Global Neighborhood offers pathways to employment for our neighbors who have come to the Inland Northwest as refugees. Through our sustainable and accessible thrift & vintage store, we provide job training, education, income, and a community of support to help them rebuild refugee lives in the U.S. We believe in giving used goods new lives while helping people find their livelihoods.
Position Summary
Since 2008,
Global Neighborhood has served as a community anchor and innovative job readiness program for refugees as they build new lives in the Inland Northwest. Global Neighborhood Thrift & Vintage, a 45,000-square-foot store and social enterprise that opened in 2011, is the organization’s engine and living laboratory, providing sustainable revenue, employment, and onsite job training to the refugee community.
Global Neighborhood now looks to welcome a new Executive Director (ED) who will lead this innovative nonprofit and social business enterprise. S/he/they will build on a strong foundation and reputation, robust business model, and responsive programs that have made Global Neighborhood a highly regarded organization in Spokane and beyond. The new Executive Director will join the organization following a period of rapid growth and build on the organization’s innovative program and organizational model, leading strategic planning efforts and continued program improvement. S/he/they will broaden Global Neighborhood’s reach through strategic relationship building and fundraising and will be an empowering supervisor to Global Neighborhood’s committed team as they expand internal capacity for growth and sustainability. The ED will be a natural relationship builder, innovator, and systems builder to ensure long-term sustainability and mission impact.
Carolyn Ho Consulting is supporting Global Neighborhood with its search for a new Executive Director. Full application instructions are found at the end of the document.
About Global Neighborhood
Global Neighborhood was founded in 2008 by Brent Hendricks, who saw firsthand the challenges facing newly arrived refugees and sought better ways to address their complex needs and find a sustainable path to economic stability. Those early roots have grown into a robust social enterprise, Global Neighborhood Thrift, which opened in 2011, and the Ascend Job Readiness Training program. The Thrift store is known regionally for its eclectic and well-curated vintage collection, thrift merchandise, and growing programs to support the sustainable reuse and recycling of textiles, home goods, and electronics. Global Neighborhood is a vibrant hub that provides a safe and welcoming place for Spokane’s refugees to learn new skills and serves as a popular retail outlet for thrifty students, vintage seekers, and smart shoppers, conveniently located near Gonzaga University.
With a bold goal that refugee unemployment will be replaced by economic mobility, the Ascend program supports refugees in navigating life more effectively in a new country, building autonomy through job and leadership training programs, and improving their English language skills so they feel empowered to establish a new home in eastern Washington.
Global Neighborhood draws on its innovative roots, strong values, and vibrant community as it looks to welcome a new Executive Director who will lead the organization as it defines the next phase of its organizational life.
The Opportunity
With both a social business enterprise and core programs to serve refugees, the Executive Director will have the unique opportunity to balance the mission and business while nurturing community among Spokane’s refugees. The new Executive Director will bring leadership to the following areas:
Vision & Strategic Direction
Working in close partnership with the Board and senior staff, the Executive Director will support the development of Global Neighborhood’s next strategic plan, holding its values and culture at the core while exploring new ways to achieve sustainability, innovation, and impact that support the health and livelihoods of refugees in the Inland Northwest and beyond.
- Serve as the staff lead to the board’s annual and long-range planning efforts. This includes articulating a clear vision and mission that frames all aspects of business and program operations and developing clear annual goals.
- Define growth and sustainability for both the social enterprise and program initiatives and identify strategic ways to further integrate programmatic initiatives with store operations.
- Identify new partnerships, funding, and business opportunities that will allow for continued and sustainable growth.
Community Engagement, Relationship Building, and Development
The Executive Director will serve as the public face of the organization, representing its mission, core values, and priorities. They will seek opportunities to build and expand partnerships that support refugees, grow Global Neighborhood’s social enterprise, and widen its network of individual, institutional, and governmental funders.
- Build successful, strategic relationships with key community leaders, local businesses, like-minded nonprofits, and government entities to fulfill the mission, grow the business, and address community needs.
- Expand and enhance the development function in partnership with the senior team to refine and implement an annual giving plan and develop a pipeline of government and philanthropic support that is aligned with the mission and key programmatic goals.
