President

August 2022 | New York, NY
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The Doe Fund is seeking a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and experienced leader to be the next President of this vital organization. Reporting directly to the Board, the new President will play the lead role in the growth and impact of The Doe Fund’s groundbreaking programs around racial and economic justice, homelessness, housing, workforce development, criminal justice reform, and addiction.

The Doe Fund’s Founding

On Christmas Eve, 1985, New York City transit police evicted a homeless woman known only as “Mama” from Grand Central Terminal into the freezing cold. The next morning, she entered the Terminal, laid on a bench, and passed away of pneumonia. Mama was one of the hundreds of homeless people George T. McDonald grew close with over 700 consecutive nights handing out food to those who called the Terminal home. They appreciated this help, but again and again, they told George the same thing: “What I really need is a room and a job to pay for it.”

Mama’s death made George realize that merely providing clothing and food would never create real change. It was in her memory that George founded The Doe Fund, named for the pseudonym authorities used on her death certificate. Together with his wife, Harriet Karr-McDonald, they created Ready, Willing & Able to help people rebuild and achieve economic mobility after homelessness and incarceration. Today, Ready, Willing & Able has helped nearly 30,000 individuals transform their lives. Though George McDonald passed away in early 2021, The Doe Fund will continue his vision for generations to come.

About The Doe Fund

The Doe Fund’s (TDF) mission is to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism for under-served populations including people experiencing homelessness and incarceration, veterans, and people living with AIDS. The Doe Fund’s flagship program, Ready, Willing & Able, employs a three-legged stool approach to recovery and reintegration that combines paid work, transitional housing, and holistic supportive services. The program has been replicated in six cities across the country. The Doe Fund has an extensive track record as a nonprofit provider working with a consortium of partners to deliver on complicated affordable & supportive housing projects.

For more information on The Doe Fund, please visit: https://www.doe.org/

The Doe Fund’s Programs

Work Works and Ready, Willing & Able

Work Works is The Doe Fund’s holistic model that combines paid work with career training, transitional housing, and comprehensive supportive services. Work Works is cost-effective, successful, and scalable.  In addition to New York City and with the direct involvement of The Doe Fund’s organizational leadership, regional models have been developed in Philadelphia, PA, Boulder and Aurora, CO, Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC.

The signature program of the Work Works model is Ready, Willing & Able, a 12-month residential program that provides a working way home for men with long histories of incarceration, homelessness, and unemployment. This is done through paid work – complemented by holistic social services, career and workforce development training, continuing education, and sobriety support. It is the first program to combine paid work with comprehensive supportive services to help disenfranchised men ascend the economic ladder. Ready, Willing & Able represents a core component of the spectrum of care The Doe Fund offers to New Yorkers in need. Today, Ready, Willing & Able has capacity for 661 trainees across three facilities in New York City and operates three social enterprises generating over $10 million in economic impact annually. 

Best known for the Men in Blue who provide supplemental sanitation services across 115 miles of NYC streets, Ready, Willing & Able also offers training in carpentry, welding, the culinary arts, building maintenance, security, and pest control. The program also provides Workforce Development training in computer literacy, adult basic education, and job readiness. 

To address the crises of homelessness and recidivism, Work Works is a critical intervention for disenfranchised men to become employed in the mainstream workforce and achieve independent housing. 

Permanent Affordable and Supportive Housing

New York City’s notorious shortage of affordable housing is one of the largest barriers to economic independence. Without access to safe, stable housing, New York’s most vulnerable populations are at even greater risk of becoming homeless. That’s why The Doe Fund has been developing high-quality, affordable homes since 1996 to support individuals and families with long histories of poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, physical disabilities, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS. In 2018, The Doe Fund was included in Affordable Housing Finance’s Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers. 

People who have been incarcerated once are seven times more likely to become homeless than those who have not, and people who have become incarcerated more than once are 13 times more likely to become homeless. People experiencing unsheltered homelessness are more than twice as likely to have contact with the justice system than those living in shelters, and are nine times more likely to have spent one night in jail over the last six months.

The Doe Fund believes housing must be integrated into a broader more comprehensive continuum of care for vulnerable citizens. Their current portfolio includes 14 properties and over 1,000 units of affordable/supportive housing for special needs populations including veterans, families, and individuals with disabilities, mental illnesses, and HIV/AIDS. This translates into over one million square feet of housing, approximately 85% for permanent affordable and supportive housing, and 15% for transitional housing.   

The Opportunity                                                                                                                            

Never before have issues at the core of The Doe Fund’s mission been more at the center of national dialogue. As our city and country grapple with the widespread consequences and fallout from the pandemic and reckon with events that reveal the pervasiveness of systemic racism, organizations addressing disparities play an essential role in our recovery. At this moment of urgency, The Doe Fund has an opportunity and responsibility to provide leadership and solutions around racial and economic justice, homelessness, housing, workforce development, criminal justice reform, and addiction.

