OUR MISSION
Identify, cultivate, and recognize leadership from farmworkers and low-income families to expand opportunities in their lives.
OUR VISION
CCA envisions farmworkers, low-income families, and youth leading neighborhood-based committees (comités) that successfully advocate for improved housing, health, and economic conditions and opportunities for our community. CCA envisions a strengthened social fabric of our community through alliances and the development of community leaders.
CORE VALUES
Inclusiveness: CCA is dedicated to promoting an environment in which communities provide resources that foster leadership development among farmworkers such that they serve as leaders and participate in community building and decision making.
Equity: CCA promotes communication and dialogue among farmworkers, agricultural and housing businesses, politicians, visionaries, investors/funders, and community leaders. In doing so, CCA builds links across sectors and strengthens mutual understanding to foster equity in the communities it serves and supports.
ABOUT CCA
Founded in 1989, the Center for Community Advocacy (CCA) trains farmworkers and low-income families across the Salinas and Pajaro Valleys to form and lead neighborhood-based committees that advocate for safe housing, better health conditions, and stronger community voice. Nearly four decades in, CCA is a trusted, established institution in the communities it serves — with a stable budget, a committed team, and deep relationships built one committee at a time.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
CCA is seeking an Executive Director to lead the organization into its next chapter. This is a rare opportunity to steward an established, mission-driven organization with a real track record while helping shape what comes next, including building out CCA's development function for the first time.
The Executive Director serves as CCA's chief executive and provides strategic, organizational, and operational leadership for the organization. The Executive Director is accountable for the overall viability and sustainability of CCA, including programs and services, fundraising and external relations, finance and administration, people and organizational leadership, and partnership with the Board of Directors. The Executive Director has the authority to make decisions aligned with CCA's mission, vision, values, and strategic goals, as approved by the Board of Directors. The Program Director and Finance Director report to the Executive Director, who in turn reports to the Board.
A note on fundraising: CCA does not currently have a development function. The Executive Director will personally lead fundraising in Year 1, with the organization committed to establishing a development function within that first year. This is a chance to shape and staff the function, strengthen CCA’s fundraising infrastructure and strategy from the ground up, and then shift from executing fundraising to leading and overseeing it.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategy
- Lead vision and strategic planning in partnership with the Board of Directors
- Monitor trends, policy changes, and community needs affecting farmworker and low-income families, and adapt organizational strategy accordingly
- Assess organizational capacity and sustainability, and lead planning to strengthen both over time
- Advance CCA's advocacy priorities and position the organization as a trusted voice on issues affecting farmworkers, low-income families, housing, health, and economic opportunity.
Fundraising and Communications
- Build and maintain positive working partnerships with farmworkers, low-income families, funders, government, nonprofit, and institutional stakeholders to sustain and grow support for CCA's mission
- Lead diversified fundraising efforts, from concept through proposal and grant agreement/contract, aligned with CCA's mission and priorities. Diversified fundraising includes, but is not limited to, grants from major and local foundations, service contracts from government agencies and nonprofits, annual fundraising events, and individual donor campaigns. Ensure that funding requests are high quality and submitted on time.
- Proactively develop, track, and evaluate fundraising plans to ensure goals are achieved; adjust plans as needed; report issues and plans to address them in a timely fashion; and provide regular reports to the Board of Directors
- Track and report grant results and impact to funders in a quality and timely manner, following funder guidelines
- Partner with staff and consultants to plan and implement external communications, fundraising, and reporting
- Develop the strategy, structure, and resources necessary to establish a sustainable development function within the first year, including recruiting and onboarding development leadership as approved and resourced by the Board, and transition the Executive Director's role from primary fundraising execution to strategic leadership and oversight.
- Lead external communications and relationship cultivation, and serve as the external voice and advocate for CCA — including the CCA website, presentations, community gatherings, mass media (TV, radio, and newspapers), social media, and electronic communications
Programs and Services
- In partnership with the Program Director, oversee the development and implementation of programs and services aligned with the organization's mission and the needs of the communities CCA serves
- Oversee the evaluation of programs and services to ensure alignment with CCA's mission and expected quality, effectiveness, and impact
- Oversee all necessary legal support provided to CCA's tenant organizing efforts
- Partner with staff, stakeholders, and the community in the implementation of grassroots projects, as needed
Finance and Administration
- In partnership with the Finance Director, oversee all efforts in support of CCA's financial stability and sustainability, including a realistic annual budget, decision-making consistent with the Board-approved budget, regular and timely financial reporting, cash flow planning, oversight of two endowments, and maintenance of adequate cash reserves
- Ensure that organizational and personnel policies, practices, systems, and processes are effective, efficient, and comply with the law
- Ensure appropriate internal controls, risk management practices, and financial policies are maintained and regularly reviewed to safeguard CCA's financial health and assets.
Board of Directors
- Engage the Board in fiscal stewardship, strategic planning, and fundraising, ensuring all facets of the organization are aligned with CCA's mission and values
- In partnership with Board leadership, plan all aspects of meetings with the Board of Directors, standing committees, advisory committees, and task forces
- Build relationships with committees and individual Board members; proactively communicate between meetings
- In partnership with Board leadership, recruit and onboard new Board members
- Provide the Board with timely, accurate, and appropriately concise information necessary for informed governance, strategic discussion, and decision-making.
People and Organizational Leadership
- Follow the highest ethical standards, comply with the law and personnel requirements, and ensure accountability by staff and consultants
- Ensure an effective workplace and promote a positive culture, built on clear expectations of roles, responsibilities, reporting relationships, processes and systems, and commitment to quality and timeliness of work and deliverables
- Hire, supervise, delegate, develop, and evaluate full-time and part-time staff (union and non-union employees)
- Contract with consultants as needed
- Develop and support a strong leadership team, fostering collaboration, accountability, sound decision-making, and shared responsibility for organizational priorities.
- Establish and maintain clear performance expectations and consistent processes for employee goal setting, feedback, evaluation, professional development, and accountability.
- Build organizational capacity through staff development, succession planning, thoughtful delegation, and opportunities for employees to grow as leaders.
- Lead effectively within a unionized environment and maintain constructive labor-management relationships consistent with applicable agreements, policies, and law.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- Five or more years of progressively responsible leadership experience in nonprofit, community-based, philanthropic, public-sector, or related mission-driven organizations, including significant experience supervising staff and managing organizational budgets.
- Demonstrated passion for social justice and a proven track record of creating positive impact in the community
- Experience in diversified fundraising and relationship-building with funders, donors, partners, and stakeholders
- Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish sufficient to communicate effectively with CCA's community, staff, Board, funders, and other stakeholders.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to listen, connect, and build trust with people from all walks of life
- Committed to learning and growing as a leader, organizationally and in the community
- Patient, calm, steady, and kind, with a good sense of humor
- Proficient with technology and standard business applications
- Availability to work flexible hours, including some evenings and weekends, as needed for the community
- Ability to travel regularly between CCA's Salinas and Castroville offices and into the community
Preferred
- Experience building or scaling a development/fundraising function
- Experience with farmworker, tenant, or immigrant-rights organizing
- Familiarity with union environments
- Experience partnering effectively with a nonprofit Board of Directors.
- Experience leading an organization through growth, transition, or organizational change.
- Experience with nonprofit financial management and government and/or foundation grants.
- Knowledge of California and/or Central Coast communities and the policy environment affecting farmworkers and low-income families.
- Experience working within a community-organizing or community-led leadership model.
- To apply, please submit your résumé, cover letter, and 3 professional references to [[email protected]] or attach them directly through Indeed
Pay: $105,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 403(b)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
