Chief Executive Officer

The Opportunity

Celebrating its 50th year of service and advocacy, and following 30 years of leadership from its CEO, Family Builders is seeking an exceptional individual to take the organization into its next chapter.

This is an opportunity to lead a small organization with an outsized impact. Family Builders has been a pioneer in the child welfare field, creating new and innovative approaches to permanency for children and youth in foster care and juvenile justice systems. The agency is well respected locally, statewide, and nationally for its ground-breaking advocacy and service delivery in meeting the needs of all children and welcoming all families into the process.

Child welfare is at an inflection point — facing shifting policy landscapes, growing demands on the foster care system, and an urgent need for organizations willing to lead with both innovation and values. Family Builders is positioned to be that voice, and the incoming CEO will help shape what that looks like.

With a mission-driven staff, an experienced leadership team, and a committed board, the organization is well-positioned for its next era. The incoming CEO will inherit strong foundations and bring fresh energy, ideas, and relationships to this work.

About Family Builders

Family Builders is dedicated to building and supporting families for children in foster care, ensuring every child has a permanent, nurturing, and safe family. Guided by values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging — as the core of how we serve all children and families, and ensure none go underserved, overlooked, and marginalized — our mission is to:

•    Achieve permanency for children and youth by creating and strengthening families and relationships who will support and sustain them;

•    Advocate for systemic changes that instill hope, belonging, and inclusion for all children and the families who care for them; and

•    Advance best practices based on equity, justice, and anti-racist and anti-oppressive policies in child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Family Builders is a Bay Area nonprofit organization with an annual budget of approximately $4 million and 35 staff, providing permanency services to hundreds of children and families each year. All services are free and provided in English and Spanish.

The agency has maintained an unwavering commitment to children who linger longest in foster care: children of color, older youth, sibling groups, and LGBTQ and gender expansive youth. To reach every child who needs a family, Family Builders has consistently looked beyond conventional boundaries — and for more than 25 years, that has included actively welcoming and recruiting LGBT families as adoptive and foster parents. This was a strategic and mission-driven innovation. Family Builders was one of the first adoption agencies in the country to welcome LGBT parents, and the first to launch a visible recruitment campaign in the LGBT community. Today, almost 50% of families who adopt through Family Builders are LGBT — a testament to both the agency’s reach and its impact on children who might otherwise wait indefinitely for a family.

Family Builders has also been a leading advocate for LGBTQ youth in foster care, driving systems change initiatives across California for over 25 years to ensure their safety, permanency, and well-being.

Family Builders affirms the rights of children, families, and staff to live with dignity regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, or medical, physical, or emotional condition.

Position Overview

The CEO serves as the strategic leader, chief advocate, and public face of Family Builders — responsible for ensuring the organization fulfills its mission, sustains its impact, and thrives as an institution. This role requires someone who can hold the big picture and manage the details; who can inspire a team and navigate complex systems; and who brings genuine passion for the children, youth, and families at the center of this work.

Reports to: Board of Directors

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

Develop and implement strategic goals aligned with Family Builders’ mission, vision, and values; position the organization for long-term impact and sustainability.

Program Oversight

Oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and services to ensure quality, integrity, and compliance with best practices, regulations, and standards.

Organizational Management

Provide leadership and support to a diverse staff; manage external partnerships; collaborate closely with the Board of Directors; and oversee human resources.

Fiscal Management

Oversee financial strategy and stewardship, ensuring the organization has the resources it needs to operate and grow.

Advocacy & Public Relations

Serve as the agency’s primary spokesperson — advocating for children and families in foster care and juvenile justice systems at local, state, and national levels, with a sustained focus on those least well-served by the system, including older youth, children of color and LGBTQ youth.

Qualifications

We welcome applicants from a range of professional and educational backgrounds. What matters most is demonstrated leadership ability, a genuine connection to our mission, a track record of effective advocacy, and demonstrated organizational stewardship. Formal training in social work is not required — the right leader may come from nonprofit management, law, public policy, community organizing, education, or other fields.

•    A minimum of 10 years in senior leadership within nonprofit, health and human services, advocacy, or closely related organizations.

•    Graduate-level education (MSW, MA, MPA, JD, or equivalent) in a relevant field is preferred.

•    Proven track record in fundraising, fiscal management, and strategic program development.

•    Experience with quality improvement, risk management, and regulatory compliance processes.

•    Demonstrated effectiveness in advocacy — preferably on adoption, child welfare, or related issues — at both a state and community level.

•    Proven commitment to serving underserved communities, including LGBTQ communities and communities of color, rooted in lived understanding or deep professional experience.

•    Experience working effectively with a Board of Directors.

Key Competencies & Skills

•    Visionary and strategic thinker with the ability to inspire and lead change.

•    Outspoken advocate for children, youth, and families with a passion for fostering positive systemic change.

•    Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, fiscal oversight, and resource development.

•    Exceptional communicator with strong public speaking, writing, and relationship-building skills.

•    High emotional intelligence, empathy, and ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics.

•    Dynamic and charismatic leader who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

•    Resilient problem-solver capable of making sound decisions under ambiguity.

•    Able to respond effectively and flexibly to changing needs, opportunities, and crises while maintaining focus on the organization’s mission.

•    Demonstrated leadership, systems development, and team-building skills.

•    Established relationships in Bay Area and/or state-level media, advocacy, and political circles is a plus.

•    Commitment to Family Builders’ mission, vision, and values.

Position Details

•    Must be located in the Bay Area

•    Salary range: $175,000–$200,000 annually

•    LGBTQ individuals and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply

•    Equal Opportunity Employer

How to Apply

Send resume and cover letter to the Director of Operations at ceosearch@familybuilders.org.

• Applications must include a cover letter to be considered. Only direct applicants at this time.