Executive Director

Executive Director

"NECAT will help you find your way to a better life, lead you in the right direction, and they are also like a family” – Inga Washington, NECAT Student

Who We Are

NECAT conducts a multi-faceted workforce development training program for Boston-area adults who face serious barriers to employment, including: substance use recovery; former incarceration; lack of stable housing or unhoused; English language learners and new immigrants living in shelters or transitional housing.

Culinary training is NECAT’s specialty as the hospitality industry continues to be a stable employment sector in Boston, and one where opportunities are ample for adults with limited or no previous work experience and lack of English language proficiency.

NECAT’s tuition-free 14-week culinary training program prepares adults for employment as prep or line cooks. The curriculum includes instruction in knife skills, culinary math, cooking techniques and safe food handling and sanitation. Simultaneously, participants are coached in career preparation, digital and financial literacy and self-care. NECAT’s multi-disciplinary approach reflects the challenges of the adults it serves.

NECAT runs four programs concurrently: Boston NECAT for unemployed or underemployed adult interested in a culinary career; Behind the Wall at Suffolk County House of Correction for adults soon to be released from incarceration; a training for Spanish-Speaking adults in East Boston; and a training for Haitian-Creole-speaking adults in Boston.

In operation since 2013, NECAT has positively impacted over 1300 students, shaping their lives and contributing to the communities it serves.

NECAT graduates receive comprehensive support, including resume updating, ServSafe Handler training, and personalized guidance from the Career Services team. Advisors helps with goalsetting and accessing essential wrap-around services. Collaborating with more than fifty partners including Mass Hire, MA Department of Transitional Housing, Boston Public Health Commission Hope House, St Francis House, Justice 4 Housing and the City of Boston, NECAT assists students in finding affordable housing programs, transportation options, and public benefit assistance, thus addressing essential life needs.

With an annual budget of $2.5 million, NECAT historically has received most of its funding from private foundations, government grants, and quasi-governmental sources. Looking ahead, NECAT aims to diversify funding, cultivating individual donors, forging corporate partnerships, and exploring new business ventures.

For more information on our work, please visit www.NE-CAT.ORG

About the Opportunity

NECAT seeks a visionary leader with a track record of generating diverse financial support for ambitious, innovative programming. As Executive Director, you will oversee NECAT's mission and vision as defined by the Board of Directors, ensuring that the necessary resources are in place to accomplish our goals. Your role will extend beyond financial stewardship to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture. Successful candidates will have demonstrated success leading through change and building consensus and buy-in among internal and external stakeholders.

Additionally, as the leader of a small organization, you should expect to be actively involved in the day-to-day operations and to get into the details, and readily contribute to the work alongside the team, demonstrating a strong work ethic and commitment to the mission. Essentially, you will be a leader who leads by example and isn't afraid to do the necessary work yourself when needed.

The Executive Director reports to NECAT’s Founder and Board Chair, and the Board and oversees a team of 10 full-time staff, including the Development Director, and 6 part time or contract staff.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational mission and strategy:

• Lead the mission and vision of NECAT, in concert with the Board of Directors, so that NECAT participants receive high-quality job training, career readiness, ServSafe Handler training and access to wrap around services and job opportunities;
• Lead the development of a new strategic plan, based on data-driven analytics, projections and financials;
• Enhance NECAT’s public image by being active and visible in the community and working closely with other professional workforce development, community and civic organizations;
• Serve as NECAT’s primary spokesperson to the general public, media and the organization’s constituents while conveying our mission, established brand, and commitment to our community;
• Cultivate relationships with community organizations, employers and job training associations in greater Boston to strategically enhance NECAT’s mission.

Financial Performance and Viability:

• Manage NECAT’s budget and ensure that it is a financially viable, sustainable organization with the resources to meet current and projected program growth;
• Submit quarterly financial statements in coordination with NECAT’s Finance function to the Board’s Finance Committee, which accurately reflect the financial condition of the organization; oversee submissions of annual audits and tax filings;
• Ensure that NECAT is in compliance with relevant licensing regulations and with standard accounting policies as established by city and state grantors;
• Oversee employment and administrative policies and day-to day operations of NECAT, in conjunction with the Board’s Human Resources Committee and outside ombudsman;
• Manage all legal matters with outside counsel.

Fund Development:

• Participate in developing and cultivating corporate, individual and foundation sponsors;
• Conceptualize special events designed to raise funds, encourage new contributors and promote NECAT’s mission as worthy of financial support;
• Develop and/or support business ventures in concert with NECAT’s mission to provide dependable revenue streams combined with student employment opportunities;
• Coordinate legislative strategy, including line item inclusions in the State Budget and other public source funding.

Organizational Operations:

• Build a high performing team and play an active role in attracting, retaining and developing a best-in-class staff that is culturally representative of and invested in the participants it serves;
• Ensure outcomes-based performance of all staff by clearly articulating performance goals and measurements for success.

Board Governance:

• Inform the Board regularly of internal organizational matters, including relevant staffing, funding and program successes, challenges and priorities;
• Participate in Board Governance and other Committee initiatives including new member recruitment, onboarding and committee support as necessary.

Qualifications & Experience

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below.

• 5-8 years working leading a social impact nonprofit organization
• Experience working with a Board of Directors.
• Experience in workforce development, preferred.
• Demonstrated financial management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making and reporting; and a history of successfully generating new revenue streams and improving financial results.
• High level strategic thinking and planning skills—ability to envision and convey the organization’s strategic future to the staff, board, donors and volunteers and outside stakeholders.
• Ability to provide motivational staff leadership that drives our organization to excel, and fosters a culture of growth.
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and outcomes-based organizational strategies to move NECAT forward.
• Excellent written and oral communications and presentation skills. • Ability to remain personally impartial in situations of conflict, remaining focused on the best interests of the organizational culture and mission.
• Experience working with populations who have a history of housing instability, trauma, criminal justice involvement, substance use recovery and non-English speaking preferred.
• Knowledge of healthy and appropriate boundaries when working with vulnerable populations.

Salary & Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position located at our training facility in the Boston area. The annual salary is up to $150,000, subject to qualifications and experience, and will include the opportunity for a discretionary annual bonus.

In addition to the base salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to:

• Paid time off
• Medical insurance, NECAT presently pays 80% of the individual premium
• Fourteen (14) paid holidays per calendar year
• Annual closure the week between Christmas and New Year
• Self-Funded 403 (b) Retirement Plan
• NECAT offers free parking, plus breakfast and lunch daily (the added perks of working at a Culinary Program!)

How To Apply:

Interested candidates are encouraged to promptly submit their application to mhemsley@ne-cat.org.

NECAT does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.