The West Virginia Community Development Hub (The Hub) is hiring for an Executive Director to lead the organization’s administration and management, program goals and growth, and implementation of the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan Roadmap. This critical leadership role will be the third Executive Director in the organization’s fifteen-year history. The position reports directly to the Board of Directors.

The ideal candidate will be visionary, a strong strategic leader, deeply collaborative, well rooted within West Virginia, an excellent public speaker and communicator, and have significant experience leading a team, organization, or business. They will also share in, and communicate internally and externally, The Hub’s vision and optimism for West Virginia’s future.

The Hub has a strong Executive Leadership Team, a committed, passionate staff, and a vibrant, engaged Board of Directors who will support the new Executive Director in onboarding and excelling in their work leading an impactful organization that is critical to the community economic development field in West Virginia.

This is an excellent opportunity for candidates who are passionate about supporting rural community development, who are ready to step into a significant leadership role, and are committed to leading The Hub into its next generation of leadership and impact.

Candidates must be located in West Virginia or willing to relocate to West Virginia in order to be considered for the role.

Who We Are

The Hub is a nonprofit organization that works annually with dozens of community-based teams and partners located across West Virginia to build local communities and economies.

With more than a decade of experience, The Hub has a unique approach to community-based asset development that includes working directly with volunteer community leadership teams across dozens of communities to implement community-prioritized projects, leading multiple collaborations with partner organizations to implement new creative strategies to drive forward rural community development, and lifting up the stories of success and impact communities are having in their work to improve their local economies and develop and strengthen local leaders.

Our work includes investing directly in community leaders and projects through structured coaching programs and supporting the development and growth of the state’s community development field, including working with over 300 partner organizations a year on a variety of initiatives, programs, and collaborations to catalyze community development in West Virginia and Central Appalachia. We work with partner organizations, funders, and other stakeholders to create a supportive environment for local communities and residents to succeed. This looks like: people who are experts on community and economy building collaborating to support residents; residents who possess the knowledge and connections to meet their community and economy building goals; funding flowing to community projects that need it most; public policies that address community challenges; and people who have shared mindsets to make all of the above possible.

Learn more at: https://wvhub.org/history-and-approach/.

What You’ll Do

The Executive Director is a unique role that requires professionalism, vision, and leadership.

Under the governance of the Board of Directors and in partnership with an amazing team of talented staff, the Executive Director works daily to carry out the mission of the organization.

The role is responsible for the following primary areas of activity:

• Board of Directors Management
• Manage and oversee The Hub’s Board of Directors, including:
  • Maintaining and strengthening relationships with individual board members;
  • Managing all Board committee meetings;
  • Planning and leading quarterly Board meetings;
  • Maintaining Board recruitment goals; and
  • Supporting the Board in implementing the goals it set for itself in the 2025-2030 Strategic Roadmap.
• Organizational Administration and Management
• Provide internal organizational leadership on all elements of organizational operations,financial management and grant application and compliance management, including:
  • Providing oversight and guidance to the organization’s Finance + Operations Team;
  • Executing all contracts and agreements on behalf of the organization;
  • Lead the Executive Leadership Team, supporting a shared leadership structure within the organization that was established 8 years ago;
  • Review and approve the annual organizational budget;
  • Oversee financial management led by the Chief Financial Officer; and collaboratively address organizational financial needs.
• Program Leadership and Vision
• Serve as a visionary, inclusive and collaborative leader of The Hub, including:
  • Working with the Executive Leadership Team and The Hub staff to implement the 2025-2030 Strategic Roadmap;
  • Providing guidance and new ideas on future opportunities and direction for The Hub’s work; and
  • Learning from the rural community development and community investment field about innovative strategies for rural community development and bringing those ideas back to the team and the external partners/networks.
• Fundraising and Funder Relationship Coordination
• Work with the Executive Leadership Team to ensure that annual funding is secured each year to achieve the proposed budget, including:
  • Set an annual grant application calendar;
  • Work with individual staff to prepare programs for upcoming grant opportunities;
  • Review and approve completed grant application materials;
  • Lead the development of new large-scale funding opportunities; and
  • Review, approve and sign all grant reporting materials for currently active grant programs.
• Maintain and grow relationships with key funding partners, including:
  • Regular communication, engagement and relationship building with existing organizational funders;
  • New outreach, relationship building and engagement with potential future funders; and
  • Regularly supporting funder events, activities and opportunities as requested.
• Staff Management
  • This role will oversee a staff of 15+ and directly supervise four staff members, including all members of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief Financial Officer and the Strategic Initiatives Coordinator. Supervision includes weekly check-ins with all supervised staff, annual reviews, and support with individual leadership development;
  • Support and participate in monthly staff meetings and annual staff retreats; and
  • Work with the Executive Leadership Team to continuously assess staff needs, opportunities for support and ways to continue building a strong staff culture.
• Partnership Engagement and Outreach
  • Maintain active engagement and relationship building with the dozens of close organizational partners, including organizational leaders and staff, that work with The Hub;
  • Build relationships with potential new partners;
  • Support and participate in state, regional and national networks to which The Hub is committed; and
  • Explore opportunities for new future collaborations with external partners to drive the work of The Hub forward.

Who You Are & Keys to Success (the must-haves)

The Executive Director, under the guidance of the Board of Directors, is responsible for the achievement of all organization purposes, the organization’s mission and financial objectives.

