Chief Executive Officer

MISSION

To foster a loving and compassionate community for companion animals and people by providing assistance, creating lifelong relationships, and saving lives.

ABOUT

Since 1892, the Sacramento SPCA has worked to reduce pet overpopulation through affordable spay/neuter services, promote the humane treatment of animals through education and outreach, and assist pet owners through a variety of programs and services designed to keep pets and their families together for life. The Sacramento SCPA campus is 20 acres with multiple buildings including the Zoe K. McCrea Animal Health Center, a state-of-the-art animal hospital that opened in 2021.

The Sacramento SPCA is the only open-admission animal shelter in the Sacramento area with managed entry which means they accept animals that are surrendered to them regardless of health, age, breed or behavior, but will schedule the entry to better manage animal populations and flow. Open-admission shelters play an essential role in providing care to the thousands of animals that would otherwise have no safe refuge. The Sacramento SPCA believes in helping the greatest number of animals possible. Euthanasia is determined by the results of the animal's health and behavioral evaluation. The Sacramento SPCA is committed to saving animal lives and practices each step of the "no kill" equation including providing medical care, adoptions, modifying behavior and using positive training techniques, developing partnerships within the community and with rescue groups, maintaining a strong foster program, providing free services to seniors, and operating on-site low-cost spay/neuter, wellness, and vaccine clinics. The Sacramento SPCA utilizes every resource possible before the difficult decision to euthanize is considered. The Sacramento SPCA also offers end-of-life services for owned animals when there is a verified need.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Sacramento SPCA seeks their next Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The CEO of the Sacramento SPCA leads a team of more than 110 people with an annual budget of nearly $10 million. The Sacramento SPCA does more than 20,000 spay/neuter procedures a year, placing it in the top 10 animal welfare agencies in the country for spay/neuter. The Sacramento SPCA provides over 40 programs for the benefit of the Sacramento community including providing alternatives to pet owners who may need to surrender their beloved pets and keeping pets in the homes they have by providing no- or low-cost food and medical care. The Sacramento SPCA provides “Pawspice Program” for terminally ill pets that still have a good quality of life by offering palliative care to the animals in an adopted home. Building upon these achievements, the next CEO will lead the board and staff to grow services to meet the needs of the greater Sacramento area while maintaining the exceptional care and service the SPCA is known for.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership and Management

• Lead the organization, working collaboratively with the Board, in the development and implementation of long-term vision, strategies, and goals
• Oversee all programmatic, operational, financial, and fundraising activities of the organization
• Manage, motivate and inspire staff, leading the team towards the agency’s mission
• Foster an organizational culture of results, learning, innovative thinking, accountability, and collaboration
• Maintain an effective and collaborative working relationship with the Board of Directors as a whole and with individual board members
• Serve as the principal resource to the Board of Directors and its key committees and give direction in policy formulation and interpretation
• Serve as a compelling spokesperson for the Sacramento SPCA’s vision, strategy, and programs among board, staff, volunteers, donors and other key stakeholders, and the community at large
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with major donors, foundations, corporations and government agencies

Fiscal Management

• Develop, manage, and monitor organizational budget in partnership with the Controller and the Board of Directors
• Strategically link revenues and resource allocation to facilitate and manage agency and programmatic growth
• Oversee the presentation of financial and organizational progress reports to the Board of Directors

Strategic Planning

• Collaborate with the Board of Directors, to develop a strategic plan and oversee the execution of the strategic plan in conjunction with the senior leadership team

Fundraising

• Deepen and expand relationships with diverse funding sources, including public agencies, foundations, corporations, and individual donors
• Drive key results in fundraising by working with the Chief Development Officer and Board of Directors in a successful fund development plan

Professional Experience/Qualifications

Experience:

• 5+ years executive management experience, including leading and developing a senior management team
• Experience supervising 3+ direct reports at the director or manager level and overseeing an organization with at least 30 employees
• Proven track record of effectively managing annual budgets with multiple funding sources and at least $3M
• Experience developing and executing strategy and vision for an organization
• Track record of building, maintaining and growing relationships with current and future donors/funders and or stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain an organizational culture of teamwork, collaboration, accountability, and employee development
• Demonstrated ability to solicit and steward major donors or stakeholders, including successively securing six-figure funding
• Proven track record of managing change through a transition and/or transformation

Skills:

• Outstanding communicator with excellent speaking, writing, and listening skills
• Ability to publicly advocate on behalf of Sacramento SPCA and tell the story in a compelling and authentic way
• Strong organizational skills and a results orientation that leverages and optimizes resources
• Comfort with using data and metrics to set goals and measure performance
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders

Personal Characteristics:

• Love for animals and compassion for the people who care for them, including pet owners and the staff at SSPCA
• A leader who enjoys being the public face of an organization
• Problem solver and comfortable making tough decisions
• High degree of emotional intelligence and empathy
• Effective public speaker

Highly Preferred:

• Familiarity and understanding of animal welfare, including challenges involved in affordable veterinary care, education, and outreach, and the role each plays in communities
• Experience with capital campaigns
• Experience working in a non-profit or not-for-profit organization

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this position is $190,000 to $230,000. The Sacramento SPCA offers generous benefits in addition to competitive compensation.

TO APPLY

Brakeley Search is conducting this search on an exclusive basis on behalf of SSPCA. Interested candidates should apply via email by sending a resume and a letter outlining qualifications as PDF or Word documents to Chelsea Burr at CBurr@BrakeleySearch.com with “Chief Executive Officer SSPCA” in the subject line.

EOE STATEMENT

Sacramento SPCA is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome all applicants of diverse backgrounds and hire without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, age, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by law.

BRAKELEY SEARCH is a search firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector. As a division of Brakeley Briscoe, Inc. (BBI), the San Francisco Bay Area-based firm works with local, national, and international nonprofits to help them hire exceptional senior-level leaders. www.brakeleysearch.com