The Moran Company Seeks New Leader for Hear Indiana
April 29, 2021 – The Moran Company, an executive recruitment firm that specializes in the non-profit sector, was recently called in to help find the next chief executive officer for Hear Indiana, which works to create equal opportunities for children with hearing loss through listening and spoken language. Leading the assignment is senior search consultant Don Harkins. Naomi Horton, who has led the agency since 2008, announced last month that she would be stepping down in the fall to return to clinical practice.
Working with Hear Indiana’s board of directors, paid staff members and unpaid volunteers, the CEO will be expected to be a dynamic spokesperson who advocates for those with hearing loss and will champion Hear Indiana’s mission, said the search firm. The CEO will help drive efforts to raise money from a variety of sources and communicate to a broad constituency the organization’s purpose and programs. In addition, the CEO will coordinate and direct the efforts of about 13 employees. Specific duties for the role will revolve around working with the board, leadership management, fundraising and communications outreach, said The Moran Company. Among those duties, the CEO will be charged with overseeing financial and human resource management and communicating the status effectively to the board. The individual must also ensure that appropriate fiscal controls and procedures are in place to ensure transparency and accountability. He or she must further ensure that available resources are allocated appropriately to manage the mission of Hear Indiana.
Building Relationships
The new leader must also build strong internal/external relationships and alliances that promote Hear Indiana’s mission, specifically in regards to sponsorship, grants, and other donor initiatives. The individual will be expected to provide leadership in creating a sound fundraising strategy.
Candidates must have the ability to work constructively with the board of directors. He or she should also have demonstrated success in leading a complex organization. A minimum of five years of experience managing organizational fiscal, programmatic and operational components, and/or relevant experience in an advocacy leadership role is required. Non-profit experience is highly desirable.
Demonstrated success in helping to develop strategic fundraising programs and growth initiatives with proven success in raising funds and expanding development efforts into new areas through effective marketing and public relations skills is also required. Candidates should have knowledge of, or ability to quickly master, the state’s policy and political issues related to hearing loss/deafness, hearing health, and listening and spoken language education options. Knowledge of Indiana laws and federal policies pertaining to the organization’s mission is strongly desirable. Prospects must also have demonstrated success in working effectively with external constituents such as families of children with hearing loss, other providers, state agency personnel, legislators and others.
Hear Indiana, based in Indianapolis, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The non-profit works directly with over 1,000 families each year. The organization principally serves central Indiana, but also touches other areas in the state. Through the delivery of clinical services, advocacy, education, and financial aid, Hear Indiana helps children with hearing loss learn to listen and talk. As such, Hear Indiana is dedicated to helping individuals, families, health care providers, and education professionals understand childhood hearing loss and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. Its annual budget is about $1.6 million
Non-Profit Recruiters
The Moran Company, based in Leawood, KS, specializes in searches for non-profit leadership, including executive directors, fundraising/development directors, hospital foundation directors and other senior executives. Some of the firm’s current searches include executive director of cultural survival, executive director of Mount Nittany Health Foundation and executive director of TNC Community.
Bill Moran founded the search firm in 1996. He has worked on more than 60 non-profit searches over the past 12 years. He brings a combination to the search sector of having spent another 10 years as senior fundraising staff and 12 years as a fundraising consultant serving more than 100 clients.
Mr. Harkins has more than 37 years of management experience with local and national non-profit organizations. The last 25 of those were in senior management roles, and the most recent 15 years were spent as the president and CEO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City (RIKC), now AbilityKC. During his time in senior management roles within RIKC, the agency added two service sites and grew the number of individuals receiving services annually by almost 40 percent. When he retired in 2017, the agency was serving more than 2,500 children, adults, and seniors each year. With a staff of 225, the agency operated out of six locations in western and north-western Missouri, delivering medical rehabilitation, employment, psychological and assistive technology services to those with a myriad of disabilities.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
