relations

• Lead all fundraising and resource development efforts, including establishing clear fundraising goals, objectives, and results.
• Define, prioritize, cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors, foundations, and corporations, including local and regional funding opportunities that deepen community investment.
• Explore and develop diversified and earned-income revenue opportunities that strengthen long-term sustainability.
• Represent the organization throughout Stockton's philanthropic, civic, business, and nonprofit communities.
• Serve as the organization's chief storyteller and external relationship builder.
• Work closely with public officials to develop a funding base that includes an appropriate amount of public funding (city, county, state, and federal).
• Work with the nonprofit community to implement and sustain strategic partnerships and collaborations.

Strategic Planning and Annual Operations

• Develop and execute strategic plans, annual operating plans, budgets, revenue and expense projections, and growth initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for expansion, innovation, and increased community impact.
• Monitor organizational performance and proactively manage risk.
• Partner with the Board and National leadership to achieve long-term goals.

Quality Program Delivery

• Ensure fidelity to the Friends of the Children model.
• Support program leadership in delivering exceptional service and outcomes for youth and families.
• Monitor outcomes and foster continuous improvement.
• Cultivate quality feedback loops for program participants (youth, caregivers).
• Work with the Program Director to ensure that systems are in place to validate effective program implementation.
• Support the ongoing training and development of program staff to meet the requirements of the program with regard to skills, knowledge, and understanding of program content.
• Maintain alignment of the organizational structure and staffing to maximize effectiveness and results.

Financial, Administrative, & Human Resources Leadership

• Provide sound financial stewardship and organizational sustainability.
• Recruit, develop, supervise, and retain a high-performing team; ensure the effective supervision, guidance, development, and evaluation of all staff, and a work environment that results in positive morale and employee retention.
• Maintain accurate and timely communications with the Board of Directors and staff.
• Maximize organizational effectiveness without compromising program and organizational performance.
• Collaborate with, and benefit from, National team Finance, HR, and Operational resources to maximize effectiveness.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible executive leadership experience in nonprofit or related environments is desired.
• A passionate appreciation for child development, youth outcomes, and long-term mentoring models.
• Demonstrated success leading an organization and motivating others within a fast-paced, start-up work environment.
• Strategic thinker with experience building, scaling, launching, and leading organizational growth initiatives.
• Demonstrated success leading across fundraising, operations, finance, strategy, and people leadership.
• Significant fundraising experience and the ability to successfully secure major gifts and diversified revenue streams.
• Strong executive presence and credibility with donors, board members, community leaders, and public stakeholders.
• Working knowledge and experience in the Stockton and San Joaquin County philanthropic and business communities strongly preferred.
• Cultural competence and sensitivity when working with diverse communities and family structures.
• Exceptional listening skills and an approachable, empowering leadership style.
• Outstanding storytelling, written and verbal communication skills, and public speaking abilities.
• Creativity, innovation, and willingness to explore new approaches.
• Exceptional decision-making, organizational, and time management, delegation, and follow-up skills.
• Effective leadership and supervisory skills; ability to collaboratively set goals, provide direction, ensure accountability, and motivate others to achieve and overcome barriers.
• Ability to assess opportunities and mitigate strategic risks, while monitoring progress and making timely course corrections.
• A team player, with a commitment to collaboration and partnership with National and peer leadership.
• Bilingual English/Spanish language skills are a valuable asset.

Compensation & Benefits

The salary range for this position is $145,000–$165,000, including incentive compensation, depending on qualifications and experience. Friends of the Children offers a comprehensive benefits package and a culture that values collaboration, belonging, professional growth, and work-life harmony.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely based on their qualifications for the job to be filled.

Application Process

The search for the Friends of the Children - Stockton Executive Director is being conducted by The Moran Company. Questions about the position can be directed to Angie Heer, The Moran Company: angie (at) morancompany.com.

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to Angie Heer at The Moran Company via the secure online portal. The resume should include all professional education and experience, examples of nonprofit leadership accomplishments, dates of employment (month and year), position/title, and organization names. The cover letter should highlight your relevant experience, passion for Friends of the Children Stockton’s mission, and your approach to building and scaling an organization. Applications should be submitted by July 19.

PLEASE NOTE: All email correspondence from The Moran Company will originate from our official @ morancompany.com domain or using our applicant tracking system domain @ applytojob.com .