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19910 Malvern Road
Shaker Hts., OH 44122

Position title: Chief Executive Officer
Date of Posting: Feb. 4, 2025. Applications accepted until the position is filled

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development https://www.hannaperkins.org/about-us/ is a non-profit that partners with parents, educators and mental health professionals to help children understand and manage their emotions for success in school and life.

Founded in 1951, our work is based on understanding that a child’s behavior is a form of communication.

Feelings are as powerful in children as they are in adults – but the abilities to connect a feeling to its source, manage it and communicate it are learned skills. Hanna Perkins exists to help support and explain the understanding and nurturing of these skills as essentials to a child’s developing personality and outlook. Built on decades of proven approaches, Hanna Perkins successfully uses a psychoanalytic approach and framework to guide the work it does in all the areas of the organization.

Hanna Perkins Center is recognized world-wide as a unique and indispensable contributor to the healthy emotional development of children and families in the Cleveland area and beyond.

Our services include:

• Hanna Perkins School: State-chartered kindergarten, preschool, and parent/toddler program with autism integration offered in every classroom.
• Hadden Clinic for Children & Families: Mental health assessment, counseling and therapy from birth to 18, and for new moms struggling with postpartum depression.
• Consultation and training with other schools and early learning centers.
• Continuing education for early learning educators, childcare workers, social workers, mental health professionals and others who work with children on a daily basis.
• Child psychoanalytic training: An official training program of the American Psychoanalytic Association, conducted in cooperation with the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center.

SUMMARY

This is an exciting and pivotal time to join Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development as their next CEO. This role offers the chance to lead a respected institution through an important transition period. The new CEO will have strong board support and the opportunity to shape the organization’s future while honoring its unique and successful approach to child development.

Hanna Perkins Center seeks a visionary leader to guide our respected organization into its next chapter of growth and impact. For decades, we’ve been at the forefront of child development and family support, providing individualized care that transforms young lives. Now, we’re looking for a strategic executive to build upon this legacy while driving appropriate organizational change reflecting today’s family dynamics.

We are pursuing a dynamic executive who can balance our organization’s rich therapeutic heritage with modern operational demands. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker who can expand our community presence while preserving our core mission; an exceptional relationship builder capable of engaging diverse stakeholders, from clinical staff to donors; a change management expert who can guide organizational evolution while respecting established practices; a business-minded leader who understands nonprofit sustainability and growth and; an inspiring communicator who can articulate our value proposition to new audiences.

The new CEO will join the organization before June 2025, aligning with the retirement of our current CEO. The selected candidate will join an organization known for its individualized approach to child development and its commitment to helping children become “the boss of themselves.”

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive growth strategy
• Expand community partnerships and external presence
• Modernize marketing and outreach approaches
• Build new donor pipelines while maintaining existing relationships

Organizational Leadership

• Guide cultural transformation while preserving valuable therapeutic traditions
• Lead fundraising efforts and revitalize development operations
• Manage financial sustainability across clinical and educational programs
• Foster collaboration between clinical staff, educators, and administration

KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• High integrity and passion for the mission of HPC and an inspiring communicator who can articulate our value proposition to new audience
• Excellent presentation, communication and organizational skills and capabilities
• A strategic thinker who can expand our community presence while preserving our core mission
• An exceptional relationship builder capable of engaging diverse stakeholders, from clinical staff to donors
• A change management expert who can guide organizational evolution while respecting established practices
• A business-minded leader who understands nonprofit sustainability and growth

KEY REQUIREMENTS

While clinical or psychoanalytic expertise is not required, the successful candidate must demonstrate:

• Ability to learn and appreciate psychoanalytic approaches to child development
• Proven executive leadership experience (CEO experience preferred but not mandatory)
• Genuine passion for child development and family support
• Track record of successful change management
• Strong business acumen and strategic planning capabilities
• Excellence in stakeholder engagement and communication

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in business, education or related field
• 10+ years of experience in leadership, strategy, team mentorship and financial management with prior experience as a CEO or Executive Director within a non-profit organization preferred
• Ability to provide competent leadership for the agency through foresight, planning, organization and follow through utilizing strong strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities

The successful candidate will be offered an attractive compensation and benefits package.

If you are an exceptional leader with the qualifications, attributes, drive and determination required to be extraordinary, we are very interested in speaking with you. Please submit your interest in confidence to:

Linda Gray | SVP Executive Search Non-Profit | lgray@ratliffandtaylor.com

Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development is an Equal Opportunity Employer