Chief Executive Officer

After an exceptionally long, creative, and joyful partnership
with transformative leaders, The
Durfee Foundation has embarked upon planned
leadership transitions and seeks a new Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). The CEO will lead a family- and community-oriented
organization that is primed to thrive in its next evolution.
Reporting to the Board of Directors – composed of multigenerational
family members and community members outside of the family – the
CEO will manage the foundation’s small, dedicated team. The CEO
will bring personal commitment to and passion for gaining and
sharing knowledge, engaging deeply with community stakeholders, and
supporting nonprofit leadership across Los Angeles
County. 

 

THE FOUNDATION

The Durfee Foundation is a private family foundation that
supports individuals and organizations in Los Angeles County, with
a special emphasis on community development and nonprofit
leadership. The Durfee Foundation is named in honor of Dorothy
Durfee Avery who, with her husband, R. Stanton (Stan) Avery,
established it in 1960. Since that time, the foundation has awarded
more than $35 million in grants, primarily in the Los Angeles
region.

Governed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven Family
Trustees and three Community Trustees, The Durfee Foundation
invests in people and possibilities in Los Angeles County, where
the foundation’s history lies and where funding needs are great.
With assets of approximately $60 million and annual grantmaking of
approximately $2.9 million, Durfee is led by a dynamic staff of
four and supported by a strong team of core consultants.

Durfee embodies an authentic approach building trust-based
relationships with individuals and organizations that share ideals
of creativity, risk-taking, equity, integrity, fiscal care, and
continuous learning. Durfee nurtures deep connections by building
networks beyond traditional boundaries and identifying where the
greatest difference can be made. Partnership in building networks
that may leverage new opportunities is critical to Durfee’s
culture.

Durfee is a patient grantmaker, recognizing that results often
unfold over time. Inspired by its founders, whose legacy of
openness and curiosity guides the foundation forward, Durfee
continually seeks new ways to meet the needs of the Los Angeles
community.

 

THE POSITION

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO will have overall
strategic operational responsibility for Durfee’s staff, programs,
and execution of its mission.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & Management:

• Actively engage with Durfee board members, staff, consultants,
  and community to advance the mission and stakeholder interests via
  core programs: The Lark Awards, Sabbatical, Stanton Fellowship, and
  Springboard Fund
• In partnership with the Board, engage in regular
  strategic goal setting and recommend timelines and resources needed
  to achieve strategic goals
• Ensure ongoing programmatic excellence through the continued
  implementation of Durfee’s approach to trust based philanthropy via
  a culture of transparency and responsiveness that actively learns
  from partners and invests in leaders who are deeply rooted in the
  communities they serve
• Direct human resources including maintaining a strong,
  supportive organizational culture; hiring, onboarding, developing,
  and offramping staff and consultants; conducting annual performance
  evaluations; and setting equitable annual staff compensation
• Provide consistent excellence in management and oversight of
  finances (including the budget, audits, and tax filings);
  operations (including facilities and contracting); programs
  (including strategy, implementation, and evaluation); and
  communications (including database, website, and online system
  management)
• Demonstrate fiscal prudence and strategy in supporting
  financial advisors and the Board in management of the Foundation’s
  endowment and investments, including budgeting and multi-year
  cash-flow and payout projections
• Work with the Board Chair to recruit, orient, and “onramp” next
  generation and community Trustees
• Work closely with the Board and staff to identify opportunities
  to continue to elevate existing programs, as well as new areas for
  program exploration, design, and implementation

Communications & Field Advocacy:

• Deepen and refine all aspects of communications – from web
  presence to external relations with the goal of creating stronger
  connections and a trusted brand
• Use external presence and relationships to expand visibility
  and seek partnerships
• Use external presence and relationships to expand visibility
  and seek partnerships
• Represent Durfee at conferences and among nonprofit and
  philanthropic peers
• Speak publicly with passion around Durfee’s mission, values,
  and results in a way that inspires investment, partnership, and
  collaboration in alignment with Durfee’s goals Convene and
  facilitate engagement with Durfee stakeholders with skill and
  emotional intelligence
• Stay abreast of foundation and nonprofit trends broadly, and in
  LA, serving as a source of timely information and valuable guidance
  that promotes the continual learning of the Board, team, and
  community

Planning & New Programs:

• Work with the Board to explore and prioritize new program ideas
  and design, test, and implement new programs responsive to the
  needs in LA County
• Build collegial partnerships to advance Durfee’s mission
• Be an external local, regional, and national presence that
  publishes and communicates program results with an emphasis on the
  successes of local programs as a model for regional and national
  replication

The ideal CEO candidate:

• Is committed to Durfee’s mission to support change through
  investing in individuals
• Is passionate about Los Angeles with deep knowledge of the
  nonprofit sector across LA County
• Has worked in a senior leadership role in the nonprofit,
  philanthropic, or public sectors
• Has experience supporting the development of nonprofit
  leaders
• Has a demonstrated track record in creative program design
• Brings a history of sound fiscal stewardship
• Is an innovative, strategic thinker
• Is inclusive, emotionally intelligent, collaborative, and
  generous
• Embodies patience and curiosity with tolerance for risk-taking
  and experimentation
• Brings experience as and enjoys being a connector, coach,
  facilitator, and/or capacity builder who is invested in and
  energized by gaining and sharing knowledge

