Executive Director

Overview

The Executive Director (ED)is the senior staff leader of Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation (AFFCF), responsible for overall strategy, performance, and impact. AFFCF’s mission is to create opportunities that build self-esteem and empower children and youth in foster care. To apply to this position, please go to: https://insperity.avature.net/en_US/careers/JobDetails?jobId=21826

The ED is accountable for advancing AFFCF’s strategic plan across three priorities:

Impact: High-quality programs and outcomes across a continuum of services

Culture: Trust, communication, and shared accountability

Capacity: Strong systems, data, financial management, and people operations

The ED reports to the Board of Directors.

Key Areas of Accountability

1. Culture, Talent, and Internal Alignment

• Model AFFCF’s values of empowerment, responsiveness, integrity, and relationships.
• Build a culture of trust, psychological safety, and shared accountability across staff and leadership.
• Clarify roles, decision rights, and expectations to support effective execution and collaboration.
• Recruit, develop, and retain a diverse, high-performing team; ensure equitable practices around workload, advancement, and recognition.
• Support staff wellbeing and resilience, recognizing the emotional demands of foster care work.

2. Fundraising, External Relations, and Partnerships

• Serve as AFFCF’s chief fundraiser and public ambassador.
• Lead a comprehensive fundraising strategy (major gifts, grants, events, corporate partnerships) that aligns with impact and capacity goals.
• Grow and steward a diverse base of individual, corporate, and institutional supporters.
• Build strategic partnerships within the foster care and youth-serving ecosystem to extend AFFCF’s reach, influence, and impact.
• Represent AFFCF in the media and at key events, clearly articulating mission, results, and vision.

3. Strategic Leadership and Board Partnership

• Lead execution of AFFCF’s strategic plan, translating goals into clear priorities, metrics, and results.
• Partner with the Board to set direction, monitor performance, and adjust strategy and resourcing as needed.
• Serve as the primary link between Board and staff, ensuring role clarity, transparency, and timely information.
• Provide regular updates on financial health, program outcomes, risks, and capacity needs to support effective governance.

4. Program Impact and Portfolio Management

• Oversee AFFCF’s core programs, including:

– Awards for Foster Families (enrichment and extracurricular support)

– Scholarships and educational support

– Keys to Success and other transition/independence programs

• Protect and strengthen AFFCF’s “gold standard” for program quality, prioritizing impact and sustainability over volume.
• Use data and demand to refine, scale, or sunset programs, with particular focus on transition and workforce readiness.
• Ensure youth voice and wellbeing inform program design and evaluation, and that services form a coherent pathway of support.

5. Financial Stewardship

• Maintain overall accountability for AFFCF’s financial health and long-term sustainability.
• Lead development and management of the annual budget, aligning resources with strategic and program priorities.
• Ensure strong financial controls, compliant practices, and accurate, timely reporting.
• Provide the Board with clear financial dashboards and forecasts to support planning and oversight.

6. Capacity, Systems, and Operations

• Ensure AFFCF has the systems, processes, and infrastructure to support current operations and future growth.
• Strengthen data and reporting so information on who is served, what is delivered, and what outcomes are achieved is accurate, integrated, and useful.
• Align organizational structure and staffing with AFFCF’s scale, complexity, and strategic direction.
• Identify and address capacity gaps in finance, operations, programs, development, and HR in a sustainable way.