Executive Director

Executive Director

Twin Cities, Minnesota, United States·Full-time·$200,000–$240,000

All applications must go through kpCompanies, https://kpcompanies.com/careers NOT through the Genesys Works website.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Lead the next chapter of career pathways in the Twin Cities. kpCompanies is honored to partner with Genesys Works Twin Cities (GWTC) to identify its next Executive Director — a visionary, well-connected leader who will serve as the organization's chief advocate across the Twin Cities business, philanthropic, and civic community.

Reporting to the Board of Directors and working within the Genesys Works national network, the Executive Director leads a team of 20, stewards an $8 million organization serving more than 300 high school students each year, and owns the employer, donor, and community relationships that make each student's internship possible.

The mission is not changing. How it is delivered and funded must. GWTC is on stable footing, with a strong foundation and a committed staff, and is ready for a leader who will stay, listen, and set direction: someone who can grow and diversify revenue, deepen employer partnerships, and make a clear case for Genesys Works as entry-level work changes.

Salary: $200,000–$240,000, commensurate with experience, plus a comprehensive benefits package.

Twin Cities, Minnesota — full-time, permanent — reports to the Board of Directors.

THE ROLE

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall leadership, strategy, and financial health of GWTC, personally owns fundraising strategy and the organization's external relationships, and leads a senior team that owns systems and day-to-day execution. The Executive Director will:

• Personally lead fundraising strategy and cultivate, ask, and close major gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations, growing contributed revenue alongside employer internship fees
• Serve as the organization's primary external ambassador, relationship builder, and vision caster in the Twin Cities community
• Retain, re-engage, and grow employer partners and site supervisors, securing annual internship commitments beginning with 2027, and hire and lead the corporate partnership lead
• Set direction for how the mission is delivered in this market, and articulate what Genesys Works offers students and employers as AI and automation change entry-level work
• Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing team; communicate with transparency and context, rebuild trust, and build a healthy, inclusive culture with the senior leadership team
• Partner closely with the Board on strategy, performance, and governance, including defining the roles of the board, board chair, and Executive Director; work effectively within the national–local model
• Ensure financial sustainability through disciplined planning, budgeting, and stewardship, with decisions informed by data

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Twelve to eighteen months after the start date: revenue is stable, growing, and more diversified, with new approaches to philanthropic giving; internship numbers are stable and growing, with 2027 employer commitments secured; the Executive Director has established direct ownership of key donor and employer relationships; the Executive Director has brought forward a plan to update and expand the organization's offerings, built on a stable base of current employer partnerships; the board and the Executive Director agree on what the year is for and how it is measured, with the board focused on long-range direction, and the team is stable and moving forward.

THE LEADER WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The strongest candidates will demonstrate a combination of:

• Mission alignment — a genuine, demonstrated commitment to career pathways for young people from underserved communities, and a compelling direction for how the mission is delivered
• Fundraising and earned revenue generation — has personally made the ask and closed it, and has built diversified, sustainable revenue, contributed and earned
• External ambassadorship and partnerships — credible with senior Twin Cities business leaders; re-engages and re-energizes employer partners and site supervisors around the mission
• Strategic leadership and execution — sets direction and turns it into priorities, goals, and accountability
• Transparency, communication, and culture — communicates with context, builds trust, brings the team along through change, and builds culture with the senior leadership team
• Operational, financial, and board leadership — disciplined planning and stewardship; real partnership with the board; works well within the national–local model
• Ownership mindset — carries the outcome, not just the activity; adaptable, self-aware, and steady through change

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

There is no single path to becoming an exceptional candidate. Competitive candidates will bring many of the following:

• Executive leadership experience at comparable scope, with accountability for results, a budget, and a team
• A record of personally securing significant gifts or revenue commitments — making the ask and closing it
• Credibility within the Twin Cities business, philanthropic, and civic community, with trusted relationships among senior corporate and community leaders
• Experience building and re-energizing employer or corporate partnerships that produce measurable commitments
• Experience expanding or redesigning programs or services in response to changing employer or market needs
• Experience leading a team through change with transparent communication, and partnering with a board on strategy and governance
• National, federated, or multi-site experience is helpful; workforce development, nonprofit, education, and corporate backgrounds are valued

ABOUT GENESYS WORKS

Genesys Works provides pathways to career success for high school students in underserved communities through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships. In the Twin Cities since 2008, it pairs eight weeks of training with a year-long paid internship at a partner company. More than 4,000 students have taken part. In 2025, 329 interns were employed alongside 35 partner companies.

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST

Search partner: kpCompanies

Contact: Toni Carter, Executive Search Consultant, toni@kpcompanies.com, (202) 262-2103

All applications must go through kpCompanies, NOT through the Genesys Works website.

Application link: https://kpcompanies.com/careers

Genesys Works Twin Cities and kpCompanies are equal opportunity employers and welcome candidates whose backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives strengthen the mission.