Executive Director

THE OPPORTUNITY

HR-4U, Inc. is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity built on one conviction: a person's past should not determine their paycheck. We run three programs, Transformation Kitchen™, Mentor for Good, and Advocacy (our podcast, ranked in the Top 40 among Nonprofit business shows). Every one of them exists because 44% of Americans struggle to make ends meet, and that happens when people can't access living-wage employment.

HR-4U is young and lean: an operating budget under $250,000, a five-person Board of Directors, and an advisory board of a dozen-plus volunteers running eight working committees. There is no paid staff today beyond this role. This is HR-4U's first-ever Executive Director position, so this hire is inheriting real latitude and real responsibility at the same time.

Our grant and development capacity is currently limited, and there are only a few active fundraising initiatives underway. We are waiting for responses to those proposals already submitted. That reality is precisely why this role is so important. The person stepping into this position should expect to build and lead our funding pipeline from the ground up, creating strategy, cultivating relationships, and developing sustainable revenue streams rather than inheriting an established development operation.

HR-4U's first physical Transformation Kitchen location in the U.S., is still being finalized, most likely somewhere in New York, so part of this role's first months is real program-launch work, not just overseeing something already running.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Founding Executive Director leads HR-4U's day-to-day operations, strategy, and external presence, reporting to the full Board of Directors (quarterly board meetings, biannual full board meetings in April and September).

During the first 90 days especially, this person works closely with Chason Forehand, the Founder and CEO, focused primarily on U.S. programs and state-by-state operations rather than other initiatives the board may be exploring elsewhere. This is a builder's role. The right person surrounds themselves with great people, brings programs to life, builds the relationships that turn into sponsors and donor security, and leaves HR-4U in a stronger financial position than they found it. That is the actual measure of success here, not a task list.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Organizational Leadership & Strategy

•Own day-to-day operations and turn HR-4U's mission into an executable annual plan, in an organizationthat is still building its basic infrastructure.

•Take real ownership of results: this role is judged on outcomes, programs launched, relationships built,dollars raised, not on activity.

Board Engagement & Governance Support

•Report regularly to the full Board of Directors, which holds final decision-making authority on majororganizational decisions.

•Flag risks and opportunities honestly and early. Radical Transparency is a working value here, not a slogan.

Fundraising & Grant Writing

•Research, write, and manage grant proposals and lead HR-4U's funding pipeline, following HR-4U's own grant-copy standard: lead with the problem as a statistic, explain the program model in clear, accessible language, and include placement rates, wage data, and completion data

.•Build and maintain funder relationships until HR-4U's Development Chair Executive Board role is filled, then work in conjunction in partnership with that person.

•Build the kind of relationships that turn into real revenue: sponsors, recurring donors, and in-kind partners (pro bono professional services, wellness or space partnerships, and similar). Connections and follow-through matter more than follower counts.

Program Oversight & Quality

•Help finalize and launch HR-4U's first Transformation Kitchen physical location, and oversee qualityacross Transformation Kitchen™, Mentor for Good, and Advocacy going forward, working with programleads and committee chairs rather than running programs personally.

•Keep outcomes data (placements, wages, completion rates) current and usable, since HR-4U's credibilitywith funders depends on it.

Financial Oversight

•Own budget tracking and financial planning in partnership with the Board and HR-4U's payroll provider

.•Detailed day-to-day bookkeeping ownership is still being finalized.

External Representation & Public Voice

•Represent HR-4U to funders, partners, and media as needed, in coordination with Chason, who remainsthe default point of contact for press inquiries per HR-4U's media protocol.

•Support HR-4U's public communications in the organization's established voice: direct, human, earned,warm without soft, and accountable.

Operations & Compliance

•Keep HR-4U current on nonprofit compliance requirements across its 30 states of operation.

•Work with the Board and HR-4U's compliance lead, Tiffany (on board as of October 1), on organizationalpolicy and ongoing compliance.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

HR-4U's brand voice runs on five attributes: direct, human, earned, warm without soft, accountable. The person in this role should embody the same five, not just write copy that sounds like them.

A Builder, Start to Finish

Someone who can be handed an org and build it end to end: assembling the right people around them, standing up real programs, and turning relationships into financial stability for the organization. The measure isn't activity, it's whether HR-4U is demonstrably stronger, and more financially secure, because they were here.

A Track Record of Growth, Not a Specific Cause

Direct experience with homelessness, living-wage, or workforce-specific missions is not required. What matters is a real pattern of taking a nonprofit from small to meaningfully larger. That pattern of growth is the signal, not the sector.

Relationship-Driven, Not Just Budget-Literate

Deep, in-the-weeds budgeting experience is less important than the ability to convert relationships into resources, grant funding, sponsorships, donor commitments, and in-kind partnerships (professional services, space, wellness, and similar) that build real financial security over time.

Someone You'd Want in the Room

Comfortable being looked in the eye and asked tough questions, and giving direct answers back. This is a values and chemistry fit as much as a resume fit, and it will be evaluated that way in the interview process.

Genuinely Aligned, Not Just Interested

Real alignment with HR-4U's mission, not just interest in the title or the flexibility of a part-time role. This shows up in conversation, and it's what we're listening for.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS PLAN

Structure:

This role is structured as a W2 employee. Commonwealth Payroll & HR is engaged to administer payroll. Pay is structured as a fixed monthly salary rather than hourly.

Base Pay

$36,000–$52,000 per year ($3,000–$4,333/month), based on a 25 hour/week role. Final figure within this range to be set by the Board based on the selected candidate's experience.

Benefits & Stipends

•Wellness stipend: $100/month, plus enrollment in the Fit4Life wellness service ($199/year).

•PTO: 15 days per year, not available to take during the first 90 days (the probationary period).

•Health stipend: $150/month toward the employee's own health coverage.

•Equipment: We will send necessary equipment and a sign off acceptance for the equipment to be used for HR-4U, INC. business purposes only. A one-time gap-fill budget of$150–$250 will be negotiated for anything not already covered

•Phone: Google Voice business extension over a dedicated device will be created.

•Internet: $35/month stipend.

REVIEW CADENCE

•Ongoing 1:1s between the Executive Director and Chason Forehand

•30-60-90-day reviews from the full Board, with day 90 marking the end of the probationary period.

•Full Board reviews at 6 months and 1 year, with potential salary adjustments at each of those milestones.

HIRING PROCESS

•Roughly a two-week open application window, then a focused, fast-moving interview process. No stringing candidates along and no belabored process

•Final hiring decision rests with the full Board of Directors.