Chief Executive Officer

What You'll Do

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) serves as the visionary leader and strategic architect of the organization, ensuring alignment with its mission to close the Water Access Gap in the United States. Focused on long-term impact and external engagement, as well as internal inspiration and motivation, the CEO drives organizational growth, fosters key partnerships, and champions the mission, vision, and values of DigDeep, inspiring action among a wide range of stakeholders. As the public face of the organization, the CEO is responsible for shaping and articulating the vision while empowering the leadership team to execute day-to-day work and inspiring the team to live up to their core values of inclusion, integrity, and innovation. By cultivating relationships with funders, policymakers, community leaders, and other high-impact collaborators, the CEO ensures the sustainability and relevance of the organization's work.

Key Responsibilities

This is what you'll do once you join the team:

Organizational and Values-Based Leadership

• Define and oversee the organization's leadership structure, ensuring clear decision-making frameworks between the CEO, President/COO, and senior leadership team.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to the President and senior leadership team, ensuring their alignment with strategic goals.
• Thoughtfully steward the organization's culture and core values of inclusion, integrity, and innovation; lead by example in fostering innovation, inclusivity, adaptability, and excellence and evolving the culture as needed over time.
• Serve as an inspirational leader to staff, partners, and supporters, reinforcing the mission and vision through storytelling and engagement.
• Partner with the President to shape the overall communication and engagement needs and priorities for the organization.
• Approve final annual budget and work plan and submit them to the Board for approval.

Vision and Strategy

• Lead the development and refinement of the organization's long-term vision, strategic priorities, and Impact Model, ensuring alignment with its mission to close the Water Access Gap in the US forever.
• Serve as a thought leader, identifying emerging trends and opportunities within the WASH and nonprofit sectors to expand the organization's impact.
• Develop and lead special projects that catalyze the organization's impact with an emphasis on innovation, cross-vertical collaboration, strategic expansion and/or opportunistic investment.
• Direct and develop the annual strategic focus of each of DigDeep's Verticals, including any pivots.
• Analyze, observe, and hold the team accountable to key performance indicators (KPIs) across fundraising, advocacy, operational efficiency, and impact measurement, to include regular updates from the President/COO and senior leadership.

External Leadership and Fundraising

• Act as the primary ambassador of the organization, building relationships with key stakeholders, including donors, policymakers, sector partners and the media.
• Advocate for systemic change to address water access challenges through public speaking, partnerships, and thought leadership initiatives.
• In partnership with the Chief Development Officer, cultivate and maintain relationships with high-value donors, foundations, and corporate partners to secure funding and strategic support.
• Explore and develop innovative partnerships that enhance the organization's capacity to deliver on its mission.

Board Governance and Facilitation

• As an ex officio member of the Board, collaborate with the Chair and other members to ensure effective governance, alignment on strategic priorities, and informed decision-making.
• Support efforts to recruit and engage new Board members who align with the organization's mission and bring diverse expertise.
• Partner with Board Chair and President-COO to develop Board agendas and content; direct and oversee Board meeting planning and logistics to ensure a high impact experience.
• Foster a strong relationship between the Board and leadership team, ensuring clear communication, aligned priorities, and informed decision-making.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall job description.

Who You'll Work With

You will report to the Board of Directors and collaborate closely with the President & COO. You will directly manage the President & COO as well as an Executive Assistant, and together you will inspire and manage a leadership team of 9 and an overall organization of 80+.

• Credible Track Record: 10+ years of applicable professional experience, with at least 5+ years serving as a senior leader; experience leading an organization/company/department with at least a $10M annual budget
• Communication: Exceptional communicator and public representative, adept at tailoring messages, inspiring diverse audiences, and conveying complex ideas with clarity and impact.
• Influence: Skilled at building coalitions, fostering consensus among stakeholders, and serving as a trusted and influential leader both internally and externally.
• Analytical Thinking: Highly analytical and entrepreneurial, with expertise in solving complex challenges and making sound, data-informed decisions that drive organizational success.
• Change Management: Demonstrated ability to lead transformational initiatives, align teams, and foster adoption of new processes and strategies to support long-term growth.
• Collaborative Working/Teamwork: Experienced in cultivating a collaborative and innovative culture, while coaching leaders and fostering cross-functional teamwork to achieve organizational goals.
• Initiative: Proactive in identifying strategic opportunities and driving bold action to ensure progress on mission-critical goals and innovative growth opportunities; able to focus in the face of pressure.
• Innovation: Open-minded and forward-thinking, encouraging exploration, creative problem-solving, and the development of new approaches to address future needs.
• Self-Reflective: Dedicated to ongoing learning, self-reflection, coaching, and skill development to meet evolving organizational needs and challenges
• Judgment & Decision-Making: A track record of strong decision-making skills, with the ability to assess risks, weigh benefits, and act decisively in alignment with the organization's mission and values.
• People Management: Experienced in mentoring and coaching leaders, fostering a culture of accountability and inclusivity, and driving talent development across the organization.
• Cultural Competence: Experience/Willingness to work across various cultural contexts and communicating across cultural differences
• Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of the WaSH sector, with insight into societal, geopolitical, and environmental factors shaping the field and influencing strategic direction desirable.
• Tech Savvy: High computer literacy, and tech savviness

Location

DigDeep offers a flexible, hybrid environment. This role can be based anywhere in the U.S. (with a slight preference for Los Angeles or Washington D.C.). Candidates must be willing to travel extensively (30-40% of the time) for field visits, sector meetings, public engagement, fundraising, and advocacy.

Compensation

The salary range for the Chief Executive Officer position is $250K - $300K annually.

In an effort to promote pay equity and transparency, DigDeep does not negotiate compensation outside of posted compensation ranges. DigDeep's compensation is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to: internal budget analysis, external market value, internal pay alignment, and annual merit increases. A candidate's compensation history will not be used in determining compensation at DigDeep.

At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We understand that people thrive with rest and holistic support, which is crucial for our long-term success. We take pride in offering top-notch benefits to our team across the United States, prioritizing their health and wellbeing, as well as providing additional support for our employees' families.

DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people. We believe everybody should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we'll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.