- Raise Global Neighborhood’s brand and position in the community and among social enterprise and refugee networks. Ensure Global Neighborhood is Spokane’s #1 thrift and vintage destination and a vibrant community hub for the refugee and immigrant community.
- Give voice to and advocate for issues pertaining to refugees in the region that ensure refugees can become active and engaged members of the community.
Organizational Management
The Executive Director is responsible for the effective management of the whole enterprise, ensuring Global Neighborhood meets its short and long-term strategic goals and that its internal culture reflects Global Neighborhood’s mission, vision, and values. The Executive Director will manage a team of 30 full-time and 12 part-time staff and an operating budget of $2M.
- Together with the board and senior staff, develop key performance indicators that guide staff in their work and support the board’s oversight role.
- Nurture an internal culture within Global Neighborhood that promotes a passion for the mission, reinforces organizational values, encourages creativity, innovation, and quality, empowers staff, and promotes diversity and inclusion.
- Integrate leader development throughout the organization to strengthen internal capacity and align program and management approaches.
- Develop a cohesive senior leadership team that is aligned with the strategic direction and nurture their continued professional development. Provide guidance and direction to the team’s continual improvement of internal systems, accountability, and operating effectiveness.
- Ensure program initiatives effectively and responsively serve refugees, are attuned to the economic and migration climate, and provide workforce and education initiatives that set refugees on a path to well-being, autonomy, and community integration.
- Oversee financial management and stewardship of resources, holding mission and sustainability at the core. Provide leadership to the board’s annual budget planning process and hold accountability for budget management. Ensure the business model and revenue streams are robust.
Board Partnership
The Executive Director will build a strong partnership with the board and support board-led initiatives to strengthen its governance and oversight role and expand its reach and membership.
- Partner with the Board to create alignment on the organization's strategic direction and vision. Ensure sound governance and fiduciary responsibility by engaging the board as strategic counsel to Global Neighborhood’s growth and development.
- Encourage board engagement, leveraging each board member’s expertise and relationships to identify key sources of partnership and resources and build a diverse pipeline of volunteer talent for the future Board of Directors.
Ideal Candidate
The Executive Director will bring a passion for the mission and a balanced perspective to growth and sustainability across programs and the business enterprise. There are no perfect candidates, but highly desirable candidates will possess many of the following values, professional and lived experiences, and core competencies.
Core Competencies
- Passion for the mission of supporting refugees and improving their livelihoods. Lived or professional experience working with refugee populations paired with an understanding of the core components of workforce development is highly desirable.
- Strong external orientation and natural ability to build relationships and strategic partnerships on behalf of Global Neighborhood.
- Experience building diverse funding streams from individual, government, and institutional partners. Savvy to build lasting funding partnerships and comfort making the ask when appropriate.
- Clear and transparent communicator who can articulate the vision and strategic direction for a diverse set of audiences. Ability to communicate across cultures and language abilities with thoughtfulness.
- Business acumen and financial management necessary to ensure continued success of the social business enterprise.
Strategic Leadership
- Demonstrated commitment to leadership development through program and team management that builds and nurtures leaders at all levels of the organization. Natural coach, teacher, and manager who brings the best out of the teams they lead.
- An innovative approach to building revenue streams through earned income, philanthropic, and public sector sources.
- Strong budget management skills and ability to work with the team to build yearly projections and adapt to a changing retail environment as needed.
- Dexterity to navigate both nonprofit and business contexts required in a social business enterprise.
Personal Attributes
- Sense of humor, commitment to doing good work in the world, and core belief that immigrants and refugees make our communities stronger and more vibrant.
Compensation & Benefits
The annual salary range for this position is $104,000 to $112,000 per year. Global Neighborhood provides a comprehensive benefits package that includes PTO, health insurance, and a retirement plan.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Global Neighborhood is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create an inclusive and equitable workplace and encourage people from underrepresented communities to apply. We value and celebrate our employees’ differences in age, ability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, language, national origin, political affiliation, socio-economic status, and veteran status.
