Executive Director

Key Responsibilities

Vision & Mission

Lead the Board to accomplish the shared vision, mission, and goals of the Stryker Johnston Foundation by:

• In partnership and collaboration with the Board of Directors and staff, further develop the Foundation’s strategic approach to ending intergenerational poverty in the Kalamazoo Community.
• Champion and lead a culture of forward momentum aligned to the strategic focus of the Foundation, encouraging bold and innovative ideas that will advance SJF’s mission and promote a spirit of continuous improvement and adaptation to the evolving needs of the community.
• Ensure program alignment with vision, mission, and goals of the Foundation.
• Guide and maintain strategic communication channels for the Board, staff, and professional advisors, ensuring effective engagement and collaboration.

Board Engagement

• Spend the essential time forming meaningful relationships with the Board of Directors in order to deeply understand the legacy and trajectory of SJF’s philanthropic priorities.
• Partner with the Board to further establish good governance and effective committee structures, and institutionalize new organizational practices and policies.
• Support Board development and continuing education plans.

Organizational and Programmatic Leadership

• Lead and manage a high-performing and deeply committed team, as well as external consultants, fostering an innovative, anti-racist and forward-thinking work culture.
• Support team in further developing a high-functioning trust-based grantmaking process and ensuring effective learning and impact assessment mechanisms are in place, including reporting and data collection, grant partner needs assessment, and budgeting.
• Support team in implementing programmatic strategy, including advising on legal and technical grantmaking issues and opportunities.
• Oversee the Foundation’s budget and finances, including ensuring everything is in place for a smooth annual audit process.
• Lead effective change management to support the organization’s evolution and growth.
• Foster diverse points of view, respectful collaboration, and accountability using a participatory and inclusive leadership approach.

External Engagement

Shape the public’s understanding of the SJF’s vision and mission by:

• Serving as the public voice on issues related to SJF’s vision and mission.
• Responsible for maintaining and expanding relationships and networks involving foundations, leaders, policymakers, nonprofits, and other partners/stakeholders.
• Serve as one of the principal spokespeople while identifying appropriate opportunities for the Board of Directors or staff to represent the Foundation.
• Attend conferences and convenings relative to the Foundation’s interest areas to ensure the Foundation is operating with the most current insights about trends, research, and discoveries.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is deeply passionate about the mission and vision of the Stryker Johnston Foundation and is excited by the opportunity to play an important role in leading the Kalamazoo Community towards a more just, equitable, and caring community where everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life.

The next Executive Director is an ethical, empathic and proven leader with a track record of success addressing entrenched, systemic issues. The ideal candidate has established their reputation working in one or more of the following areas: health care, education, or eradicating poverty. This leader will leverage their experience and networks to serve and promote the Foundation’s vision and further the mission. The next Executive Director is a visionary and sees this work through a lens of possibility, ingenuity, and abundance. They are guided by their commitments to antiracism and see this work through an equity lens. The successful candidate will have an appreciation for new ideas and disruption, yet also be able to apply proven experience and knowledge in practical ways.

The successful candidate brings a demonstrated history of leading and executing a vision that motivates others to act and leads to life-changing results for the communities served. They have a positive energy that is used to good effect, whether aligning teams around a shared vision or building culture. A true collaborator and consensus builder, the Executive Director will nurture an environment where shared vision and collective responsibility can be achieved by all.

The next Executive Director is steeped in anti-racism and unwavering in their commitment to lead transformational change for low-income communities, especially Black communities or communities of color. This leader will be an accomplished nonprofit or foundation executive leader with a deep understanding of the generational barriers that leave people behind and steadfast in their commitment to permanently remove those barriers through conscious stewardship and collaboration.

The Executive Director must bring the appropriate balance of strategic thinking, hands-on implementation, and effective collaboration skills. Knowing how to create and optimize a high functioning organization that can capitalize on everyone’s diverse strengths is essential.

The chosen candidate must excel in building trusting, collaborative relationships with leaders in philanthropy, nonprofits, and across sectors. As the key face of the Foundation, the Executive Director needs the ability to convey the Foundation’s strategy and vision to grant partners and other stakeholder groups.