Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Founded in 1999 and with a deep commitment to community-focused work, New Ecology, Inc. (NEI) envisions a world in which all people have access to affordable, healthy, sustainable housing and communities in which to grow and thrive with a concerted emphasis on equity and serving underserved communities. With over two decades of experience, NEI is an innovative and leading non-profit in sustainable development. In the past decade alone, New Ecology has worked with partners on over 6,237 buildings across 13 states, improving more than 208,447 units of affordable housing, impacting hundreds of thousands of residents.

Our theory of change is grounded in our four practice areas:

• Green Building Services: Advances the impact of sustainable development in new affordable multifamily housing by helping developers and their teams construct new multifamily affordable housing and mixed-use buildings that are healthy, affordable, resilient, and accessible hubs within the community
• Existing Building Decarbonization: Transforms existing housing stock by working with owners and operators of multifamily affordable housing to pursue practical strategies for building decarbonization over time, reducing impacts and controlling cost while increasing sustainability
• Climate Smart Communities: Supports community-based partners in the naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) sector through the delivery of technical assistance and programs that deliver high-performance, climate-ready, healthy housing and community revitalization
• Research and Development: Innovates and creates new opportunities for technologies, processes, and approaches that can make sustainable development in the built environment more accessible, cost-effective, efficient, and impactful

And our work is centered on the following core values:

• Collaboration and partnership with those involved in and impacted by our work
• Relationships built on trust and mutual respect with all stakeholders and employees, with an imperative of empowerment and inclusion
• An approach of continuous learning and educational exchange, informed by the knowledge that we do not have all the answers and can learn from others
• A spirit of fearless problem-solving and entrepreneurship that allows us to approach issues with curiosity and an innovation mindset

ABOUT THE POSITION

With an increased embrace of decarbonization and local accelerated efforts to incentivize the construction of more high-performance affordable housing, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be key in stewarding NEI through its next phase of growth: scaling our work to have more impact. With the ability to capitalize on our reputation as a national leader in bringing the benefits of sustainable development to the community level, the CEO will serve as NEI’s lead fundraiser, external voice, and organizational ambassador championing NEI’s work across varied audiences and cultivating new streams of revenue and potential partnerships. Key to the work of the incoming CEO will be to strengthen NEI’s purpose and develop a strategic vision to ensure a scalable and sustainable operating and delivery model and inspire the team to work together with a common purpose.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO will manage five direct reports and a team of roughly sixty staff. The CEO will model inclusive leadership and in partnership with the Management Team will promote a culture of transparency, inclusion, and continuous learning ensuring that we exemplify and embed our core values in the way we operate, both internally and externally.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Leadership

• Set, manage, and refine strategies that enable NEI to realize its vision
• Lead the upcoming strategic planning cycle, working closely with the Management Team and staff to develop a plan that advances the organization’s key goals: development of innovative solutions, systems change, and sharing of best practices
• Working closely with division heads and Management Team, articulate programmatic scope and goals at the division and organizational level, including an emphasis on developing innovative approaches to delivery

Revenue Generation and External Representation

• Act as the organization’s principal fundraiser, aggressively building capacity and targets around both philanthropic and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding
• Develop and execute new fundraising strategies to engage new funders; capitalize on opportunities generated by the IRA
• Continue to develop and grow earned income / fee for service revenues for the Green Building Services and Building Decarbonization divisions, enabling growth and financial sustainability
• Improve efforts to share knowledge with the field, serving as an industry expert and thought leader, attending meetings, conferences, and other convenings
• Build and deepen productive working relationships with organizations that expand both reach and effectiveness
• Identify and explore opportunities to work with partners to secure funding, including, but not limited to IRA funding

Organizational Leadership and Management

• Ensure that New Ecology actualizes its commitment to equity, acting as both a proactive driver and exemplar related to the organization’s efforts both internally and externally
• Hire, retain, and mentor a high-performing, diverse team with a commitment to strong staff engagement, equity, and inclusivity
• Support the team to identify, secure, and act on field-building opportunities as experts, participants, networkers, and speakers at key events locally, regionally, and nationally
• Support culture change that drives the regular use of resource planning tools to provide improved data on progress toward strategic goals
• Manage resource spending and allocation, operating within the approved budget, ensuring maximum resource utilization, and maintaining a positive financial position
• Work closely with the COO to establish division-level performance goals and planning for revenue, expenses, and impact goals; support the creation of financial modeling and scenario planning tools to support ongoing management, including revenue targets
• Act as primary liaison to the Board of Directors, engaging Board members in the current and future needs of the organization, soliciting input and support on an ongoing basis
• Communicate effectively with the Board and provide, in a timely and accurate manner, all information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

• Executive leadership – A track record of leading and scaling a team or organization in green building, decarbonization, energy efficiency, sustainability, affordable housing and / or a related sector, with a minimum of three years of significant leadership experience
• Strategic thinking – Demonstrated success developing a compelling strategic vision for improving outcomes and inspiring internal and external stakeholders to collaborate in an effort to bring that vision to fruition
• Entrepreneurial and innovative mindset – Success seizing opportunities and changing course to enable impact
• Professional Expertise – Track record of serving as a thought leader in the one or more of the following fields: green building, decarbonization, energy efficiency, sustainability, affordable housing and / or a related sector
• External relationship building – Ability to communicate our strategy internally and externally to partners, funders, and the public in a range of environments and a demonstrated ability balance listening and learning with leading
• Deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion – Ability to serve as an exemplar for an organization’s commitment to equity and a proven success of managing and mentoring high performing, diverse teams
• Management track record – Proven experience building and managing highly-skilled, highly-diverse teams and the ability to evolve the organization’s culture, with demonstrated success in creating and supporting an inclusive workplace

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Location: Flexible, with a preference for Boston and/or the mid-Atlantic region.

Compensation and Benefits: Target compensation is in the $200,000 range. New Ecology, Inc. offers comprehensive benefits, including:

• Medical insurance, with 75% coverage of all individual and family premiums
• Dental insurance, with 100% coverage of all individual and family premiums
• Life insurance coverage
• Opt-in vision plan
• 403b plan with 3% match, no vesting period (effective immediately)
• 4 weeks vacation, 11 paid holidays, 2 paid personal days, and unlimited/responsible use sick time policy
• Flexible culture, staff works on a hybrid schedule with 2 days week in person

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

This executive search is being conducted by On-Ramps. All submissions will be acknowledged and are confidential. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Candidates must include a resume and a cover letter that describes how their qualifications and experience match the needs and mission of NEI.

NEI is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and looks forward to an inclusive hiring process. It encourages a broad range of applicants, including candidates from diverse backgrounds and cultures, particularly candidates of color and LGBTQ candidates.