To be successful in this job, you will excel in six areas:

1. Leadership: You have highly developed personal and organizational leadership skills. You have experience building and leading complex programs and/or organizations. You might have previous C-suite level experience at a nonprofit organization and have a deep understanding of how nonprofit organizations are structured and managed. You are comfortable providing vision and direction to programs, staff, and partners with a constant willingness to take input and receive guidance that improves your decision-making. You have invested deeply in your own leadership development and are interested in leading an organization that is deeply invested in staff and community leadership development.
2. Public Speaking and Communication: You are comfortable communicating with a variety of stakeholders and colleagues across multiple means of communication. You’re skilled at making clear requests and excellent at listening and understanding complex requests. You have extensive experience with public speaking and are comfortable representing a complex and dynamic organization at public events and major conferences/events. You have significant facilitation experience and are comfortable leading complex, diverse meetings internally with staff and externally with partners.
3. Setting and Managing Priorities: You have experience managing competing demands of your time and are able to build your own systems to keep tasks from slipping through the cracks. You are a self-starter, are comfortable working independently on tasks but oriented towards supporting a team environment and remote workplace. You are comfortable having complex, diverse and continuous competing demands on your time, and are skilled at knowing how to set and communicate priorities.
4. Vision: You have a frame of reference for what you want to achieve and how you see The Hub growing and improving under your leadership. You are excited to step into an organizational leadership role and have experience moving from ideation to planning to implementation with your visions. You are comfortable taking a shared leadership approach to vision development, building collaborative and shared priorities across the staff.
5. Financial Management/Fiscal Governance: You have experience leading and directing complex budgets and financial structures. You have experience with fundraising and grant development activities and can demonstrate experience working across a diverse set of funding sources. You have experience with public and private funding resources and management, including experience with diverse federal funding resources. You understand what elements of the financial management you are responsible for and what you delegate and oversee that is done by others.
6. Passion for West Virginia: You know and care deeply about West Virginia and the broader Appalachian region. You are familiar with the social and cultural factors and understand the challenges and opportunities that face the region. You have optimism for the future of West Virginia and want to be part of the solutions to improve and grow the state. You believe in the work of The Hub and want to be part of its next generation of leadership.

If you were here right now, you would be:

• Meeting regularly with the Executive Leadership Team and Finance/Operations Team to lead organizational administrative and financial needs and activities.
• Leading Board of Directors meetings, including setting structure, priorities and guidance for all committee and Board meetings and maintaining a strong working relationship with all members of the Board.
• Supporting the Director of Strategic Development and Grants Compliance Manager in grant proposal development and grant management.
• Learning from the staff about what is working with current programs, and visioning how to improve and grow future programs to continue providing the best community development services possible.
• Building relationships with the many key organizational partners and leaders the Executive Director has direct contact with, and continuing to grow our network of partners across the state, region and country.
• Meeting with key funders and partners to discuss current funding resources and future opportunities.
• Building a deep understanding of the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan Roadmap and guiding the implementation strategies for the staff and Board.
• Having fun and feeling fulfilled.

What Else You Should Know

The salary for this position will be negotiated with the applicant and will be based on qualifications and experience. The expected starting salary will be between $105,000-$115,000.

The Hub provides generous benefits for full-time employees. These benefits include high-quality health insurance for employees that costs between $45-$50/month, 100% employer-paid vision and dental benefits, at least 4 weeks of PTO with the opportunity for more to recognize years of service and 12 holidays. The Hub also values personal and professional development for all employees and gives opportunities for this growth throughout the year.

This position is full-time and must be based in West Virginia. There is permanent office space available for the selected candidate at The Hub’s main office, located in downtown Charleston, West Virginia, however, candidates may work remotely from a home office in West Virginia. Home offices are required to have access to private working space for confidential conversations, stable and consistent internet and cell phone access. Public coworking spaces are not considered adequate home office options for this role. Candidates may work a hybrid schedule from a home office and the Charleston office.

Willingness to travel and work flexible hours is required for this position. Regular in-state and out-of-state travel is also expected. This role includes regular travel to events and meetings throughout West Virginia multiple times per month, and out-of-state overnight travel 1-2 times per quarter. Events may happen during evenings or weekends but are scheduled in advance so staff may coordinate their schedules accordingly. The Hub offers a flex-time policy to accommodate work completed outside a typical workday. All travel expenses are reimbursable, and travel may often be done in coordination with other Hub staff.

We strongly encourage applications from people who have a passion for this work and are excited to lead the next iteration of The Hub’s journey, even if their professional experience does not align perfectly with the expectations listed. The Hub has a generous support system that includes a mix of paid professional development opportunities as well as training and support from colleagues, external partners and contracted mentors/coaches.

The Hub is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of The Hub to create a favorable work environment in which all employees, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, ability, or religious affiliation, can enjoy equal opportunities in their employment relationship with the organization.

How to Apply

Applications are due on/by midnight on Monday, May 5, 2025.

Applications should be submitted through the online job posting form, available here!

All applications are required to include the following documents, which should be attached in the form submission:

• Cover letter explaining:
  • your interest in this position;
  • your relevant skills, expertise and experience; and
  • why you are the best candidate to be The Hub’s Executive Director.
• Resume, including detailed relevant job experience.
• Writing sample of no more than 3 pages to demonstrate strength and quality of writing.
  • Writing samples can include materials created at previous positions, grant applications, public speeches, or published articles.
  • Writing samples should be materials that were previously created and should not be drafted specifically for this application.
  • Preference will be given to samples that are recent (i.e. created within the last 1-2 years).
• 3 professional references, including emails and phone numbers.

If you cannot access the form, please contact applications@wvhub.org to communicate accessibility needs. Please send request for accessibility support by no later than May 1, 2025, to ensure that your application is received by the deadline.