Internally, TDF has been impacted by the recent passing of its Founder and President. The organization is currently restructuring and building capacity to respond to the opportunities and urgency of the moment. The new President will work to provide stability and leadership, inspire and motivate staff, and build a culture that supports TDF’s mission.

A visionary President will collaborate with the Board and Senior Executives to position TDF as a resource in both local and national recovery efforts. They will ensure the continued success of the organization’s local program initiatives; enhance the relevance of and revenue generated by its innovative social enterprises, and position The Doe Fund as a scalable model capable of influencing policies and redirecting resources around homelessness and criminal justice reform.

The President will develop cross-sector partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, policymakers, elected officials, private funders, thought-leaders, and change makers.

The Ideal Candidate

This is an exceptional opportunity for a passionate and visionary change maker with business acumen to elevate a renowned organization with pioneering and award-winning programming to the next level of impact.

The President will embrace innovation, foster alignment around strategy and vision, build TDF’s culture, lead the senior team, and allocate capital appropriately. Reporting to the Board, the President will set important goals for the organization and work systematically to meet them. The President will work with the Board and Senior Leadership to define TDF’s priorities and direction. Together, they will assess and evaluate strategies, decide how the organization will differentiate itself from other like-minded organizations, set budgets, forge alliances, and build partnerships to further the mission.

The President will play a formative role in building the culture of TDF around accountability and results so that the very best in the field find the organization to be a solid professional home with ample opportunities for advancement and professional growth. The President will prioritize training, mentoring, and capacity building at TDF.

Key Responsibilities

Administration

• Lead and collaborate on the discovery and creation of innovative strategies and funding streams to ensure TDF’s 1 million + square feet of facility assets are code compliant, free of health and safety violations, and properly maintained for clients, tenants, and employees
• Embrace and prioritize TDF’s Equity Advancement and Belonging Initiative to make sure that EAB is appropriately woven into Human Resources, Program activities, and messaging
• Champion a culture of inclusion, transparency, collaboration, and accountability
• Ensure that new technologies are being examined and utilized so TDF’s IT Department can fully support innovative current and future programming

Board Relations

• Ensure clear and consistent communication with the Board around organizational goals and direction, key initiatives, opportunities, and challenges
• Develop and present potential business strategies to the Board, and seek independent perspectives from the Board 
• Present specific action items that require Board review and approval, and confirm that the Board understands the goals, impact, and risks of these actions

External Affairs

• Create new pathways and partnerships that grow TDF’s visibility and increase its private support
• Participate in engaging the community and institutional stakeholders to secure funds to enhance and expand programs while ensuring the organization’s fiscal health
• Look to elevate TDF’s reputation from one of a local direct service provider to a pioneer and national leader of work-based solutions to homelessness and recidivism
• Explore opportunities, relationships, and collaborations that generate increased national awareness and support for TDF

Program and Business Development

• Provide the program team with innovative leadership that identifies new opportunities for growth leveraging government relationships, foundations, and existing resources to develop new programs that align with the organizational mission
• Provide members of the senior team a clear vision of direction with regard to organizational strategic priorities that provide a balance between transitional paid work/social enterprises, training and education, supportive and affordable housing, social policy and advocacy, and scaling efforts
• Work to create public-private partnerships and secure new contracts for the organization’s social enterprises

Key Qualifications

• At least 15-20 years of prior executive experience as a successful leader of a related nonprofit/ community-based organization/government agency
• A strong passion for the mission and programs of TDF
• Experience overseeing government contract execution and compliance, prior experience with Department of Homeless Services preferred
• A track record of generating diverse financial support for ambitious, innovative programming
• Ability to review current organizational programs/structures and make recommendations that empower programmatic refinements
• Strong financial management skills
• Experience in developing and implementing cost-effective affordable/supportive buildings, using innovative financing strategies to revitalize neighborhoods
• Demonstrated excellence in communications and stakeholder engagement with the public and private sector
• Flexible and adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical government affairs, fundraising, and marketing initiatives
• Ability to influence and engage a wide range of stakeholders and build long-term relationships
• Capable of designing and directing strategies that enhance and support organizational operations
• Knowledge of how to foster an environment of accountability, healthy work relationships and partnerships, and inclusivity among organizational staff in order to maintain a positive and collaborative work environment
• Ability to work well with media, staff, and the community

The Doe Fund is an equal opportunity employer and they highly encourage applications from candidates regardless of race, color, citizenship, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran or reservist status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

All job offers at The Doe Fund are contingent upon the job applicant submitting proof that they are vaccinated by their start date or have approved medical or religious exemption as an accommodation.

Please email your cover letter and resume in confidence to: thedoefund@developmentguild.com

Kieran McTague

Senior Vice President and Director, New York, Principal

Development Guild DDI