Executive Director

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Position Profile

Classification: Full-Time, Exempt

Work Schedule: Full-time schedule; periodic evening and weekend work required

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Salary Range: $85,000-$120,000 annually

Salary placement within this transparent range will reflect executive leadership experience, fundraising success, supervisory ability, strategic planning experience, financial acumen, and overall nonprofit leadership depth.

Benefits

• Employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with 3% employer match (immediately vested)
• Five weeks paid time off and holidays
• Hybrid work schedule
• Professional development support

About Burns Recovered

Burns Recovered exists so that no burn survivor or co-survivor (family member) walks the journey of recovery alone.

Our mission extends within and far beyond the hospital. We provide aftercare opportunities for children, adults, families, and co-survivors to heal, grow, build confidence, develop meaningful relationships, and discover that life after a severe burn injury can be full, purposeful, and connected.

For more than three decades, Burns Recovered has earned the trust of burn survivors, healthcare professionals, volunteers, donors, and community partners by delivering high-quality programs grounded in dignity, compassion, resilience, and belonging. While our Midwestern Children’s Burn Camp remains a cornerstone of our work, our vision extends much further. We are committed to building and maintaining programming that provides meaningful support throughout every stage of a burn survivor’s life.

Burns Recovered is in an exciting period of growth. The organization has a strong reputation, dedicated staff, an engaged Board of Directors, loyal donors, and a sound financial position. The next Executive Director will build upon this foundation by strengthening organizational systems, expanding high-impact programming, deepening philanthropic investment, extending Burns Recovered’s services and presence beyond St. Louis, cultivating strategic partnerships, and positioning the organization for long-term sustainability. The current operating budget is about $900,000 & 100% of revenue comes from philanthropy and fundraising. That number will grow as the organization grows.

This is an opportunity to honor an extraordinary legacy while leading the organization into its next chapter. The next Executive Director will be an experienced nonprofit leader who combines strategic thinking with practical execution, inspires confidence in others, embraces accountability, and understands that an exceptional organizational culture is essential to exceptional mission impact.

The Board seeks a leader who will strengthen the organization for the next generation of burn survivors.

Position Summary

The Executive Director serves as the chief executive officer of Burns Recovered and is responsible for advancing the organization’s mission through strategic leadership, fundraising, organizational stewardship, financial oversight, and partnership with the Board of Directors.

Working with a small, experienced leadership team, the Executive Director will build on Burns Recovered’s strong reputation and position the organization for thoughtful growth, long-term sustainability, and greater impact for burn survivors and their families. The Executive Director is responsible for organizational performance by setting vision, building relationships, empowering staff, and aligning people, resources, and strategy with the mission. Burns Recovered serves burn survivors across the Midwest, requiring periodic travel among St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and other communities as needed.

Major Responsibilities and Specific Actions

1. Strategic Leadership & Mission Advancement

• Lead implementation of the organization’s strategic plan and annual priorities.
• Translate mission and vision into measurable goals and organizational results.
• Maximize opportunities to strengthen services, partnerships, and long-term sustainability.
• Allocate organizational resources to maximize mission impact and responsible stewardship.
• Foster innovation while maintaining financial discipline and organizational focus.

2. Board Partnership & Governance

• Build a productive partnership with the Board Chair and Board of Directors.
• Prepare Board meetings and provide timely information regarding organizational performance, finances, fundraising, opportunities, and risks.
• Support effective governance, strategic planning, policy development, and Board engagement.
• Partner with the Governance Committee on Board recruitment, orientation, and development.
• Ensure implementation of Board-approved policies and strategic decisions.

3. Staff Leadership & Organizational Culture

• Lead, coach, support, and evaluate direct reports while encouraging shared leadership and professional development.
• Foster a culture rooted in trust, humility, accountability, inclusion, open communication, and mission-centered decision-making.
• Ensure alignment across programs, development, finance, and administration through clear priorities and effective communication.
• Recommend staffing, organizational structure, and compensation consistent with strategic priorities and approved budgets.
• Strengthen organizational capacity through leadership development, succession planning, and continuous improvement.

4. Programs, Survivor Impact & Community Engagement

• Support the Director of Programs in ensuring that programs remain mission-centered, financially sustainable, safe, and responsive to participant needs.
• Partner with the Director of Programs to evaluate outcomes and use participant feedback, evaluation data, and community needs to guide continuous quality improvement and organizational decisions.
• Support thoughtful program innovation while maintaining organizational capacity and fiscal responsibility.
• Ensure that effective volunteer recruitment and training support safe, meaningful engagement.

