Executive Director

Summary

Lead a respected, long-standing Ottawa charity as Executive Director, driving fundraising, program delivery, and community impact in a dynamic leadership role.      

About Us

The Caring and Sharing Exchange (C&SE) is an Ottawa-based charity dedicated to assisting individuals and families in need through our Christmas Exchange and Sharing in Student Success programs. Founded in 1915, our mission is to provide our neighbours in need with relief and dignity during difficult times of the year. The backbone of our organization is the Coordination Service, which eliminates any duplication of service amongst almost 200 local agency partners to ensure equitable distribution of donor dollars in the community.

The Role

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to join our organization as Executive Director. The Executive Director (ED) is responsible for the overall strategic, operational, and financial success of the organization. This role requires the ED to manage all aspects of C&SE, including overseeing program delivery, securing funding, and fostering relationships with community partners, donors, and key stakeholders.

The successful candidate will be an experienced, reliable, and proactive leader who is comfortable with both strategic planning and day-to-day execution, and who brings strong skills in relationship building, administration, and fiscal management. As the senior staff role at C&SE, the Executive Director works in partnership with the Board of Directors to ensure the ongoing health, sustainability and success of the organization.

As this is a small charity of three to four people, the Executive Director will be expected to take a hands-on role in execution of many of the functions of the organization.

This is a remote working opportunity, with the necessity to travel locally at times. The successful candidate must reside in the Ottawa region and is expected to be available for in-person activities including but not limited to administrative tasks, meetings, events, and program-related functions at key points in the year.

Key Responsibilities

●       Lead and execute strategies to achieve fundraising goals (e.g., direct mail, digital campaigns, events, grants), ensuring a strong and diverse revenue base and high-quality, accurate donor communications.

●       Build and nurture positive and mutually enhancing relationships with clients, donors, volunteers, partner agencies, media, community leaders and the general public.

●       Ensure the effective, efficient, and equitable delivery of all programs, maintaining confidentiality and dignity for recipients.

●       Mentor and manage staff to foster a motivated, high-performing team aligned with the mission and goals of the organization.

●       Work closely with the Board of Directors to set and review strategic priorities, financial goals and outcomes, operational plans, risks, policies, and program growth, and provide timely, concise updates and follow-up on Board and committee requests.

●       Provide support and actively participate in all the C&SE Board Committees and any ad- hoc Task Forces.

●       Actively and effectively promote the public image and the mission/goals of C&SE.

●       Manage finances of the organization (includes budget setting and management, all necessary Government filings, audit, account receivables and payables and financial reporting).

●       Ensure key organizational information (financial records, program data, donor and partner information, policies, and procedures) is well-documented, organized, and backed up, to support continuity and accountability.

Required Skills and Qualifications

●       Post-secondary degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.

●       Minimum 5 years’ management experience, including experience in a small nonprofit or similar environment where you were hands-on with operations (e.g., finances, fundraising, communications, or program delivery).

●       Ability to harmoniously organize, prioritize and focus staff efforts on the achievement of quality results in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner.

●       Financial management experience, including budgeting and reporting.

●       Strong understanding of fundraising best practices and donor relations.

●       Familiarity with marketing principles and their application in the nonprofit sector.

●       Exceptional relationship-building skills, with both internal and external stakeholders.

●       Innovative and strategic thinker with problem-solving abilities.

●       Exceptional attention to detail and follow-through, particularly in financial documentation, communications, and data entry/reporting.

●       Willingness to travel locally and work occasional weekends and evenings.

●       Ability to thrive in a remote work environment while maintaining strong organizational oversight, including experience leveraging digital collaboration tools (Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, etc.)

●       Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including public speaking and media engagement.

●       CFRE designation as an asset

●       Bilingualism (English/French) is an asset.