Position Profile
Position Filled
Home of the Sparrow
Executive Director
Crystal Lake, IL
The Organization
Home of the Sparrow is a transitional shelter program that provides housing and comprehensive supportive services for women and children who are homeless. The original shelter, located in a residence, was founded by seven interfaith church members in 1986 as the McHenry County Interfaith Shelter. It served as the first shelter for women and children in the county, and was later renamed Home of the Sparrow.
Today, Home of the Sparrow operates two transitional shelters and five transitional-to-permanent apartments. Women and children experiencing crisis as a result of poverty and homelessness are accepted into residence at Home of the Sparrow where they share living areas in the shelters and private sleeping rooms with their children. The shelters provide space to assess what caused them to become homeless and time to design a plan, assisted by case managers, to achieve goals of emotional, economic and housing stability. The length of stay can be up to 24 months.
Graduates of the shelter program who are employed and have demonstrated readiness to live independently may move into a permanent apartment and take advantage of Home of the Sparrow’s Aftercare Program. The case manager continues to monitor progress in the Aftercare Program and provides assistance as needed to ensure the family’s successful transition to permanent housing. Those who participate in Aftercare Services have a very low homeless recidivism rate.
In 2005, four apartments were added for single mothers with a least one male child over the age of twelve. Prior to these units being available, families with teenaged boys were often separated. This housing initiative keeps the family together as they receive services they need to move from crisis to stability. On any given day, 60-75% of the residents in Home of the Sparrow’s shelters are children. The agency’s well-trained, educated and experienced staff is aware that the greatest predictor of homelessness as an adult is experiencing homelessness as a child. Home of the Sparrow is expanding services for children in the shelters to help break the cycle of homelessness as they grow into adulthood.
In addition to the housing programs, Home of the Sparrow operates three thrift stores in the community that provide a resource for clothing and supplies for the families, work opportunities for program participants, and financial support for the organization.
The mission of Home of the Sparrow is to empower individuals and families to eliminate homelessness, joblessness, and hunger by teaching self-reliance, independence and self-discipline. Home of the Sparrow is eager to realize significant growth and enhanced services in the near future, and is primed to succeed.
The Area
Crystal Lake, Illinois, located 50 miles northwest of Chicago in southeastern McHenry County, is a short drive from O'Hare International Airport, with easy access to Chicago via highways and commuter rail. As a result, Crystal Lake residents enjoy the many employment, cultural and recreational opportunities of a major metropolitan city, yet live in a pleasant, friendly, small-town atmosphere.
A large presence in the city is the Crystal Lake Park District, which runs all of the city's numerous parks and the yearly events which take place within them. Two major parks run by the park district are Veterans Acres and Main Beach, along the namesake Crystal Lake. Near Crystal Lake lies the famed Dole mansion as well as the city’s historic downtown district. The downtown district, which recently has undergone a revitalization, is home to many small specialty shops and businesses, and is a popular local shopping district. Also located in the downtown district is the Raue Center for the Performing Arts, and performs plays and hosts concerts throughout the year. Raue Center has recently transformed itself into a regional destination spot by providing a Jazz Festival launched by Ramsey Lewis and hosting several recent Tony Award winners.
The City of Crystal Lake is committed to continuing the high quality of life enjoyed by the citizens and businesses of the Crystal Lake community. Their mission is to enhance and preserve this quality of life by providing fiscally sound and responsive services, programs, and facilities with the highest degree of professionalism, integrity, and efficiency so that Crystal Lake continues to be a great place to live and work.
For more information, please visit the City of Crystal Lake website: http://www.crystallake.org/.
The Candidate
The Executive Director is responsible for enhancing and expanding on the legacy of an organization well-known in its community for providing valuable programs. The successful candidate will oversee administrative, fundraising, board management, community relations and partnership development for the organization. The Executive Director must be able to have staff members do the majority of the work; to listen, train and delegate; and to monitor and evaluate program and staff. The successful candidate will have a history of clearly demonstrated leadership, and be trusted and respected. The leadership will be marked by maturity and good judgment, and collaborative, yet decisive management. The Executive Director must be a broad thinker and creative problem solver, able to discern the needs of the organization, set a strategic vision and plan accordingly.
The Executive Director functions as the spokesperson for the organization at events, community projects and other endeavors to promote and raise awareness of the mission. Articulate and dynamic, the successful candidate will be an effective public speaker and advocate. The successful candidate will be able to build productive relationships with various stakeholders (e.g. community members and leaders, legislators, major donors and nonprofit leaders).
The Executive Director must have significant management experience, preferably in the non-profit sector, and a strong understanding of accounting, budgeting and financial reporting. In addition, understanding of board governance and the ability to collaboratively work with board including assist with board recruitment and education of members is essential to this position. The successful candidate must have a deep knowledge of all aspects of the development function and the ability to increase funding for the organization, including raising private funds from large donors, through an innovative, pragmatic business-like approach to philanthropy.
The environment at Home of the Sparrow is cultivated by the committed, collaborative leadership of individuals passionate about the mission. The Executive Director plays a key role in thisvibrantorganization which requires that the individual be well-organized and efficient, and have a confident, polished professional approach. The successful candidate will be creative and cooperative, with a strong sense of community and a demonstrated personal commitment to the mission of the agency understanding of causes and impact of homeless on clients and the community.
The Position
This is a great opportunity for the new Executive Director to grow this organization and add their mark on a respected, effective program. In this role, the Executive Director will be part of the leadership team responsible for enhancing the current position of the organization in the community, and strengthening it through expanded support. This high-energy position serves as the primary representative for Home of the Sparrow, requiring an individual who is able to lead a top-notch team of staff and board members, become familiar with and well-connected to the community, and communicate the passion for the mission and advocate for services and support for homeless women and children.
Essential duties and responsibilities of the position include the following.
- Manage the board and staff to ensure alignment in unified direction and actions to accomplish goals.
- Develop and implement comprehensive annual and long term strategic plan.
- Provide leadership of senior staff through communication, empowerment and delegation of duties, and program and employee evaluation.
- Support staff roles, collaboration and mutual respect, and maintain excitement about organizational growth.
- Promote and manage strong board involvement in organizational leadership.
- Build resources to identify and cultivate existing and new relationships within the community, including corporate, legislative, nonprofit and donor contacts.
- Establish position in community as effective, able, respected leader.
- Develop collaborative partnerships.
- Serve as organizational representative in the community.
- Coordinate and produce financial, budget, and other special reports, proposals, and analyses for Board review.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
- Masters Degree in business, public policy and/or social work or equivalent
- Education in accounting/finance
- Demonstrated 5+ years experience in successfully leading a nonprofit organization or demonstrated understanding of development and programs and the Executive Director role
- 15+ years organizational experience with successively increasing responsibility
- Breadth of experience in development, programs, finance and operations with a particular emphasis on development
- Exposure to issues of homelessness and poverty
- Experience working with government agencies
- Experience collaborating with other agencies complementing agency’s needs and skills
To apply
Submit cover letter, resume, salary requirements and at least three references to:
Sherry Heuser, Senior Consultant
Capability Company
SparrowED@CapabilityCompany.com
Telephone: (919) 926-0746
Submission of resumes by e-mail is preferred; include only your last name in the subject line
