President & CEO

Position Overview
The President/CEO is the face and voice of the United Way of Tompkins County. They will establish a vision for Community Impact achieved through the efforts of a diverse team of high-performing leaders, staff, and volunteers. The President/CEO is the Chief Mobilizer; they leverage the power of relationships and networks, and work across private, public, and corporate sectors to improve conditions in the community. They are responsible for leading fundraising and resource development efforts to secure and grow the financial and strategic resources necessary to advance United Way’s mission. The President/CEO is dedicated to shared and measurable goals for the common good - creating, resourcing, scaling, and leveraging strategies for broad investment and impact.

They are responsible for building trust in United Way and growing its relevance in the community. They value United Way’s community networks and strive to leverage United Way's breadth of community presence, relationships, and strategies. They will be responsible for leading the organization’s efforts to hold United Way of Tompkins County and its partners accountable to practices that embrace anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Key Duties & Responsibilities
Community Impact

The President / CEO is responsible for the overall impact of United Way of Tompkins County in the community, with particular emphasis on increasing its capacity to drive the impact agenda. The President works closely with the Board to craft and adapt strategies to achieve this increased impact. They will establish and build relationships with top leaders in the community, including those representing the business, education, government, and non-profit sectors.

Resource Development

The President/CEO is charged to drive key results in fundraising; to identify, cultivate and solicit prospective donors and new corporate partners; to leverage contacts and relationships into fundraising opportunities; and to promote a culture of fundraising in the organization, both at the staff and board level.

Strategic Management

The President/CEO serves as the principal resource to the Board of Directors and its key committees and gives strong direction in policy formulation and interpretation. They partner with the Board of Directors and the United Way of Tompkins County staff to craft organizational goals and develop strategies to ensure that the goals are achieved. They ensure coordination and alignment of all United Way activities to strategic direction in the areas of community impact, resource development, and staff alignment.

Organization Management

The President/CEO is accountable for building and leading high-performing teams, ensuring that all teams are aligned and collaborating to achieve organizational results. They maintain accountability for the operational and fiscal integrity of the organization within policies set by the Board of Directors. The President/CEO assesses organizational capacity to implement strategies and to identify gaps in systems and staffing. They directly supervise leadership positions; work with other team members to manage organizational spending, monitor budget compliance, and mitigate financial risks. They foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment utilizing modern management techniques to improve efficiency and effectiveness. They ensure that United Way of Tompkins County’s goals of inclusiveness and diversity among staff and volunteers are met, and that the organization champions the special skills and talents of its workforce.

Experience and Position Requirements

• Substantial experience leading non-profit organizations, including direct engagement with boards of directors and volunteers (previous United Way experience is highly desirable). Alternatively, extensive leadership and management experience in organizations of comparable size, complexity, and mission, with demonstrated success overseeing staff teams and working closely with governance bodies and community stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the mission and values of the United Way organization.
• Direct experience working with boards and committees.
• An ability to build collaboration with stakeholders and the community at large to meet collective goals.
• Experience working with nonprofit, public, and corporate sectors.
• A demonstrated track record of promoting diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in both programming and in the workplace.
• Experience in developing partnerships, building teams, and with conflict management.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing the financial operations of an organization, including managing operational budgets of approximately $1.5 million, driving revenue growth and philanthropic support, and exercising strong expense management and fiscal stewardship.
• Demonstrated success in leading and executing comprehensive fundraising campaigns totaling at least $1 million, including strategy development, donor cultivation, major gifts, planned giving, corporate partnerships, and campaign management to achieve and exceed revenue goals.
• Experience exploring new ideas and innovative approaches to solving community problems.
• Experience with public speaking and excellent writing skills.
• Demonstrated experience securing and managing grant funding, including identifying opportunities, writing competitive proposals, stewarding funder relationships, and ensuring compliance, and reporting requirements.

Education and Professional Background

• Bachelor’s degree required: advanced degree would enhance qualifications.
• Previous experience as CEO, Executive Director or interim CEO/ED or equivalent is strongly preferred.
• Minimum of six (6) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in non-profit or comparable mission-driven organizations, with demonstrated expertise across key executive functions including fundraising, marketing, stakeholder and community engagement, staff leadership and development, public relations, corporate governance, budgeting, finance, and overall organizational management.
• Experience in managing and developing teams to motivate performance.

• Strong experience in non-profit fundraising strategy, donor relations, and grant writing/oversight, with demonstrated, quantifiable success in revenue generation and a proven track record of effective donor stewardship.

  United Way Core Competencies for All Staff

• Mission-Focused: Catalyze others’ commitment to mission to create real social change that leads to better lives and healthier communities. This drives their performance and professional motivations.
• Relationship-Oriented: Understands that people come before process and is astute in cultivating and managing relationships toward a common goal.
• Collaborator: understands the roles and contributions of all sectors of the community and can mobilize resources (financial and human) through meaningful engagement.
• Results-Driven: Dedicated to shared and measurable goals for the common good; creating, resourcing, scaling, and leveraging strategies and innovations for broad investment and impact.
• Brand Steward: Steward of the brand and understands his/her role in growing and protecting the reputation and results of the greater network

Position Type and Compensation

• Full-time, exempt, permanent position with primarily weekday hours, occasional evenings and weekends as needed.
• Salary range: $100,000-$110,000
• UWTC’s benefits package includes: generous allowance for medical/dental/vision insurance with an option to add spouse and/or dependents, fully paid term life insurance policy, short-and long-term disability insurances, optional 403(b) pre-tax retirement plan for employee contributions, a 401k retirement plan with employer contributions of 6% base salary (eligible at 1 year and fully vested at 5 years), and a generous paid leave policy.

Organization

United Way of Tompkins County is an innovative and collaborative non-profit organization that drives solutions to the most pressing human service community needs in Tompkins County. Through our advocacy and relevant leadership, we provide options for impactful giving, and we fund programs and initiatives that help create a thriving community. Our engaged staff, board, volunteers, donors, and partnerships distinguish us as a trusted champion for positive change. Our mission is to mobilize our community to action so all people can thrive.

United Way of Tompkins County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions at UWTC are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to (including but not limited to) race, creed, sex, gender expression/identity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, domestic violence victim status, predisposing genetic characteristics, military or veteran status, or status in any group protected by federal, state, and local law.

Interested Applicants
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and contact information for three professional references to the Board of Directors Vice Chair, Alex Adelewitz, at MerchMgr.Store071@wegmans.com. References will not be contacted without prior notice to the candidate.

Applications must be received no later than 11:59pm EST on April 24, 2026.