Chief Executive Officer

Key Responsibilities

The Chief Executive Officer’s specific areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to: 
 
Strategic and Operational Leadership: 

• Analyze market opportunities for Vida’s growth by geography and service offering. Recommend new market opportunities and develop the strategy to enter those markets. 
• Lead business model refinement, including financial modeling and integration of operational data for continuous improvement. 
• Cultivate prospective institutional customers, such as school districts. 
• Work with General Counsel and other relevant team members to develop service contracts for household and institutional customers. 
• Build strategic relationships required for success as Vida enters new markets or launches new service offerings. 
• Oversee staffing including hiring, team coordination, and corrective action as needed.  

Financial Management & Fundraising: 

• Maintain oversight of corporate finances to ensure Vida remains a going concern and can achieve growth.  
• Steward resources to meet funder requirements, achieve clean audit results and plan for future needs.  
• Lead funding prospecting, including relationship discovery, stewardship and negotiation of funding terms.  

Board Engagement: 

• Maintain transparent communication with Vida’s Board of Directors on all fiduciary, material, and strategic matters. 
• Assist board in identifying and recruiting prospects. 
• Prepare and secure approval of annual organizational budget from Vida and TWT boards. 
• Coordinate with board to manage relationships and communicate with external stakeholders to build Vida’s influence and reputation. 

Brand Development: 

• Lead refinement of Vida’s brand identity on all platforms. 
• Thoughtfully allocate funding to media platforms consistent with Vida’s growth objectives. 
• Support the board and staff in elevating stories that make Vida stand apart from the competition in the eyes of funders, corporate partners and customers. 
• Represent Vida in public events and forums to build Vida’s brand and network with key collaborators. 

Marketing Strategy: 

• Define marketing strategies for residential customers that propel Vida’s organic growth. 
• Lead testing of marketing approaches for customer segments (e.g. disadvantaged, median, and affluent). 

Risk Management: 

• Ensure implementation of Vida’s policies and direct adaptation to meet the company’s changing needs. 
• Coordinate with legal counsel to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and regulations, standardize contracting and anticipate and mitigate any legal challenges. 

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate for Vida Water’s CEO role is deeply committed to the mission of improving access to reliable drinking water. They should have experience in navigating the complexities of growing a start-up, demonstrating strategic implementation skills, business and financial acumen, and the decisiveness to shape strategies and mobilize resources. They should bring a balanced entrepreneurial mindset, with impeccable ethics, and experience maintaining focus on a big-picture perspective without losing sight of details. 

The CEO should exemplify supportive leadership, empathy, and transparency, while holding teams accountable to the mission. They value flexibility, adaptability, and cooperation, and can manage high-pressure situations thoughtfully. They respect diverse backgrounds and recognize the value in various forms of expertise, fostering an inclusive and respectful environment. The ideal candidate should operate with humility and intellectual curiosity, acknowledging their blind spots and knowing when to seek help. 

Qualifications

Vida will seek candidates who are diligent, ethical and results-driven, with demonstrated team orientation and a demonstrated passion for and interest in closing the trusted drinking water gap in Texas. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience, with a strong preference for experience working in startup environments
• Experience leading a social enterprise 
• Demonstrated ability leading an organization to reach measurable goals 
• Diverse experience with fundraising and a familiarity with a variety of funding types, including grants, equity and debt  
• Experience developing and adapting business plans and models  
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to represent Vida Water in a professional and engaging manner 
• Ability to thrive in a demanding, dynamic and entrepreneurial setting 
• Strong time management and interpersonal skills 
• Conversational Spanish with the willingness to gain fluency 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• A college degree, ideally with a concentration in business, finance or economics 
• Experience working with drinking water 
• Fluency in Spanish 

The CEO must be based in Texas with the ability to travel to support Vida’s current and future regional locations across Texas. Frequent travel to El Paso will be required in the first year and possibly beyond.