Durfee encourages interest by leaders who bring aligned
expertise, skills, and attributes which might include some of the
following Desired Qualifications and other relevant professional
and/or lived experiences:

• Past success working with a Board of Directors with the ability
  to cultivate existing board member relationships as well as support
  the growth, development, and governance of a diverse
  multigenerational family and community Board with new membership
  cycling on every three years
• Ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures
  through convening and facilitation with the ability to work
  effectively in collaboration with diverse groups
• Strong written and verbal communications skills with a bias
  towards listening; persuasiveness and passion in public speaking;
  and excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project
  skills
• Seven or more years of effective senior leadership and
  management experience at a nonprofit and/or in philanthropy or the
  public sector with excellence in personnel management and the
  ability to coach, manage, and develop high-performance teams and
  set and achieve strategic objectives
• Track record of having developed and operationalized strategies
  and programs that have advanced an organization’s mission through
  strategic thinking and creative program design with tolerance for
  risk-taking and experimentation
• History of sound fiscal stewardship with demonstrated
  experience in designing and managing a complex, balanced budget of
  at least $3 million with comfort working with advisors on
  investment management a plus
• Passion for bringing leaders together across sectors in a way
  that allows them to learn from and contribute to one another,
  working creatively in partnership
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative
  approach to planning
• Integrity, honesty, positive attitude, mission-driven, and
  self-directed leader

 

LOCATION

This is a full-time position based in downtown Los Angeles
requiring deep engagement with local stakeholders. The ideal CEO
will currently live in the Los Angeles area with local knowledge
and roots. Candidates currently in other markets but with
experience and connections in LA may apply but must be willing to
relocate. Durfee trusts its team to do their jobs well from
wherever they may be and wants to ensure they have the tools and
support needed to do so. While great work can be done remotely,
Durfee also deeply values the time that the team has in-office
together and the CEO makes determinations about remote work
schedules with the team currently in-office typically four days a
week.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The anticipated annual compensation range is $260,000 to $330,000.
All candidates with the experience and skills to fulfill the role –
regardless of compensation history or background – are encouraged
to apply. The target starting salary for the CEO will be close to
the midpoint of the range at or near $295,000, commensurate with
experience. The comprehensive benefits package includes generous
health and dental insurance coverage; long-term disability and life
insurance; a retirement plan; vacation; sabbatical policy; sick,
parental, medical/disability, and other leaves; transportation
benefits and more.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

Durfee is well-positioned to conduct a thoughtful, impartial, and
effective search. Durfee brought together a diverse set of family
board members of different generations and community members who
all love and know Durfee well to form a Transition Committee to
make essential decisions for the search and oversee the search
process. The Transition Committee – composed of three family board
members and four community members who are not eligible to apply
for the position – will conduct the first round of interviews and
select finalists to proceed to interviews with Durfee’s Board. In
addition to its members, the Transition Committee receives
tremendous help and input from a trusted Transition Consultant who
is another Durfee fellow.

The Transition Committee’s first task was to hire a search firm
to help conduct the search process. After a competitive process,
the committee selected Walker and Associates
Consulting – a California-based, BIPOC- and woman-owned
strategic management consulting and executive search firm that has
been serving foundations and nonprofits locally, regionally, and
nationally for 30 years. Like Durfee, Walker is small, family run,
and is known for nurturing its networks and conducting its work
with a high degree of personal touch.

To apply, email a cover letter, resume, and list of three
references (references will not be contacted without advance
notice) to durfee@walkeraac.com by Friday,
May 3, 2024 at 5:00 pm PT. Use the subject line:
CEO Application. Please submit PDF or Microsoft Word files only,
preferably with all materials in one combined file. Resume review
begins immediately.

Questions or Nominations? Contact Jeannine N. Walker, President
and CEO of Walker and Associates Consulting, at
jwalker@walkeraac.com. 

The Durfee Foundation is an at-will equal opportunity employer
who recognizes that its work rests on the shoulders of Angelenos
whose courage, innovation, and lived experience are making LA a
better place. Durfee nurtures a culture of trust and inclusion in
all interactions, especially with people from historically
marginalized groups. Acknowledging the inherent power imbalance
held as stewards of financial resources, Durfee looks for
opportunities to share that power. Durfee strives to actively learn
from, partner with, and invest in leaders who are deeply rooted in
the communities served. Durfee does not unlawfully discriminate in
the provision of employment opportunities, benefits, or privileges;
create discriminatory work conditions; or use discriminatory
evaluative standards in employment, if that discriminatory
treatment is, in whole or in part, based on a protected
classification under federal, state, or local law. As such, Durfee
welcomes individuals of all races, religions, national origins,
ethnicities, ages, mental or physical disabilities, sexual
orientation, gender identities, marital status, veteran status,
medical conditions, formerly incarcerated people, or any other
classification protected by federal, state, or local law or
ordinance to apply.