Executive Transition Services
The Executive Transition Services program was started in 2001 in response to a call from a board chair who had just gotten two week's notice that her Executive Director was leaving his job. This time of transition is invariably a time when you need the highest level of assistance, not an untrained leader to "baby sit" for the interim period.
TACS has developed a team of 19 highly qualified, experienced nonprofit executive leaders with extensive organizational development consulting experience to help guide you through times of transition. We can place an Interim Executive Director or Development Director, help you search for a new Executive Director, assist with succession planning, or provide development assistance and a wide range of other consulting.
We've helped over 130 organizations with interim leadership or Executive Director search services since we started. We've stepped in for sabbaticals and medical leave, followed founding Director transitions, come in to help smaller organizations set up the systems they need to be effective, and helped turn rocky transitions into successful learning and growth experiences for your organization.
Interim Executive Transition Services
If you have lost or are about to lose your Executive Director, TACS can provide:
- Assessment of interim executive management needs and priorities
- Interim Executive Director services for 3 to 6 month periods of leadership transition, sabbaticals, closedowns or mergers
- Support for both the Interim Executive Director and the board throughout the interim period
- Assistance with development of executive job descriptions, search strategies, hiring processes, and selection criteria
- Assistance with development and implementation of staff and board strategies to support the transition to new permanent leadership
"I want to thank you for your invaluable assistance that led to Paul Parker as our Interim Director. He led the board through a difficult path that began with an almost total lack of direction and infrastructure to a well-organized and cohesive organization.
Paul quickly sized up our challenges and in five short months brought us through a strenuous process that has ended with a beautifully crafted strategic plan to serve as a guide in the coming years."
William Brelje, President
Portland Chamber Orchestra
Executive Search Services
When you need assistance recruiting and selecting candidates for a high level executive position, TACS can help. Selecting a new director is one of the greatest responsibilities of all board duties. We specialize in nonprofit executive director searches, helping organizations clearly define their needs, providing inspirational leadership around recruitment, building a search team that develops board member skills at the same time as guiding the decision making process, and maximizing the use of busy board members' time through this process.
Since 2001 we've helped organizations with more than 50 executive searches. We know what it takes to mobilize your board to do a great search, recruit top candidates, and plan for the successful integration of your new Executive Director. Some of the services we provide:
- Structure your executive search; establish and maintain your search timeline
- Facilitate search committee meetings
- Assess organizational needs and priorities and develop transition strategies
- Establish search budget
- Clarify job description and priorities for new director's skills
- Assist writing and placing ads and contacting appropriate people in the industry
- Evaluate resumes
- Plan and assist with interviews and interview strategies
- Determine final interview candidates
- Check references
- Coordinate overall campaign
"River Network is more than grateful to TACS and the ETS program for the professional and splendid support we received during our recent national search for President of our organization. From beginning to end TACS provided expertise and experience to the search committee and staff. The job description, profiles of the ideal candidate, finding candidates, dealing with applications, arranging interviews from afar, conducting interviews, resolving questions and complications and finally negotiating a contract all went seamlessly. In short, a complex search was concluded with a superb result. The services River Network received were skillful, insightful, respectful, efficient and came at a modest cost."
Dr. Marc Taylor, Board Chair
River Network
Transition Consulting
In times of crisis or change, transition consulting may provide your organization with the clarity to move ahead. TACS can help with:
- Overall assessment of your organization
- Analysis of financial strength of organization
- Review of fundraising goals, opportunities and expectations
- Board and staff facilitation
- Development of transition strategies
- Ongoing leadership support for Directors
If you are interested in any of the transition services, contact Bob Hazen by email or by phone at 503.239.4001.
Interim Development Director and Development Assistance Services
Has your development director just left? Are you about to hire a one but not sure what your organization needs? We can help you over these hurdles, and have put together a team of experienced development professionals to provide:
• Interim Development Directors to help you maintain momentum in the event of a sudden departure
• Transitional Development Directors to help you create or expand a development department and answer the question, "are we ready to hire a full time Development Director?"
• Grant writers to assist with your applications and proposals
• Event specialists to help you plan and carry out your fundraising events
• Assistance with evaluating and implementing your capital campaign