5. Fundraising, Philanthropy & External Partnerships

• Treat fundraising as a primary Executive Director responsibility, carried out in close partnership with the Director of Development and Board of Directors.
• Support the Director of Development in creating and implementing Burns Recovered’s annual fundraising strategy.
• Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors, foundations, and strategic funding partners.
• Support successful institutional giving, including the annual submission of 20-30 grant proposals and follow-up reports through appropriate staff, contractors, and personal involvement.
• Partner with the Director of Development to strengthen donor engagement, fundraising events, and Board participation in philanthropy.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships that expand mission impact, visibility, referrals, and financial support.

6. Financial Stewardship, Operations & Risk Management

• Lead the annual budgeting process and monitor organizational financial performance.
• Ensure accurate financial reporting, sound internal controls, regulatory compliance, and implementation of Board-approved financial policies.
• Oversee the annual independent audit and continuous improvement of financial and operational practices.
• Ensure organizational systems, technology, contracts, facilities, and administrative infrastructure effectively support the mission.
• Identify and manage organizational risks while protecting participants, volunteers, staff, donors, and organizational assets.

7. Communications & Community Representation

• Serve as a Burns Recovered spokesperson and ambassador.
• Strengthen relationships with donors, healthcare providers, community organizations, and strategic partners.
• Ensure all communications consistently reflect the organization’s mission, values, and brand.
• Promote ethical storytelling that honors the dignity and lived experiences of burn survivors and their families.

8. Other-Duties Expectation

Burns Recovered operates with a small staff of four. The Executive Director, along with other staff, is expected to work collaboratively, pitch in when needed, and have the flexibility to occasionally perform reasonable duties that are not specifically anticipated or listed in this role description. This description identifies the Executive Director’s primary responsibilities but is not an exhaustive list of every task.

Qualifications and Attributes

Burns Recovered will look for a candidate who demonstrates:

• Demonstrated nonprofit executive or senior leadership experience.
• Demonstrated fundraising success.
• Experience leading, developing, and retaining a high-performing team.
• Financial literacy and experience partnering effectively with a Board of Directors.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and organizational leadership skills.
• Emotional maturity, sound judgment, humility, and resilience.

Initial Leadership Priorities

During the first two years, the Executive Director will:

• Develop significant relationships with staff, donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
• Work actively with the Director of Development to solidify recent fundraising success and strengthen long-term financial sustainability.
• Support the continued expansion of programs for burn survivors and their families.
• Continue building and refining organizational systems that support quality and growth.
• Assume clear responsibility for protecting a healthy organizational culture characterized by respect, trust, accountability, inclusion, open communication, and constructive disagreement.
• Champion the development and execution of an integrated, multi-channel communications strategy.

Examples of Measures of Success

• Programs deliver meaningful outcomes and remain safe, mission-centered, and responsive to participant needs.
• Program evaluation demonstrates continuous improvement and measurable impact.
• Staff are engaged, aligned, and supported within a healthy culture of accountability and collaboration.
• Organizational capacity and leadership continue to strengthen.
• Annual fundraising goals are achieved or meaningfully advanced, with increased individual, foundation, corporate, and community partnerships.
• Financial reporting is accurate, timely, and supports sound Board decision-making.
• Budgets, reserves, and audits demonstrate strong financial stewardship.
• The Board receives timely information and remains focused on governance and strategic leadership; Board recruitment goals are achieved.
• Policy gaps are filled, and compliance practices remain current and effective.
• Organizational systems, processes, and infrastructure continue to improve.

Why This Opportunity Matters

Burns Recovered has earned the trust of burn survivors, healthcare professionals, donors, volunteers, and community partners through more than three decades of compassionate service. With a strong Board, experienced staff, and a solid organizational foundation, the next Executive Director can build upon that success by expanding impact, strengthening philanthropy, and helping the Board and organization reach the next level of impact.

This role is ideal for a collaborative leader who values a strong team, embraces accountability, cares deeply about the quality of relationships, and is inspired by the mission to help burn survivors and their families thrive.

Application Instructions

Please send to brsg@brsg.org (subject line “ED Application”)

a) Resume

b) Cover Letter

c) Written answers to two questions (word document):

1) Burns Recovered is a small organization with experienced staff, diverse and loyal donors, and a desire to grow. What kind of leadership does a small mission-driven organization need to grow without losing its culture? (250 words max)

2) Fundraising is a central responsibility of this role. Describe a time you helped grow philanthropic support, deepen donor relationships, or secure a significant gift or grant? (250 words max)

Applications can be submitted between August 5 – September 4, 2026.

• Employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with 3% employer match (immediately vested)
• Five weeks paid time off and holidays
• Hybrid work schedule
• Professional development support