Vice President, California

Position Overview

We're looking for a strategic and mission-driven VP to lead Defy Ventures' statewide operations across Northern and Southern California. This role sits at the intersection of program implementation, fundraising, and regional growth.

The VP, California will oversee a team of regional leaders responsible for delivering our prison and reentry programs and building the funding base that sustains them. This position will manage two CA Executive Directors overseeing regional fundraising and external relationships, and two CA Program Directors managing regional teams implementing Defy’s inside-outside programs. This role will provide leadership, accountability, and support across all functions of our California work, including program execution, regional fundraising strategies, grant management, and California’s scale plan.

This is the right role for a nonprofit generalist who excels at and enjoys both program oversight and fundraising strategy and is equally comfortable in the details of grant compliance and the big picture of organizational strategy. This role will have the opportunity to strengthen Defy’s work in California and support people impacted by incarceration.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Program Oversight

• Supervise the CA Program Directors who implement Defy's CEO of Your New Life and Career & Reentry programs across California
• Ensure programs are delivered with consistency and fidelity to Defy's model
• Support program teams in troubleshooting barriers and driving continuous improvement

Regional Fundraising

• Supervise the CA Executive Directors who lead donor cultivation, fundraising events, external partnerships, and volunteer engagement
• Support EDs in building and executing a fundraising strategy, developed in partnership with organizational leadership
• Represent Defy in statewide funding spaces as appropriate

Grant Management

• Manage statewide grant compliance, oversight, and reporting across government and private funders
• Write statewide grant proposals and review regional grant applications
• Develop grant budgets and ensure grant-funded services are delivered as committed

Budget & Financial Oversight

• Manage and develop regional budgets across California
• Monitor financial performance and support regional leaders in budget management
• Partner with internal finance teams to ensure accurate reporting and projections

Staff Supervision & Development

• Directly supervise two Executive Directors and two Program Directors
• Provide regular coaching, feedback, and professional development support
• Build a strong, collaborative team culture across regions

Statewide Strategy & Infrastructure

• Create and maintain a statewide team infrastructure that connects and aligns multiple regional teams
• Contribute to organizational planning, cross-functional initiatives, and internal capacity building
• Contribute to the development and implementation of Defy's California scale plan

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• 4+ years of progressive leadership experience, including 2+ years managing managers
• 2+ years of experience writing and managing grants, with government grant experience strongly preferred
• 3+ years of experience overseeing program implementation, ideally in criminal justice, reentry, or social services
• Experience creating and managing budgets
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel throughout California
• Ability to be cleared at CDCR institutions
• Proficiency with Excel and/or Google sheets

Preferred:

• Experience with California state government funders
• Experience building or scaling programs across multiple regions or sites
• Direct connection (including lived experience with incarceration) to or experience serving system-impacted communities

• Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision)
• 401k
• 20 days vacation, 13 paid holidays, 9 sick days per year
• Parental leave
• Pre-tax commuter benefits