McCormack+Kristel Seeking CEO for Bronx Parent Housing Network
April 5, 2022 – Executive search firm McCormack+Kristel has been enlisted to find the next chief executive officer for the Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN), one of the largest shelter provider in New York City. Last February, Victor Rivera was fired from the role after accusations of sexual misconduct. The assignment is being led by Michelle Kristel, managing partner, and Zaria Davis, consultant. Reporting to a growing board of directors, the new CEO will be directly responsible for engaging community and institutional stakeholders and for securing funds to expand programs and ensure the organization’s fiscal health, said McCormack+Kristel. In partnership with the board and executive leadership team, the individual will be charged with finalizing and realizing a new strategic plan.
Key responsibilities of the position include fundraising and financial management, strategy and vision, leadership, communications, and community engagement, said the search firm. The new leader must drive business development to create public-private partnerships and secure new contracts. Developing and executing a fundraising plan to create unrestricted revenue streams from corporate sponsors and events, including establishing an annual gala, is also required. In addition, the CEO will oversee the development of multi-year budgets and forecasts to support cash flow and sustain growth.
Other duties will include fostering alignment around strategic goals, building collaborations to achieve outcomes, and ensuring adequate systems, structures, and staff to actualize the strategic plan. The new leader must also oversee the analysis of community assessment data to refine and expand programs and services.
Key Qualifications
BPHN wants a strategic leader with strong business acumen and resource development experience, said McCormack+Kristel. The ideal candidate will understand the ways in which emergency housing and supportive services and programs are delivered in New York City. The right candidate will be an effective communicator comfortable building and maintaining trusted relationships with communities, government agencies, elected officials, and the private sector.
Candidates should have at least 20 years’ professional experience with a housing or social services provider, related government agency or relevant private sector entity; prior CEO experience is ideal. They must also have experience developing and managing public-private partnerships. Strong financial management skills including budget forecasting proficiency is essential.
McCormack+Kristel said that prospects should have experience creating unrestricted revenue streams including building corporate and event fundraising programs. A track-record of success cultivating individual, institutional, and governmental funder relationships is also required. BPHN wants candidates to have experience overseeing government contract execution and compliance. Prior experience with NYC’s Department of Homeless Services is ideal.
Founded in 2001, the Bronx Parent Housing Network provides emergency and supportive housing to individuals and families in the Bronx and Queens. BPHN operates 13 shelters providing emergency housing to 2,000 clients. Additionally, the agency serves about 3,400 clients through its food pantries, case management, workforce development, and health homes programs. BPHN is governed by a five-person board of directors and operates with an $85 million budget and a 240-person staff.
Veteran Search Consultants
McCormack+Kristel was started in 1993 as McCormack & Associates with the mission of recruiting senior leadership for the many research, advocacy and human services organizations growing exponentially in response to AIDS pandemic. Diversity recruiting has long been on the firm’s agenda.
Related: The LGBTQ Center Long Beach Taps McCormack+Kristel to Find New Leader
With the advent of effective treatments for HIV/AIDS, and the diminishing needs of many of these organizations, the firm broadened its client base into areas like social justice; healthcare; women’s issues; higher education; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender; civil rights; and more.
Four years ago, founding partner Joseph A. McCormack formed a new business partnership with Michelle Kristel, who joined the firm in 2013 as an associate. The firm has offices in New York City and Palm Springs, CA. McCormack+Kristel clients have included the ACLU, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, TransForm, Planned Parenthood, SAGE, and the Tides Foundation, among others.
Ms. Kristel is the former executive director of In The Life Media (ITLM), a non-profit organization producing social change media to raise awareness of issues related to gender, HIV/AIDS and LGBT rights. She joined ITLM in 2002 in the position of production manager. In 2006, following a succession of promotions, she was appointed executive director.
Dr. Davis joined McCormack+Kristel earlier this year. She is also director of advocacy for the Chicago Community Bond Fund, senior associate with the Pretrial Justice Institute, and a leadership and transitional coach with New Direction Coaching & Consulting. She has also been executive director of Lincoln Heights Outreach in Illinois.
Related: McCormack+Kristel Recruits Executive Director for Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
